Stop Scrubbing Your Oven Racks in the Sink — Do This Instead

If you regularly use your oven, it doesn’t take long for those metal racks to accumulate burned bits of food, grime, and grease. This buildup hardens over time, making the racks increasingly difficult to clean. Even for the tidiest home cooks, oven grime is inevitable.

Oven racks don’t need to be tended to terribly often — once or twice a year is sufficient — but when it’s time to deep-clean your oven, you’ll probably notice that the racks could use some love, too. Oven racks are easily removable, but unfortunately, they’re usually too bulky to clean in the sink.

How To Effectively Clean Oven Racks

Instead of struggling to fit oven racks into your kitchen sink, try scrubbing them in a bathtub. Start by laying down two old towels to protect the surface of the tub from scratches, then place the oven racks on top. Fill the bathtub with very hot water — the hottest it can get. When the racks are fully submerged, add ½ cup of powder or liquid dishwasher detergent to the bath water and stir to combine.

Allow the racks to soak in the tub for at least four hours, though overnight yields even better results. After soaking, drain the tub and remove any remaining gunk with a nonscratch sponge, microfiber cloth, or dish brush. Rinse with clean water, dry the racks thoroughly, and return them to the oven.

For stubborn stains, apply a thick paste of powdered Bar Keepers Friend and water (or use the liquid version), let it sit for a few minutes, and use a scrubbing sponge to make the racks spotless. You can also use the mildly abrasive cleaning powder to clean your bathtub afterward.

Your oven racks should remain clean for the next six months, unless, of course, a particularly saucy dish shortens that timeline.