Haha, patience is definitely the secret ingredient nobody mentions! Have you ever tried soaking your oven racks in the bathtub overnight with hot water and dish soap? I know it sounds weird (and yes, your family might give you funny looks), but it seriously loosens up all that baked-on gunk. I did this after moving into a house where the oven looked like it hadn't been cleaned since disco was popular... worked surprisingly well.
Also, has anyone experimented with lemon juice or citrus-based cleaners? I've heard they're pretty effective at cutting grease naturally, but I'm skeptical about how they'd handle really stubborn stuff. Baking soda and vinegar are great for everyday grime, but sometimes you just need something stronger—or a whole lot more elbow grease than you'd planned on using.
"Have you ever tried soaking your oven racks in the bathtub overnight with hot water and dish soap?"
Did this once—worked great, but my kids thought I'd officially lost it. 😂 Lemon juice is decent for freshening up surfaces, but honestly, for the really nasty stuff, I still cave and grab the store-bought degreaser.
Tried the bathtub trick once—worked surprisingly well, but felt kinda weird rinsing grease out of the tub afterward. Wonder if baking soda would help boost lemon juice's cleaning power for tougher grime? Might test that next time...
I've tried baking soda with lemon juice before, and honestly, it wasn't as impressive as I'd hoped. Sure, it fizzed up nicely, but the cleaning power didn't seem much stronger than lemon juice alone. Maybe it's just me, but for really stubborn grease, I've found vinegar and dish soap combo works better. Plus, no weird bathtub aftermath—because yeah, scrubbing grease out of the tub is not my idea of fun... Have you considered trying that instead?
Yeah, baking soda and lemon juice can be a bit overrated sometimes. I've had similar experiences—lots of fizz, not much muscle. Vinegar and dish soap is definitely more reliable for greasy messes, especially around the stove. And totally agree about the bathtub thing... been there, done that, never again. Glad you found something that works better!
