Your oven is one of the things that we forget to clean. If you use it often, a great degree of grime and gunk has probably accumulated on the racks. Although some ovens come with a self-cleaning option, using it isn't advised. Hence, the ideal way to clean your oven racks is to use a little elbow grease and do it the old-fashioned way.
While this feature is convenient, it is not recommended. The Teflon coating can emit toxic fumes when exposed to very high temperatures. When inhaled, it can lead to trouble breathing, coughing, chills, and other symptoms. In addition, the North Iowa Municipal Electric Cooperative Association found that the self-cleaning feature has the potential to produce carbon monoxide.
Not only can the self-cleaning feature be harmful to your health but it can be harmful to your oven as well. To explain, temperatures can reach up to 1000 degrees and can cause damage to the interior of your oven, including the racks. The extremely high heat can ruin the shiny finish of the racks. Therefore, it's best to learn how to clean your oven racks by hand.