The Plastic Trash Bag Hack That Makes Cleaning Oven Racks Easy

From pizzas that overflow with toppings to overfilled cake pans, many of the foods homeowners prepare day to day leave stubborn stains on oven racks. If these spots are not wiped away immediately, they bake onto the metal wires on the racks. This makes the grime even more difficult to remove. Sometimes, dish soap and a cleaning brush alone are just not enough to scrub away these kinds of stains. Luckily, you can loosen stubborn grime off of your oven racks with the help of a plastic trash bag. To try this hack out for yourself, all you need is a dishwasher tablet, warm water, and a plastic bag large enough to place your oven rack inside. After dissolving the tablet in hot water, pour it in the bag with the dish rack inside. Close the bag and allow the grime to loosen so that it is easier to remove.

Once the soapy water has worked its magic inside of the plastic trash bag, you can say goodbye to those stains that once seemed impossible to get rid of. Your oven racks should look as good as new again. This should make those frustrating kitchen deep cleaning days a breeze, as it's one of the easiest ways to clean oven racks that are heavily soiled. After you have mastered this hack, you may even look forward to getting your racks clean again. Who could have guessed that a plastic trash bag would be the secret to a clean oven?

To carry out this oven cleaning trick, follow the steps shown in the YouTube video above. The process is as simple as placing your oven rack into a bag, dissolving the tablet in hot water, pouring the solution into the bag with a bit more water, and laying the closed bag in your bathtub or sink while your racks soak. Once you pour the water out and remove the racks, you may notice a few stains still stuck onto the metal. However, they should be far easier to remove with a dishwashing brush at this point. 

If you have stains on your rack that still will not budge, you may need to perform a slightly different version of this hack. Rather than using a dishwasher tablet, you can use an oven cleaner like Easy-Off to remove particularly stubborn stains. Start by placing your oven rack in a thick trash bag outside. Protect your hands by sliding on gloves, coat your rack with your oven cleaning spray inside the bag, seal the bag, and allow it to sit for 45 minutes.

Next, remove your racks and lay them on top of the plastic bags outside. Use a bucket of warm soapy water and a sponge to wash the oven cleaning spray off the racks. Bring them inside and give them an additional rinse in your kitchen sink. Finally, dry your racks and place them back inside of your oven.