Thursday, February 21, 2013

How to clean a drip pan (.10c project)

Drip pans are one of those things that sooner or later will need to be replaced. 
They get dirty, and even regular scrubbing just doesn't cut it.
Until...last night, as the children went to bed, and as I was cleaning up the kitchen, I thought that there needed to be a solution for cleaning this mess. 
I looked under the sink to see what kind of stuff I could find down there...and guess what I found?
Wool steel pads.
I had bought those ($1 for 10) to use in my vinegar stain experiment...but I didn't wanted to use those on our pans.
But really, even if the drip pan got scratched...I would have had to replaced those anyway.
No loss involved.
I started to scrub the side...see what it's happening?
yep, the gunk is being removed 
(that would not come off with dish soap and regular scrubbing action).
I kept scrubbing with the steel wool pad,
and scrubbing,
until the drip pan looked like this!
Like new (almost), but definitely better than it was before.

not bad for .10c

Stay frugal,

15 comments:

NanaDiana said...

Looks good, Dani. I always replace them when we get ready to sell a house. Do you know you can buy new ones for a dollar at the dollar store? But-I can see you saved the 90 cents by cleaning yours! Smart girl- xo Diana

Unknown said...

Pretty amazing stuff that Steel Wool!!!
XXX

Sonny G said...

looks great.. thanks for the tip

Ivy, Phyllis and Me! said...

Good Evening Daniela, What a great job you have made of cleaning your drip trays. In England we can buy steel wool infused with a soapy mixture and we call them Brillo pads. They are very old fashioned, but as you have discovered the steel wool is great for cleaning off stubborn stains. I use them when my baking trays have sticky substances which are hard to remove.
People will be so pleased you shared this tip.
Best Wishes
Daphne

Unknown said...

I like this, I usually use Brillo pads on mine. Mine are stainless steel that came with my stove and I don't want to replace them with cheaper ones that likely would rust.

tree said...

That is amazing! Useful tip. Thanks.

Cristina Garay said...

Wow, like new! I might need to use those on my stove, it doesn't have dripping pans, just a whole black surface that never looks clean!

Amy of While Wearing Heels said...

That is by far my least favorite household task. Your shiny drip pan, though, makes me want to go clean mine. Thanks...I think :)

ℳartina @ Northern Nesting said...

Looks good Daniela!

Kelly said...

That's what I use on mine. I use SOS pads. I have heard you can also use oven cleaner. It just takes longer because it has to sit on them for a few hours. My drip pans are painted white to match my stove and they don't even get scratched with the steel wool. Glad that you discovered this trick!

Revi said...

That's a lot of elbow grease! I've heard you can put them in a gallon zip loc bag with amonia, and leave them overnight. Supposedly they come clean with less scrubbing...
I should try this myself. I do love steel wool pads!
-Revi

Unknown said...

I kind of forget about steel wool for the same reason, I don't use it on my pans. But, your tip is excellent. I have a few nasty pans this would be safe on, thank you!!

xo, Tanya

Leslie Harris said...

Great post Dani. I have stainless steel gas stove top and all around the burners it's turned black, I've had the worst time trying everything to remove those stains. Maybe this? I don't care anymore about scratching the stainless, I just want it gone.
Leslie (Gwen Moss)

Libby said...

Steel wool works wonders. It's time I do mine because when I clean my stove and don't fully clean these pans, it just seems like the job isn't done. And one thing I've noticed is that the original pans that came with the stove seem sturdier than the replacement ones, so I rather keep mine clean as long as I can. Thanks for the reminder!

Anonymous said...

It's funny really - you spend your whole life buying chemical cleaners because that's just "what you do" and then you read posts like this and everything changes... the simple things can be so good sometimes!

Just wanted to say thanks - I've been doing my best to be far more frugal recently. The birth of my 2nd wasn't half as scary as the first... I feel like I can be a good housewife as well as mamma - fingers crossed! One of the things I used to do was use professional oven cleaners. I can't say a bad word about them to be honest, at my various houses over the years I've had them in every few months. I'd been using oven cleaner solihull and I don't mind recommending them, however I am ashamed to say that it's only been recently that I even knew what the word frugal meant! So thanks again for posts like this to help me on my way to being a better stay at home mamma :) x