How often do you clean your stovetop? Do you wipe up spills and splatters right away? Or do you, ahem, let it build up? And after you've got a crust of burnt gunk, how do you clean it up? Here's a tip for those of us who, again, ahem, procrastinate on cleaning the stove. There's a secret weapon we've found for getting it clean with no harsh chemicals and with a minimum of elbow grease.
The secret weapon is simple: Your hot water kettle!
This is what I do when my stove gets a little crusty and thick with burnt-on stuff (hey, sometimes in the thick of things I just don't wipe it all up!). I boil water in the kettle, then dribble a very shallow layer of water over the entire stovetop. I let it sit for about five minutes to do its work and to cool off a bit. Then I go at the stove with a soft scrub pad or steel wool if necessary. The crusty stuff comes right off, and I finish up with just a bit of soap and a final rinse. Result: Sparkling clean stovetop!
Now, this method may not work for all stoves; if you have a ceramic or induction cooktop, check your instructions and documentation. But overall, what's simpler and more kitchen-friendly than hot water? It soaks stuff right off, and is completely natural and chemical-free. The power of boiling water — never underestimate it!
How do you clean your stovetop? Any particular tips or tricks? Favorite products?
Related: What Is the Best Way To: Clean the Refrigerator?
(Images: Faith Durand)
Posted originally from: TheKitchn
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I always cover my stove with aluminum foil... and let the gunk build up. :) But when I swap out the foil with new foil, good as new! Maybe not so green of me, but effective. :)
I do this when I have boiling water left over from hard-cooking eggs or making tea.
Same concept... I soak a dishcloth in hot water and lay it on the burnt-on stuff for about 15-30 minutes. Most times it comes off with one swipe.
I have found that baking soda with a bit of warm water does an amazing job on the stove top. It even took off old stains on our rental unit stove that I had given up on as permanent. It took just a bit of elbow grease, but in about 15 minutes, the stove top looked almost new.
In the past I've always cleaned the stove with a bit of concentrated soap and water, or with baking soda, when it got really bad. That worked fine.
But now I have a lovely old 1940s stove and I am trying hard to preserve and respect its original enamel surface. Though it is mild and fine-textured, baking soda is still an abrasive and it does wear down the enamel -- very slowly! So, instead of using baking soda, I mix a tablespoon or so of powdered oxygen bleach with hot water, swirl it about a bit, and then spray it on my stove top. After it sits for a few minutes, all the grease, cooked-on food, stovetop espresso splatter, and gunk wipe off with a regular kitchen sponge or rag and next-to-no physical effort. No scrubbing.
The only downside to this is that the oxygen bleach and water solution is only good for an hour or so. Generally I solve this problem by cleaning the bathroom right after I do the stove. Or sometimes I do the inside of the oven instead.
I just wait until I need to bake something to clean the stove top. Having the oven on gets the top just hot enough that a plain, old wet rag gets most anything off!
I also bought a $.99 thick, plastic pan scraper from Bed, Bath & Beyond that has been a total savior (tucked away near the other kitchen gadgets). I use it on counter-tops, pans, etc. to get off crusty bits!
I usually wipe up my ceramic top with the dishcloth I used to wash the dishes. Things cook onto the ceramic top quickly and the cloth doesn't get all of it. So about once a week I will follow this routine with a razor scraper and scrape the cooked stuff from the surface, ensuring I don't gouge the surface. It works great.
Be very careful when you do this. I read this very tip and did it last night. The water knocked out my pilot lights. I have spent the last 12 hours in the hospital for carbonmonoxide poisoning and it was the worse pain of my life. I almost died today. PLEASE BE CAREFUL!
@ Kara Rosine --
Oh my gosh! I hope you're okay!
On the topic of the post --
I have an electric stove with drip pans under the burners, so, similar to the first commenter, I just cover the drip pans in foil. That catches all the pesky stuff that would otherwise burn and harden onto the drip pans. I replace them every couple of months, when they get icky. If something spills on the rest of the stovetop while I'm cooking, I just wipe it up immediately so it doesn't get a chance to harden on.
Just use a Margic Eraser soaked in warm water. No soaking or extreme elbow grease required. Those things will take off any kind of stain or burnt on crud.
@Kara Rosine, I hope you are alright. Please get a carbon monoxide detector AND have your house inspected by a professional because I am afraid something else in your home may caused your illness and it needs to get fixed as quickly as possible. Carbon monoxide poisoning occurs when you burn fuels and without a pilot light, nothing should have been burning. There might be something else wrong with your stove or water heater or area heaters. http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/carbon-monoxide/DS00648 and https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carbon_monoxide_poisoning have more information.
Yes, the danger of an unlit pilot light is that it will fill the room with gas and then blow up at the next available spark. Carbon monoxide poisoning results from things like backdrafting of atmospherically-vented water heaters.
Anyway, this is totally ungreen of me, but when I can't get something off the stovetop with soap, hot water, and elbow grease (and I find that with 15 minutes of scrubbing with a scrubby, it really doesn't matter if I'm using baking soda or not), then I spray on some Easy-Off oven cleaner and let it sit for awhile.
Dawn dish liquid, a sponge, Brillo pad and microfiber cloth. I soap up the gas stove top let it work for a few minutes then wipe it up with a microfiber cloth, the hard spots I tackle with a Brillo pad. I should probably try the hot water on a sponge trick for the tough spots since my stove is showing a little abrasion from my Brillo pads.