The Bathroom Staple That'll Make Cleaning Your Oven So Much Easier

If there's one kitchen cleaning task that so many people love to avoid, it's cleaning the oven! When was the last time you cleaned yours? Well, this bathroom staple may change your mind — it's a cheap solution that makes cleaning your oven much easier.

Toothbrushes are ideal for scrubbing the grates on the side walls of the oven, and the oven grates themselves. The bristles are strong enough to scrub and remove all the grease and grime but gentle enough that they won't scratch or damage the enamel. You can use a plain old toothbrush in the same way. It's a great way to recycle if you want to help save the planet and can be a safer alternative to harsh scrubbers.

You should never use a metal scourer, even when food has been burnt on, as it will damage the inside surface of your oven. This could lead to the metal underneath the enamel being exposed and rusting (not something you want to have in your oven when you're cooking food for the family!)

To try out this cleaning hack, use a firm toothbrush. The aim is to reach into nooks and crannies and scrub out dirt with those bristles, so they need to be strong. You'll need your usual cleaning products, whether a popular household brand of oven cleaner or a natural oven cleaning paste made from bicarbonate of soda mixed with water and white vinegar, which react together to create a fizzing foam.

To prep your oven for cleaning, apply your cleaning product to the inside of the oven and the individual grates the night before and leave to soak. This will do most of the legwork, or armwork in this case! When it comes to scrubbing, have a small dish containing cleaning product to dip your toothbrush in while working on your oven, and get to work scrubbing to loosen the dirt and then brush it out of the corners with sweeping motions ready for wiping clean later with a wet cloth or sponge. Use your toothbrush to scrub up and down the oven grates on the inside walls of the oven and the removable tray. It'll make cleaning in between the grates a joy!

What puts most people off cleaning the oven is the inconvenience of having to get down on hands and knees, bending in awkward positions to get inside the oven to clean the hard-to-reach areas. The beauty of the humble toothbrush is that it's the perfect size and shape, with the extra length of the handle making it even easier to reach those far corners of your oven and scrub out any stubborn dirt. It can be more challenging to do this with sponges, clothes, and other scourers. Plus, a toothbrush won't damage the enamel even if you use it vigorously.

Soaking the bristles of your toothbrush in a good oven cleaning product will create plenty of lather so that you can more effectively loosen and sweep out any stubborn dirt from the corners and grooves. Toothbrushes are also the perfect tool for cleaning in between the wire grates after they have been soaking in cleaning products overnight. Sweeping the brush up and down will loosen all dirt particles so that they can be rinsed off easily with water under the tap.