Life Hack: Can you really use grass to clean grime off your oven shelf?
Can the grass in your garden be a powerful cleaning tool? Picture: iStock
A strange cleaning trend is doing the rounds in cleaning groups on Facebook and further afield, and when it was first mentioned to me I thought it was a joke. However, it’s a surprisingly effective cleaning method that takes minimal effort: all you need is time and patience.
Earlier this month, former Great British Bake Off winner Nancy Birtwhistle revealed she also swears by the method to clean her oven shelves as it fits in with her eco-cleaning ethos. Speaking on BBC Morning Live she shared her favourite oven-cleaning hack, which involves the grass in your garden.
“You pull your oven shelf out and you think, where has all this come from, all this burnt-on, solid gunk?” she said.
“In the past, I used to resort to chemical-heavy cleaners but I don’t now. I take my shelf outside and throw it into the long grass, leave it there 24 hours and then the next day, dry cloth and just wipe it.
“In the summer you can just lay loose grass clippings over it and just use the grass clippings to clean up - your barbecue racks as well.”
While she is unsure of the science behind the hack, Birtwhistle says she believes the water in the grass “softens all that greasy burnt-on stuff.”
Yes, it seems too good to be true, but devoted followers of cleaning queen Mrs Hinch also vouch for the bizarre method. Members of the ‘Mrs Hinch cleaning tips and tricks’ group on Facebook, which has 1.2 million members, are sharing their results following the hack and it is all positive.
“One of my shelves is over 25 years old and holy smoke, it’s totally gleaming,” one person writes, while another says:
It seems the hack has been around for quite a while and may have had its origins in camping. One person on Mumsnet writes: “I never thought to do this with an oven, but when camping I have always boiled up some grass to clean the pans.”
If you choose to try this, simply remove the shelf from your oven, place it on a lawn and leave it out overnight (or ideally for 24 hours) so dew will form on the grass by morning. The next day, bring them inside and wipe them clean.
The grease and grime should easily wipe off, though you may need a scourer for some tougher marks. While the heat of the oven would surely kill off any bacteria, it is best to give the shelf a clean before reinstalling it.
