I love to cook, and bake, during the holidays. The only problem is that by the end of the season my pots and pans end up looking like this. (YIKES!)

Do yours look the same, covered in layers of baked-on grease, and next to impossible to clean?

Remember a couple months ago how I showed you how to clean a crock pot and make it look brand new? Well I got to thinking, and decided since the Scotch-Brite Extreme Scrub Sponge worked so well on the baked-on crock pot spots, I’d give it a try on my greasy, dirty holiday dishes.

Here’s what you’ll need:

• Dish soap (this one is the best for cutting grease)
• Scotch-Brite Extreme Scrub Sponge

To remove all the gunk, first, place the dishes in the sink, then wet them with warm water, no need for dish detergent, or to soak them first, just get them wet. Next, wet the Extreme Scrub Sponge and apply a little dab of dish soap to it.

Use the scouring pad to scrub the dish in either a circular motion, back and forth, or both. You might have to put a little elbow grease into it, but honestly, you will be amazed at how easily the grease and grime lift from the dishes.

Depending on how many layers of grease are baked onto the dish, some dishes might take a little more scrubbing, or might need to be dunked in soapy water again. For tricky spots, like around the brand name, use a toothpick, or a scraper, to get the grease up. And don’t forget the bottom of the pan!

Watching how easy it is to clean burnt grease off, without having to use any harsh chemicals, is actually pretty addicting, because when you see how easy it is to clean them, you will want to pull out all your pots, pans and baking dishes out, and clean anything that has a grease stain on it!

After scrubbing the grease off with the Extreme Scrub Sponge, rinse it with hot water, wipe it dry, with a paper towel or dish towel, then step back to admire the fact that it looks brand new again! Check out the transformation of my baking dishes.

There really isn’t a whole lot to say about the transformation, other than, “wow, that was so easy, hand me another dish!”

To prevent baked on grease on your cookware, in the future, use aluminum foil to cover your bakeware before adding your ingredients.

NOTE: I do not recommend using this product on non-stick pans, or any frying pan, skillet, etc. coated in a non-stick product, or stainless steel pans, because the sponge could scratch the surface of these products.

Did you know this is one of my most popular posts!? To see more of the posts people love click on the titles below:

• How to Clean Between the Oven Glass
• How to Get rid of HE Washing Machine Smell
• How to Wash Pillows in a Front Loading Washing Machine
• How to Clean Baked on Grease off Pots and Pans
• How to Clean Oven Glass so it looks Brand New
• How to get Nail Polish off Wood Floors
• How to Clean your Dyson
• How to Clean Cloudy Glass
• How to Wash a Baseball Cap
• DIY Homemade Laundry Detergent and WHY it works so well

For your convenience this post contains some affiliate links. Click here to read my full disclosure policy.

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The post How to Clean Baked-on Grease off Pots, Pans & Baking Dishes appeared first on Ask Anna.

#1 How to clean your stone countertops

#2 How to clean even the dirtiest grout and make it look brand new

#3 How to clean your entire shower with steam

#4 How to deep clean your stove and cooktop

#5 How to clean your furniture with steam

#6 Get rid of pet stains without chemicals

#7 How to clean and sanitize your mattress

#8 How to unwrinkle curtains without ironing

#9 How to avoid ironing for those that hate it, like me

#10 How to clean that area of the toilet that gets gross when boys miss

If you didn’t know before, now you know why I love my SteamMachine Plus so much!! You can pretty much clean your house from top to bottom with this bad boy! I’d love to hear what your favorite steam cleaning tip is, leave me a comment and let me know, and enter to win a SteamMachine of your very own! Good luck!!!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Disclaimer – This post is sponsored by HomeRight but all opinions are my own, as always. I will always tell you if I think a product is just “okay” but if I tell you I love it then it means I really LOVE it! I have included a few affiliate links to the products I used in this post, if you buy through the link I get a small commission but you don’t pay a cent more than you normally would. Thank you for supporting Ask Anna!

The post 10 Things you can Clean with Steam Instead of Chemicals appeared first on Ask Anna.

I get asked all the time for an easy way to clean the stovetop and the stovetop grates. I’ve written a post on it before but I just discovered a new sponge from Scotch-Brite Brand so I decided to write another post about how easy it is to clean a stove top without chemicals. If you’ve been following me for a while then you know how much I love the brand and how I’ve always used them for everything. The new Scotch-Brite Extreme Scrub Sponge is super cool because it’s treated to resist bacterial odors so it doesn’t stink up the sink area and has 4x the scrubbing power than the next leading brand on tough baked-on messes, perfect for cleaning up cooked-on food messes on the stove!

I’ll be honest, I don’t let my stovetop stay dirty because a dirty kitchen is a pet peeve of mine, so I called a friend of mine (who has good lighting in her kitchen) and asked her if I could use her stovetop.

The cooked on food and crusty crumbs on her stovetop were perfect for this post.

All you need to clean up a mess like this is the extreme scrub sponge.

Step #1

Remove the grates and set them aside.

Step #2

Get the sponge wet and wipe up any loose crumbs on the stovetop.

Step #3

Remove all the pieces around each gas eye. Set them aside in a bowl of soapy water. (I have always put them in water out of habit but after seeing how well the sponge cleaned the stovetop without pre-soaking, I’d say you don’t really need to put them in water, unless you want to).

Step #4

For tougher baked-on spots turn the sponge over to use the scrubbing side. Gently scrub the dirty areas, making sure to not use too much pressure because you don’t want to scratch the cooktop.

Make sure you also scrub the seam between the eye and the stovetop. The curve of the sponge makes it the perfect shape for getting around the edges.

My friend was so impressed she kept making comments about how she’d never been able to get her stovetop that clean! I ended up leaving her the sponge so she could keep it that clean from now on.

Step #5

Rinse the sponge and then scrub each of the stovetop grates.

All the burnt on food came off so easily but it didn’t really feel like I was doing anything so my friend and I double checked the sponge to make sure it was coming off. Judging by how dirty the sponge was, we decided it was working great!

Step #6

Rinse the sponge thoroughly then scrub each of the gas eye parts. These required a little more scrubbing effort but they are also the part of the stovetop that gets the hottest.

Step #7

Reassemble the stovetop putting all the parts back in place. Then stand back and admire how clean and sparkly your stovetop is and how little effort it took you!

It was so easy we decided to clean my friend’s teapot too.

Make sure when you’re scrubbing certain items that you scrub with the grain, otherwise it will scratch it. Scotch-Brite Brand does not recommend using the extreme scrub sponge on stainless steel appliances.

I know this will help all of you that keep asking me how to clean the stovetop, and it’s grates, and now that you know how easy it is to clean the stovetop without chemicals, you can keep it clean all the time!

The post How to Quickly & Easily Clean a Stove top Without Chemicals appeared first on Ask Anna.

Since 2 years in a row I’ve ended up with wax covered linens I thought I’d take the chance this year to do a little video tutorial for how to get wax off fabric to show you just how easy it really is! Here’s the original blog post from last year.

See, it’s really quite simple, so next time you have a wax disaster don’t freak out, just pull up this video and I’ll help you get it out! This same trick also works on clothes, carpet and hard surface flooring. Those are all the places I can think of right now but honestly every time we’ve used this trick it has worked.

If you are already following me on YouTube, that’s awesome, but if you didn’t know I had a YouTube channel, with lots of great tips, then CLICK HERE to subscribe!

The post How to get Wax off Fabric and Everything Else (Video Tutorial) appeared first on Ask Anna.

Welcome back to another week of “Love to Clean”! Last week I shared all my favorite cleaning products, what I’m currently using to clean my home, and today I’m hear to share why I’m naming the HomeRight Steam Machine Plus as my favorite steam mop. Make sure you stay ’til the end because I’m giving another one away!

It’s actually not quite accurate to say “my favorite steam mop” because the HomeRight steam mop is more than a mop, it’s a SteamMachine! A couple weeks ago I showed you how it could easily clean even the nastiest grout but today I wanted to show you why I love it not just as a SteamMachine, but also just as a basic steam mop. Let me also preface with the fact that this is my 4th steam mop, among ones I’ve purchased and been given as reviews, and this is my most favorite, the one I choose to use when I’m cleaning my own home.

Here’s why I love it –

• It’s light weight (which makes it easy to whip around)
• The triangle-shaped mop head makes it easy to get into corners and around furniture
• The head of the mop also swivels, which makes maneuvering the mop super easy
• It heats up in a flash! I usually don’t have a lot of time to clean so this is a really nice feature.
• The steam heats up to 205 degree temperature which kills 99.9 percent of germs and bacteria (a lot of steam mops on the market do not get this hot so your floors might look clean but aren’t actually clean)
• The steam is hot and the mop puts out the perfect amount so that it cleans but dries quickly. If you have kids you know why this is important! It also makes it so that I’m not worried about water sitting on my wood floors for too long.
• The handle folds down which makes it nice for storing it in the coat closet

Now that I’ve told you why I love it so much, let me show you why I love it. I’m a visual person so seeing something always helps me understand it more, oh and yes, I’m a total goob in this video, I kept saying it “vacuumed” and of course it does not vacuum because it’s a steam mop! I guess it’s that natural blonde coming out.

Now it’s your turn to enter to win one of these amazing SteamMachines! Fill out the Rafflecopter form below to enter to win and good luck! If you don’t win you should still get one, trust me, you will thank me after your first use! You can purchase them on Amazon for $128, and it’s worth every penny, because remember it not only cleans the floors but it’s also cleans grout, around toilets, greasy places in your kitchen, windows, mattresses and so much more!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

The post My Favorite Steam Mop & a Giveaway! appeared first on Ask Anna.