No matter how hard we may try to keep our baking trays looking as shiny and new as when we got them, they always end up looking a little worse for wear after a few months.
Whether you've lined them with tin foil or baking parchment, somehow the dirt finds itself on your beloved pan - leaving you feeling as if you have to tell dinner guests that 'they are clean!' whenever you pull them out.
If most of the time they look stained, have a layer of grease on that you just can't budge, or bits of burnt food that has gotten lodged in the corners, and replacing them every few months just isn't in your budget...
This simple five-step cleaning hack guarantees to wash all of your worries away - literally, as reported by the Daily Star .
Step one
Grab your dirty baking tray and pour over some boiling water - enough so that it's filled to the brim.
Leave it for a minute before you emptying, and don't dry it.
Step two
Sprinkle on an ample amount of bicarbonate of soda, focusing on places that you really want to clean.
And it has to bicarbonate of soda, not baking powder, as it's much stronger.
Step three
On top of the bicarbonate of soda add a layer of salt.
Any type of salt will do, but it's said that coarse sea salt works best.
Step four
Into an empty spray bottle add white wine vinegar or apple cider vinegar, and spray liberally over the bicarbonate of soda and salt concoction you've made.
When it fizzes, you know it's working.
Step five
Finally, with a slightly damp heavy-duty scourer or steel wool, scrub every inch of your pan.
You can also use a ball of scrunched up tin foil to do this, if you don't have anything else at hand - but this is only if your pan is made only of metal, and doesn't have a special coating.
You'll notice as you start scrubbing, the ingredients will form a paste.
After around five to ten minutes, give your pan a final rinse in the sink and it should be as good as new.
Do you have a clever cleaning hack to share? We want to hear from you! Email yourmirror@mirror.co.uk
