Cleaning fans have shared their top tips for getting oven trays sparkling clean, with one hack in particular proving to be very popular.
The oven is frequently one of the grimiest spots in the house, thanks to food spills, grime and debris that we often neglect to clean as regularly as we ought to.
Baking trays particularly can become caked in burnt-on marks that seem impossible to shift, regardless of how vigorously you scrub them.
For numerous households, it’s simply a matter of chucking the trays in the rubbish when they become too filthy, and buying new ones.
However, if you’re attempting to cut costs and fancy having a go at cleaning them instead, then there’s one trick you should attempt.
Cleaning enthusiasts in the Facebook group Kitchen Stuff have been exchanging their tips for sprucing up oven trays, and one technique appears to be extremely well-liked, reports the Express.
One lady posted in the group seeking guidance on how to revive her stained baking trays.
She included a photo, revealing that it was smothered in black charred food and grease, posting: “How to clean an oven tray?
“I already tried dish soap, vinegar and scrubbing with baking soda… but it’s still very bad.”
Fellow group participants quickly swamped the comments with recommendations, with one peculiar suggestion appearing to catch attention.
Apparently, all you require to make your oven trays gleam once more is a few tumble dryer sheets.
One person commented: “Put enough hot water to cover it and place a dryer sheet in it. Let it soak about an hour and you can just wipe it clean.
“It works great in glass casserole dishes; anything that gets burnt or stuck in any pan or dish. My cousin told me this and I tried it and I was surprised how it wipes completely clean with no scrubbing.”
Another wrote: “Try soaking it with a dryer sheet like Bounce and hot water. Let it soak. Works like magic.”
A third also praised the benefits of dryer sheets, commenting: “Soak a dryer sheet and [dish soap] overnight (add water to the top). Use an SOS or Brillo and it comes right off.”
Another person said: “Try some dryer sheets overnight.”
Dryer sheets are incredibly budget-friendly, with a pack of 40 costing as little as £2.50 from Tesco. They also typically have a delightful fresh fragrance, so using them to clean your oven trays will make your entire kitchen smell wonderful.
There’s also minimal effort required, particularly if you opt to soak them overnight. Responding to this suggestion, another cleaning enthusiast wrote: “Sometimes this method requires overnight soaking but it’s worked for me for years.”
Other popular recommendations included using another common household item – a dishwasher tablet. One person commented: “Fill with boiling water and a dishwasher tablet to soak.”
Another echoed: “Boiling water and a dishwasher tablet, let it sit until water cools then scrub.”