Tying Two Toothbrushes Together Is The Cleaning Hack You Didn't Know You Needed

You'd be surprised how dirty your oven can get after a roasting session, especially if the food you cook contains a lot of fats and oils. One cleaning brush or a dish sponge wouldn't reach those nooks and crannies the way they should. Fortunately, you can easily remedy this situation without having to make a quick run to the supermarket for a brand-new brush. If you're the type to stock up on enough toiletries, then head to your pantry for a couple of toothbrushes. Instagram user Neide Rahhal shows how to tie together two brushes to create the perfect brush to wrap around and clean your oven wire rack.

If you use your oven wire rack a lot, then you already know that a dirty one will affect the way your food tastes. The rack gets drips and globs that this toothbrush hack would access easier because of the friction created by the bristles facing each other. You get more focus on and mobility around every single wire in the rack. Crafting your DIY oven brush will be light work — you'll only need something waterproof that can hold the two toothbrushes together, such as a durable rubber band or a zip tie. Band the brushes with bristles facing each other until they're tight, making sure they are leveled. You can use it like this to clean your metal rack with a grip. It may be slightly tedious running the brush through each wire, but you'll land a thorough cleanse. 

When your DIY brush is ready, you will want to take out the oven wire rack so you can see what you're doing as you clean it. You also may not want to use an oven cleaner to clean it since the chemicals are often too harsh and too toxic to use in a place where you set your food down to be cooked. A better alternative is cleaning it with baking soda and vinegar, the natural way. While your DIY brush can strike fear into the hardened globs of food on the rack, baking soda and vinegar react with each other to break down stubborn grease stains and can do some of the heavy lifting for you. 

To make your natural cleaning paste, mix three parts water to one part vinegar in a spray bottle and set it aside. Sprinkle baking soda generously over your metal rack. Spray the vinegar solution over the baking soda until all the powder fizzes up. Once it is done reacting, scrub it down with the toothbrushes to further loosen up the grime, and then wipe it all off with a damp kitchen rag or sponge. Go over it all again with another towel, this time soaked in the vinegar solution for an extra cleanse. Now you have a sparkling wire rack, free of dirt and debris, and without any poisonous gases in the air.