Fat, leftover food, escaped breakfast, accidentally sprinkled seasonings… All of these make up our daily activities in the kitchen, and it’s okay that we sometimes make mistakes while cooking.
However, all our mistakes are clearly visible in the state of our stove. We can have different types of stoves: gas, electric, induction – but for all of them there is one rule: remove the mistakes as quickly as possible.
The longer the accidentally boiled porridge or splashes of fat from the frying pan remain on the surface of the stove, the more difficult it’s to scrub them in the future. Fat has a very unpleasant property to dig into the surface and stay there for a long time.
Table of Contents
How Frequent to Clean a Stovetop
If you have just poured soup on the stove, then remove it immediately. Anyway, it’s better to do some cleaning procedure at least once a week, because it helps to prevent the formation of harmful bacteria on the surface of the stove and maintains a pleasant appearance.
What you may need for cleaning a stovetop
Depending on the method of cleaning and the severity of the stain, you may need the following tools:
- Bucket
- Soft sponge
- Small rag
Paper towels- Spray
- Plastic scraper or razor blade scraper
From specialized stain cleaners and solutions, you can use:
- Dishwashing liquid
- A special cleaner for the surface of your cooker (for induction cookers, for example, or for stainless steel)
- Baking soda
- Distilled vinegar
- Warm water
If you have a Ceramic Glass Stovetop
You should start cleaning with the stove turned off and completely cool. Then you need to prepare a special solution for cleaning the ceramic surface. Just mix a glass of warm water with a teaspoon of dish soap.
If you decide to use a special cleaner for ceramic surfaces, follow the manufacturer’s instructions.
What should you do if there are still areas with burnt food on the stove after cleaning?
Follow the directions:
- Take Distilled White Vinegar
- Now find a soda
- Apply vinegar to the surface of the stains
- then sprinkle the vinegar with baking soda (There will be foam!)
- Cover this area with a slightly damp tea towel
- After 15 minutes, remove the residue with a sponge
If there is still debris, use a razor scraper. Just be careful not to scratch the surface!
If you have an Electric Coil Stovetop
Step 1. Hot cleaning the coils
If there is dirt on the coils, we are ready to open your eyes to one big, but small secret: fire burns absolutely everything.
Just turn on each coil for about 3-5 minutes and you’ll see that all the food has burned out. If that didn’t help, open windows and turn on the hood.
Turn on the coils again, but for a longer time, until the food turns to charcoal. Then cool the stove completely and start cleaning the rest of it.
Step 2. Cold cleaning the coils
Remove the coils from the stove. Put the coils into warm soapy water. And leave there for 10 minutes. During this time, you can go through the next point of this list, but then be sure to return to the coils.
Step 3. Clean the Drip Pans
The pallets are located under the coils. You need hot water and soap again, but now you need to pour them into a larger container, such as a basin.
This way you can put all removable items in the water at once. Keep them there for 10-15 minutes and then towel dry.
Point 4. Clean Under the Stovetop
Some stoves can be opened. Remove the top panel, like a car hood and rinse everything inside. If your stove is not a transformer, then you can still use a slightly damp ladder to clean the surface.
Point 5. Clean the Stovetop Surface
The actions at this point are absolutely identical to those that we wrote for cleaning a ceramic stove. Just look at “What should you do if there are still areas with burnt food on the stove after cleaning?” and follow the directions.
At the end of all procedures, be sure to dry the stove. Electric stoves are susceptible to slight damage if water gets on the exposed parts of the stove. So make sure the item is completely dry and then reassemble it.
If you have a Gas Burner Stovetop
Step 1. Removable parts
Gas stoves have a simple structure and are quite easy to use and clean. As it’s described in the paragraph above – you should remove all removable parts – grates, plates and burner controls and soak them in a basin or bucket full of warm soapy water. 15 minutes is enough for them to soften the stubborn dirt and it can be easily removed with a sponge.
Step 2. Vinegar’s help
Now you must turn to vinegar again. This product is surprisingly versatile for cleaning the home, and it again can help with stoves.
First, wash the stove with warm soapy water, and if burnt food remains there, pour vinegar over it, then sprinkle with soda and let it settle, having previously covered it with a damp cloth.
After 15 minutes, any heel can be easily removed with a sponge.
Step 3. Dry that all
So, you already know how to achieve the best result with the stove grates and other removable parts. Just use an abrasive sponge and warm soapy water. In some cases, a razor blade scraper or toothbrush may come in handy.
Anyway, the cleaning process is simple enough for any Stovetop. The main thing is to be careful not to spoil the surface of the stove with hard objects.
Anthony Taylor here, I created Clifandcleaning.com to give people a better product insight before they make that all-important purchase.
Modern induction cookers require special cleaning agents. The surface is very easy to damage. I would prefer a gas stove as before, but there is no gas line in our house.
I use vinegar and paper napkins. And that’s all!