In this article, we tell you how to clean oven trays or oven dishes with baking soda and vinegar.
Baking trays are one of the most difficult items to keep clean in our kitchen. We use them all the time and try to rinse them as soon as we’re done using them, but it appears that getting that thorough deep clean every time just isn’t realistic.
Like most people, we’re fed up with throwing out baking trays every time they look a little bit old and tatty. Realistically they function as perfect as ever, but there is something about that dark grease stain that makes us go ‘I don’t want to put my food on that.
This is why instead of wasting money. We decided to look into deep cleaning methods that we could quickly use without spending hours fighting grime. Natural products are always our preference, not only do they cost less and are more available than chemicals, but they’re also kinder to the environment.
Why use baking soda and vinegar for cleaning baking trays?
The truth is, baking soda and vinegar are the elite natural cleaning combination for fighting grease. Baking soda has an alkali base, making it the perfect tool to dissolve dirt and grease - those two pesky items that are staining your baking tray. The vinegar acts as an explosive lifting agent. The acidic nature of vinegar complements the baking soda by acting as the powerful elbow grease needed to lift the grime away from the tray.
The two together? An incredible combination that will get underneath the problem, lift it away and dissolve the remainder. This is why it’s a great method for cleaning most items in your kitchen. Especially baking trays. But there are a couple of methods on how you can use the ingredients. Take a look at our most popular tactics.
Method 1 - The paste and wait
For this method, you’ll need to have some time on your hands. In a separate bowl, slowly mix the baking soda with drops of white vinegar. When we say mix them slowly, we really do mean it. The last thing you want is a really runny paste because you were too keen with the vinegar.
Once you’ve combined the two to create a nice paste, it’s time to apply it to the baking tray that you wish to clean. Be generous when you apply it, it’s certainly better to have too much than too little. Pay extra attention to problem areas and build them up with paste where possible. You may need to mix more paste and apply it to ensure decent coverage.
Once the paste is applied, all you need to do is wait! A couple of hours should suffice but overnight would be a great way to ensure there’s little need for round two. Once the paste has dried out, all you need to do is give it a gentle hand wash. Remove all the paste and with it should come the grease and grime too!
Method 2 - The dash and splash
This one is for those baking trays that are just starting to stain. Perhaps not the deepest way to clean them and more of a prevention method but still a powerful one nonetheless.
Grab your tray and lay it on a flat surface, then sprinkle it with baking soda. Be sure to be generous and add extra where build-up is starting to cause issues. Now it’s time to get your marigolds on as you’re going to need to use your hands to scrub this one.
Squirt some white vinegar directly onto your rubber gloves, as if you were applying anti-bacterial hand gel. They want to be covered but not dripping wet. Then it’s time to get scrubbing. It’s important that your baking tray is on a flat surface so you can use both hands to get into all the corners.
Depending on how stubborn the stains are will depend on how long and how much effort will be required in this method. Once you’re done, simply wash the baking tray like normal under the sink with warm soapy water.
You’ll instantly notice a difference in your baking tray and you won’t have had to wait around all day for it either. Win-win!
Now you understand why baking soda and vinegar are such a powerful cleaning product combination on baking trays, you might be tempted to use them on other kitchen items. Before doing so, just check that the combination of the two products will not harm the item. A quick Google search should suffice. Due to the natural ingredients, it’s highly unlikely that many items would be affected but it’s always best to check.
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