Ditch the oven cleaners — this piece of fruit saved me hours of scrubbing greasy grime

(Image credit: Shutterstock) When it comes to household chores, deep cleaning the oven is easily my least favorite. The idea of spending hours scrubbing away months of accumulated grease and dried food is far from appealing.That’s why I’m always on the lookout for easy hacks and tips to make oven cleaning a breeze — sparing me the time and manual labor. And despite my trusted arsenal of store-bought sprays and natural remedies like baking soda or vinegar, removing burnt-on grime from the back of the oven always required some elbow grease.That was until I decided to put this viral hack to the test, just using one popular item from my fruit bowl. While I’ve seen this tip floating around on my socials, I wasn’t entirely convinced it could do a good job.You simply cut lemons into a bowl of water before placing it inside the oven. Crank up the heat for some time before turning it off, and then let the steam do its work to dissolve grease — making cleaning a lot easier.But can lemons really clean my oven? Here’s what happened when I put it to the test.How to use lemons to clean your oven Lemons on white countertop (Image credit: Future)There are so many things you didn’t know you could clean with a lemon, and it turns out the oven is one.First, I sliced up the lemons and dropped them into a water-filled bowl, squeezing in extra juice for good measure. Next up, I preheated my oven at around 250°F before putting the bowl inside.Get instant access to breaking news, the hottest reviews, great deals and helpful tips.I set my oven timer for 30 minutes (you may need a bit longer for stubborn grime) —giving the fresh steam enough time to evaporate. Lemons next to bowl with slices in water (Image credit: Future)Once the time was up, I let the bowl sit inside for a further 60 minutes to let the steam work its full magic and loosen the caked-on residue.Then, after the oven had completely cooled down, I removed the bowl, dipped my cloth into the warm lemon water, and used it to wipe away the loosened grease and grime. Lemons in bowl inside oven (Image credit: Future)To my surprise, residue and burnt-on grime lifted off in seconds, and the area was much easier to clean without all the frantic scrubbing. After rinsing my cloth with clean water, I managed to clean inside my greasy oven in just a few swipes. Impressive.Granted, it may take you a little longer to clean if you have a larger (or dirtier) oven. In that case, you may need to combine this lemon hack with other oven cleaning methods or products. Cleaning inside oven with cloth (Image credit: Future)However, if you just want a simple and fuss-free way to get rid of light grease and grime, steaming lemons works surprisingly well.Best of all, it left my kitchen smelling beautifully fresh and zesty — which is always a huge bonus after cleaning.In fact, you could even use lemons in your dishwasher to make your entire kitchen smell fresh. Here's how.What other citrus-y based kitchen hacks do you know? Drop a line in the comments! Follow Tom's Guide on Google News and add us as a preferred source to get our up-to-date news, analysis, and reviews in your feeds. More from Tom's Guide7 things you should never clean with white vinegar7 ways you can use lemon juice in your laundry routineI tried this TikTok lemon hack to remove limescale on faucets As the Homes Content Editor, Cynthia Lawrence covers all things homes, interior decorating, and garden-related. She has a wealth of editorial experience testing the latest, ‘must-have’ home appliances, writing buying guides and the handy ‘how to’ features. Her work has been published in various titles including, T3, Top Ten Reviews, Ideal Home, Real Homes, Livingetc. and House Beautiful, amongst many.With a rather unhealthy obsession for all things homes and interiors, she also has an interior design blog for style inspiration and savvy storage solutions (get rid of that clutter!). When she’s not testing cool products, she’ll be searching online for more decor ideas to spruce up her family home or looking for a great bargain!