The Dishwasher Tablet Hack You Should Be Using To Clean Your Greasy Oven

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There are lots of affordable hacks for cleaning an oven, but some are better than others when it comes to removing grease. Pairing a baking soda scrub with a vinegar wipe-down can evict this oven grime, which can harden and become difficult to dislodge if it's not addressed right away. However, there's an even simpler way to get the job done: Unlock the grease-fighting power of a few dishwasher tablets. 

Many dishwasher tablets are made of potent detergent designed to dissolve grease and mildly abrasive particles that scour away bits of food stuck to dishes and other hard surfaces. The scouring action is gentle enough to give grease and cooked-on stains the boot without harming glass oven doors and other surfaces that are prone to scrapes when cleaned with super-scratchy products. 

Tablets made of pressed detergent powder — Finish Powerball Deep Clean Fresh Scent Dish Tabs and Blueland Plastic-Free Dishwasher Detergent Tablets, for example — are your best bet for conquering oven grease because they offer just the right amount of abrasion. These tablets are a convenient, low-cost oven-cleaning tool for many households because they may already be on hand and eliminate the need for multiple grease-busting products. Plus, unlike many oven degreaser sprays, dishwasher tablets don't contain ammonia or other caustic chemicals can burn skin or inflame airways. As an added bonus, quite a few dishwasher tablets are formulated to be gentle on the earth. Just be sure not to use dishwasher tablets on self-cleaning ovens, as they may damage some of the parts in these appliances. 

You can use three pressed-powder dishwasher tablets to rid your entire oven of grease and other baked-on gunk. Also, grab some aluminum foil to help scrub away stubborn oven grime and wrap the racks. Once they're fully encased in foil, soak them in a solution made of hot water and one dissolved dishwasher tablet. Let the racks sit in this solution for at least two hours. Then, scrub away any remaining gunk and rinse the racks clean. Return them to your oven once you've finished cleaning the rest of it and allow them to air dry. 

After brushing debris out of the oven's lowermost quarters, grab a second tablet and place it in a bowl of warm water long enough for it to absorb a bit of moisture. Then, use it like a little scrub sponge, buffing away greasy splotches and crusty patches of food baked onto your oven's interior. Move the tablet in small circles, using a small amount of pressure to loosen spills and splatters that have adhered to the oven's floor and walls. Wipe these surfaces with a cloth dipped in soap-free water after you're finished scrubbing.

You'll probably need a third tablet to tackle your oven's door. Repeat the same process you used to clean the interior, dipping the tablet in water when it starts to feel dry. Pressing the tablet into the door with your palm may make scrubbing easier and more comfortable.