The One Step You're Probably Forgetting When Self-Cleaning Your Oven

When you first start to notice signs that your oven needs cleaning, do you feel overwhelmed at the thought of all that scrubbing? Fortunately, if you spend some time getting to know your oven, you may find that it has a self-cleaning function (available on most modern ovens) that can make this chore much easier. Even when using this feature, though, one oven-cleaning mistake you need to avoid is leaving the racks inside during the cleaning cycle.

Your oven's self-cleaning function uses temperatures between 800 and 900 degrees Fahrenheit, which are intended to turn leftover food and debris into ash so that you can wipe it away easily rather than scrubbing your oven's interior until your muscles ache. Since not all oven racks are constructed to withstand that extreme heat, however, they're likely to become discolored and warped, which can affect their functionality and make it difficult to slide them in and out. Additionally, as the racks expand and shrink, they can scratch the interior porcelain coating in the rack guides.

You can avoid these issues by removing the racks before starting your oven's self-cleaning feature. Of course, oven racks that are labeled as "Never-Scrub" or "Self-Clean" are safe to go through the cycle and typically have a dark coating. Also, you should remove any cookware, pans, foil, liners, or cooking probes that you leave or store in your oven, as those can potentially cause damage.

Just because some oven racks can't withstand a self-cleaning cycle doesn't mean that they don't need to be cleaned. Even if they don't appear to be dirty, it's important to give them a quick wash to remove any splattered grease so that it doesn't get baked on or become gunky, which will only make scrubbing them harder. Fortunately, you can use a few techniques to achieve this.

One of the easiest ways to clean your oven racks is to submerge them in hot, soapy water in your bathtub overnight (or at least for a few hours). You can even swirl a few dryer sheets in the water until it foams up. If you don't have dish detergent, sprinkle some baking soda and distilled vinegar over the racks. After soaking, use paper towels or a non-abrasive sponge to remove the loosened debris, and then use a toothbrush to scrub away stuck-on grime.

Another option is to put the oven racks in the sink and apply a paste of baking soda, orange essential oil, and vinegar with a damp sponge. Let the paste sit for six to eight hours before lightly scrubbing off the dirt. Alternatively, manufactured products like Easy-Off Heavy Duty Oven Cleaner or Bar Keepers Friend work well. No matter which cleaning method you use, make sure that you rinse and dry the racks well before returning them to your oven.