The Genius Way to Clean Your Oven Racks

You know the smoky, burnt smell all too well. You know it happens every time you turn your oven on and isn't going to go away unless you clean it. Or maybe every time you open up your oven instead of seeing freshly baked cookies or a sheet pan of roasted veggies, all you can see is a reminder that you need to clean your oven.

However you got to this point, you're here and it's time to clean your oven and not put off the task any longer. Hours of scrubbing after a long day at the office or carving out precious weekend time to get on our hands and knees doesn't sound like too much fun to us either, though. Turns out, there's a better way to clean your oven.

Thanks to a handy tutorial from Reader's Digest, we've learned it's easier than we thought to clean our ovens. First, you'll want to gather all removable oven parts (racks, trays, etc.) and wrap each in aluminum foil. Meanwhile, run a hot bath. Wrap the oven parts in aluminum foil and place them in the tub. "f you can't keep the piece fully submerged, you'll want to find some weight to put on top. After that, drop a dishwasher tablet on top of each, and voila!" writes Laurie Dixon. "The aluminum foil reacts to the disintegrating tablet, practically melting off that post-Christmas dinner mess." Yes, you may still need to clean the bottom of your oven, but this genius method frees you up from the bulk of the laborious task.

"After two hours [in the tub], years of grease and grime will fall away. If you have some mess that's a little more stubborn, it shouldn't take more than a quick wipe to get back that brand new shine," Dixon continues. And while your oven parts soak in the tub, you can use the downtime to clean your greasy oven door.

WATCH: How To Clean A Toaster

Now, that reminds us. Our bathtub could use a thorough cleaning, too. 2019: The Year of the Organized Bathroom, here we come.