If you’re like me, then you are like Bill Nye the Science Guy in the kitchen. Every dish is a glorious experiment, much to the dismay of my friends and family. Hey, sometimes the food turns out to be delicious, and other times it . . . just . . . doesn’t. Taste buds aren’t the only things that get the brunt of cooking disasters. Kitchenware also endures its own casualties, especially those of the “burnt on” variety!

Sometimes scrubbing just isn’t a pretty option. We all know that laboring over a stubborn speck of “who-knows-what” is not our idea of an awesome Friday night.

Even if you invest in new kitchenware often, a new, shiny silver pan can look like a messy crime scene even after one meal!

Luckily, our friends at NIFTY have found a pan cleaning method that’s very low effort. Get ready to learn the best way to preserve the life of your pans.

Simply follow these step-by-step instructions:

  1. Add a dryer sheet!

    dryer sheet in panNIFTY

    Place a dryer sheet in the middle of the dirty pan. Any brand, variety, or size of sheet will do for this cleaning hack.

  2. Pour in warm water.

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    Then, take a bowl of warm water and wash it directly over the dryer sheet and pan. You’ll definitely want to do this step over the sink!

  3. Introduce some dish soap.

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    Squeeze on a liberal amount of dish soap. At this point, you don’t need to focus on any area in particular. Just make sure that a good amount of the pan is covered.

  4. Wipe it all down.

    dryer sheet spongingNIFTY

    After you have completed the soaping process, stick your hand under the water and start cleaning using a wiping motion with the dryer sheet, as if you were sponging off the caked-on food debris. FYI, this step isn’t meant to entirely clean the pan; you are merely doing this step to spread the soap to all sides of the pan. Don’t worry if there is still grease and crust left over!

  5. Wait an hour!

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    Set a timer for one hour and let the pan soak. In the meantime, treat yourself to a mini-Netflix binge, or paint your nails. You deserve it!

  6. Sponge it up!

    pan spongeNIFTY

    When your hour is up, remove the dryer sheet. After you dispose of it, take a sponge, and start wiping down the pan. Don’t worry—you won’t be needing to do any extra planks in the morning to properly polish this cooking staple. The leftover food particles should simply wipe away very easily, revealing a shiny, clean pan!

    clean silver pan on wood backgroundNIFTY

    How’s that for ‘stress-free’? I even tried this experiment on a pan that I still kept around, but had deemed “too nasty” for use. You wouldn’t believe it, but this method worked liked magic!

    Watch the video below to get some pretty handy visual instructions for this tip.

    Is this dryer sheet method new to you, or have you used it before? Do you use dryer sheets to clean any other things in your home? What is the messiest meal that you have ever cooked? Tell us your thoughts and stories in the comments section below!