Ultimate Guide on How To Clean Oven Racks With Foil (2023 FAQs)

how to clean oven racks with foil

Are you getting worried on how to clean oven racks with foil? Then dont worry as this article will guide you through the whole cleaning process of the oven.

Baking is a passionate hobby. Baking is never a job of two or three ingredients. You make a hell lot of mess while baking. You need a bakery item at every event or time of life. Our evening tea or coffee is incomplete without cake or cookies.

It gets a little intense in the kitchen for some people. If you are a baker then around of applause for you. It is an amazing job. And if you are worried about the mess your baking is going to create then do not worry. You know what else gets dirty while doing baking, it is the oven racks. Yes, they get dirty too. All the baking causes the burning in the oven racks.

You can let it self-clean in the oven because the heat will cause damage to your racks. It is a tiresome and boring thing to do. But there are actually many ways to go about it. You cannot just scrub your iron racks because they will rust and will be of no use. Let me show you a little easy way to do this:

How to clean oven racks with foil:

Well there are generally more than one way to go about it but we will discuss each of the method you can use to clean the racks:

First Way of Cleaning The Racks

  • Using Aluminum foilAluminum foil is one thing that will be sitting in your kitchen cabinets all the time. Hence you cannot give me excuses about it. Follow the given steps for it:
  • The first step on the cleaning list will be to remove the iron rack from the oven.
  • Take a tub and fill it with hot water.
  • Add two or three tablespoons of detergent in it.
  • Then put your iron rack in the water and let it soak for about 30 minutes.
  • The hot water will make all the burn and greases soft.
  • Take an aluminium foil and make a ball out it.
  • Put the ball under the sink. So, it becomes wet.
  • Cover the ball with baking soda.
  • And to just finish it off, scrub the aluminium foil on the iron racks.

Also Read: Best Home Espresso Machine Under 500

It is easy to follow all the steps. I explain each step to be briefer. So, you can easily understand what I am talking about:

  1. Pour steaming hot water in the tub or bucket depending upon a number of racks you are going to dust. The water should be burning hot.
  2. The quantity of water decides the dishwasher soap you should put in. But you should put at least 3 tablespoons of detergent.
  3. Now slowly and carefully put iron racks on the tub. The water still is very hot. The warm water will remove any thick dirt formed on the iron rack. Leave the rack in the water for 30 minutes.
  4. After 30 minutes take out the rack from the water. It will still be warm but bearable. Roll the aluminium foil into the ball and get them. Then cover them with baking soda. Rub your ball on the racks. Scrub it until you are not able to restore its original state.
  5. Leave it in Bathtub:

Second Method Of Cleaning Oven Rack

This method of this technique is mostly similar to the above mentioned one. So, let’s begin:

  1. Take a towel and put in the tub before putting the racks because the iron racks will scratch the bottom of the tub. Or even the detergent powder can scratch it.
  2. Close the drain of the tub.
  3. Put the oven racks in the tub.
  4. Open the tap and let the tub fill with the hottest water. Water should cover the rack completely. The hot water helps to break the grease or any burn stain on the racks. And it also helps to dissolve the detergent well. The water will gradually become normal but for the start, we need boiling water.
  5. Take a cup of detergent and put it in a jar. Mix it with hot water before pouring it into the tub. In my opinion powder detergent is the best because it scrapes off the dirt as well.
  6. Then leave your iron racks in the tub for about 6 to 7 hours. It is probably best to leave it overnight in the tub.
  7. Take it out and then wipe it off to dry. Once they are dry, put it back in the oven.

Also Read: Best Dishwasher Under 700

Caution:

Do not leave your oven racks in the self-cleaning. It will strip the chromes from your racks and permanently damage it.

  • Cleaning with a trash bag: Yes, you heard it right. You can clean oven racks with using a trash bag.
  • Take an unused trash bag and place the oven rack in it. Take ammonia and add ¼ cup of it on the racks. Seal the bag and leave it for overnight. We use ammonia because it is an effective ingredient for removing any dirt, fats, oils etc. on the rack.
  • Open the bag in the morning. Before that open the windows because ammonia will have fumes. And it will need ventilation. Now take the oven racks out and wash it under the skin. Let it dry there for a few minutes. Then put it back in the oven.
  • Cleaning with the commercial cleanser: All the above-mentioned methods are home remedies for your cleaning. But there are many other commercial cleaners in the market that are perfect for your oven rack. Moreover, it will save you some time.
  • There are many commercial cleaners but they usually are really bad because they produce fumes. So, if you are using one then it is better to clean it with outside. Or use a non-toxic and eco-friendly one.
  • Cover the surface you are going to work on with plastic or newspaper. Place the rack on top of it.
  • Put on the gloves and spray the cleaner on the iron racks generously. Let it sit there for about 10 minutes.
  • Then the only thing left is to scrub your racks with the toothbrush and rinse it thoroughly with the pipe.
  • Replace it back in the oven.
  • Cleaning with dishwasher tablet: You need a dishwasher tablet, aluminium foil, and hot water to clean your oven racks. Follow the given steps as follow:
  • Take out the iron racks. Cover the individual rack with aluminium foil.
  • Fill the bathtub with hot water and put the individual racks wrapped with aluminium in water.
  • The racks will be lightweight and it will come up again. To let it sit in the tub put some weight of shampoo or gel bottles.
  • Put the dishwasher tablet on top of it. And then leave it there for at least 2 hours.
  • Take out the rack and uncover it from aluminium. You will notice no grease and stains.
  • It works like magic. Put the racks back in the oven after you are done.

If you are wondering how it happens. It is just a chemical reaction. The aluminum foil reacts with the melting tablet. After the two hours in the tub the grease softs. It will just take a wipe of tissue to make shine like brand new.

What you learn?

Now we are done with all the methods for cleaning your oven racks. Let’s see the focus on the learning outcome of this article. If you do not clean the oven racks then the burnt smell is not going to go away. It is going to be there every time you bake something unless you clean it.

All the techniques that I have mentioned are based on home remedies. So, you can not give me the excuses of the things are not available. Aluminium foil does it trick every time. It is used with everything such as dishwasher tablet, or soaking it in the water and then scrubbing the oven racks with aluminium balls.

Conclusion

I know it is a dirty job. And requires a lot of time. But if it is in your household then you are responsible for cleaning it. Make your mind and free a little time for it. It just takes little household items and several hours of soaking in the hot water to do the job.

No more procrastinating and get done with it. So, you can bake your favourite cookies this weekend. Lastly, I hope now you have complete knowledge on how to clean oven racks with foil. If you have any queries then you can let us know in the comment box down below.

FAQs

Can we put oven racks in dishwasher?

Generally, oven racks are dishwasher safe. It means the dishwasher do no harm to the racks. Just put them in and start the dishwasher. If there are still any stains left then just take a stainless steel pad and scrub on it.

How to clean the discoloured spots on the oven racks?

If there is any discoloration on the oven rack then make a paste of baking soda with water. And rub it on the area of discoloration. Scrub over it with aluminum foil and you are done.

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