Keeping
your stovetop clean is important for safe cooking. Grease splashes and cooked on food can be dangerous as they continue to burn right on or next to the burner. Glass stovetops require extra care as any spills and splashes can quickly become permanent markings and stains if not removed promptly. Follow these steps to keep your stove looking and working great.
You Will Need:
- Green scrubbing pads
- Grease-fighting dish soap
- Clean cloths or sponges
- Mr. Clean Magic Eraser
- Kitchen Cleaner
Steps to Clean A Gas or Electric Coil Stovetop:
- Begin by using a soft cloth or sponge to wipe away any crumbs or loose debris.
- Next, remove the drip plates and burner grates. Place these in a sink filled with hot water and dish soap.
- Allow the removable parts to soak overnight to loosen the burnt on food and debris.
- Most stove tops have a cover that lifts up to allow for easy cleaning of food bits and spills that may fall through the drip plates.
- Unplug the stove and carefully lift the stovetop cover and remove any loose debris from underneath.
- A wet sponge or Magic Eraser is helpful for removing any dried spills.
- Once clean, close the top.
- Once the drip pans and burner grates have had a chance to soak, scrub them clean.
- Use a good quality cleaner along with green scrubbing pads or scrub brushes to remove as much of the burnt on food as possible.
- Rinse completely with clean water and dry with a soft cloth.
- Once the surface and underneath is clean, take a few minute to remove the knobs and clean them.
- Wipe down all surfaces with a kitchen cleaner to remove any remaining residue.
- Replace the knobs, drip plates, and burner grates.
- Plug the stove back in, and you are finished!
Steps to Clean A Glass/Ceramic Stovetop:
- Start by wiping as much of the surface debris away as possible with a clean, soft cloth.
- Next, tackle any burnt on stains or spills. There are a variety of guides on our site to remove all kinds of foods, plastic, and other items that are commonly adhered to the heated glass surface. The Magic Eraser is effective in removing many simple surface stains and build up. There are also a variety of commercial products available that will remove burnt on food without damaging the surface.
- Once the specific stains are removed, remove the knobs and clean the control panel.
- Wash and dry the knobs.
- Replace the knobs and give the surface a final wipe down with a kitchen cleaner.
Additional Tips and Advice
- Regular wipe downs and cleanings will prevent the need for frequent extensive cleanings. Clean spills up as soon as the stove cools down after use. Once food and spills are cooked again, they become more difficult to remove, especially for glass stovetops.
- Never try to clean a hot stove. Always allow the surface and all parts to cool completely before cleaning.
- Read your owner’s manual for any warnings against certain cleaning products. If you are unsure of a cleaning product, test a small area first to ensure there is no damage or discoloration to the surface. Glass cooktops are more prone to damage and cannot be cleaned with certain chemicals.
If the burners and the black grates on your stove are really gross, put them in the kitchen sink and then spray them all over with oven cleaner. Let them sit for a while, then rinse all the cleaner off. Any caked-on gunk that’s still on the burners should come right off after that. Use a pin to poke baked-in food out of the gas holes in the burners. Just be careful not to get any of the cleaner on your hands!
If you don’t want baked-on food and grease all over your stove, wipe up any mess you make as soon as you make it. Spills are only hard to get off the stove when you let them cool and harden and then heat the stove up again with the mess still there.
Powdered cleaners in a can will get off hardened grease, and Bar Keepers Friend or Bon Ami (the one with the little chick on it) won’t leave scratches on the enameled parts of your stove. I know they make gel-type cleaners that are supposed to do the same thing, but I’ve never been able to get the really tough grease spots off with anything but powdered cleaner.
Some grease won’t come off no matter how much you clean it, especially if it’s been there for a long time. But if you’re careful, you can use the same kind of flat razor you would use to scrape decals off of glass and just scrape the grease spots off the enamel.
You can substitute the Scrubbing Bubbles kind of bathroom cleaner for oven cleaner when it comes to cleaning off the top of the stove and the burners. Don’t ever try to use it inside the oven though, because it isn’t safe to do that. Bathroom cleaner isn’t made to be heated up; regular oven cleaner is.
Be careful! You shouldn’t use cleaning powder or steel wool pads on a flat top stove, just use gentle liquid-type cleaners and a soft cloth or a sponge. And don’t leave anything spilled on it, clean up spills and splashes before they can dry and get hard.
I burnt sugar on my glass top from peanut brittle and left it there for a few days, cooking on it in the mean time.
Husband carefully scraped it all off with a new razor blade. No scratches left behind! I have a Kenmore with the painted pan spots on the top.
I have been using dry baking soda for stains on enamel. Just dampen a cloth or sponge and work it into the spot. Doesn’t scratch the surface.
Easy Off oven cleaner. I use it on everything.
From my stainless steel pans that get black on the bottom and burnt food inside to the top of my glass top stove. It works great on old dried grease, burnt foods, and anything that I can’t get off with normal scrubbing.
I own a restaurant, and it is hard to wipe my stove all day long. At the end of the day, I use Dyna Foam. It is one of the best cleaners I have ever found that worked on cooked-on grease and food. It is also safe to use on my walls. I also use it in my home stove. You must wear gloves, but it is great and works fast.
I burnt a pot on my glass stovetop and it left a cloudy, smooth stain! Help! How do I remove it?
The controls at the back of my stove are caked with layers of what I believe to be Pam cooking spray. I have tried everything to get it off, including scraping with a razor blade, but no luck. Any ideas, anyone? Thanks!
Magic Eraser worked great on my flat surface stove top.
Any suggestions on how to clean a dull, spotted, smooth, black glass stove top? I don’t want to make it worse by using a product that I shouldn’t.
Thanks!
Bad boil-over of sugar/vinegar mix.
It’s hard as a rock; nothing above made much of a difference until I went to what I felt was my last option… the razor.
But really, it was not very hard and worked perfectly. I don’t have a scratch, but be careful, it would be easy to do if you do not keep the razor flat.
Good luck!
I spray on white vinegar. It works wonders and does not damage the surface.
For black enamel stove tops, clean grease, etc., first with a safe cleaner. I use glass cleaner. Then, spray with white vinegar and polish with a clean microfiber towel. The microfiber towel will polish away streaks that paper towels will not. It will look new again!
The decals around the knobs of my stove top are disappearing from cleaning carelessly around them. Any solution on how to replace them?
There is a stain on the glass bottom of my electric oven which I think is Pam cooking spray that spilled out of a new cake pop pan the first time I used it. The smell from the oven was awful the first time I used it again. I’ve tried baking soda, glass cooktop cleaner, and Magic Eraser, but there is still a shiny baked-on stain and I’m afraid to use my oven. Please help!
An enamel tea kettle stuck to the top of glass top stove. Two small black dots remained. Tried everything. Rental! PLEASE help.
Paula,
It sounds like there was some food residue on the stove or on the bottom of the kettle, which caused the spots. Try using the methods in the guide How to Clean Burnt Food from a Glass Stovetop. Good luck!