Drip pans and rings from the stove used to be cheap enough that I tossed them out when they got covered with hard, caked-on grunge. But then they went up in price, so I wasn’t comfortable doing that as often. Yet it took a lot of scrubbing even make a dent, and getting them thoroughly clean seemed impossible. Then I came across this tip in the Frugal Living section of About.com: Dissolve about a 1/4 cup of baking soda in a large pot of warm water. Add the drip pans ands rings and boil for a few minutes. Let it all cool and then scrub the drip pans. I was amazed at how well it works.
I also started sprinkling baking powder on pans that are hard to get clean and scrubbing with a sponge that has an abrasive side. Works great and doesn’t have the fumes and irritants to my hands that other cleaners have.
Visit Rocks In My Dryer for more real live workable tips from real live people who have tried them. 🙂
Stray Thoughts 
I love baking soda! When I realized how well it actually works,
I have stopped buying all scrubbing typed cleansers! My 14 year old daughter actually had the great idea of washing out a used
parmesan cheese container and using it to sprinkle the baking soda.
I had never heard of boiling it with the drip pans…I’m going
to try that today!
Thanks for the idea!
Great tip!
As for my wrreath – thanks for the message by the way – I fasten things on with a hot glue gun.
Best of luck – happy Fall!
That is a great idea about using a parmesan cheese container to sprinkle baking soda with!!
And thanks, Stacy, for the explanation. I don’t know why I didn’t think of that!
Great idea, thanks for sharing! =)