Barbara asked: How do I clean burnt on microfiber cloth from a glass stovetop? I was cleaning my stovetop with a microfiber cloth and did not realize the top was still hot. The microfiber cloth is now stuck onto the glass. I have used the stovetop cleaner, scraped it with a razor, used ammonia and Bon Ami powder. Please help with any other suggestions. Thanks!
Removing a burned on mess from a glass cook top won’t be an easy task. Because you can’t use abrasives or scouring pads without damaging the surface, you’ll need plenty of patience to get rid of this mess.
You Will Need:
- Paper towels
- Vinegar
- Single-edge razor blade in a holder
Steps to Remove the Burnt On Cloth:
- Turn the affected burner on low heat. Start with the lowest setting and increase the heat slightly if needed. The object is to try to melt the microfiber again, but you want to soften it, NOT cook it. If it gets too hot, you may have a bigger problem on your hands, namely nasty fumes or a fire.
- Once the cloth starts to soften, turn the burner off and gently wipe it away with a thick layer of paper towels. You may attempt to use the scraper if the mess seems pliable, but you have to be extremely careful not to scratch the surface of the cook top.
- Whether you were able to remove any of the mess by heating or not, you will likely have residue left behind. Allow the cook top to cool completely before continuing.
- Next, soak a thick layer of paper towels in vinegar.
- Lay it over the mess and let it sit for at least 15 minutes.
- Remove the paper towels and, with great care, work on the mess with the scraper.
- Repeat the vinegar application as necessary. You may have to do this several times to get to the last bit of residue.
Additional Tips and Advice
- Do not use abrasive powders, scrubbers or steel wool on glass cooktops. Scratches are difficult, if not impossible, to remove from the surface.
- If this version fails to work, soak a towel in vinegar and allow it to remain on the residue overnight. Make sure the towel is thick enough to stay wet all night, then try to clean again the morning.
I used ice cubes for a few minutes directly on the melted microfiber towel residue, and then scraped repeatedly with a plastic spatula until it all came off. Don’t give up; it takes a lot of scraping with the spatula. I left the water from the ice cubes on while I was scraping. I did not feel comfortable using a razor blade on the glass, but that’s just me. Hope this helps. Thanks for all the great advice! Brian
Thank you so much…will try both suggestions.
Thanks Brian, I had the same problem, and your method worked like a charm!
Thank you very much for the tips; they indeed worked like a charm. It took lots of time and effort with scraping, but there’s no residue left behind! 🙂
I soaked the area with paper towels and vinegar overnight. – that made all the difference. The next morning, I cleaned it off carefully with a new razor blade. Be sure to keep work with the wet surface. It looks like new again – thank goodness. I have learned my lesson when it comes to microfiber towels and glass tops. Don’t worry. I thought it was ruined forever. Have a little patience and take your time. Good Luck.
Thank You! You saved the day! I followed your directions and now my glass stove top is like new again. I was able to remove the burned on microfiber cloth in your easy seven steps.
It happened to me last night and I thought it would be really hard to remove it. I went to Home Depot today, bought the $5 blade scrapper used specifically for glass stove tops…It was so easy and…IT CAME RIGHT OFF! I hope that it will work for you! Good luck!
I didn’t have time for the 15 minute soaks, so I just soaked it before I went to bed and left it overnight. This morning, it came right off, as long as I kept the surface somewhat damp. Worked wonderfully, and thank you so much!
Thank you so much; this worked like a charm! Got the top layer of fiber optic material off with very little residue, but I’m still soaking the glass burner with the paper towels and vinegar for 15 minutes to hopefully take off the little residue that’s there. I am definitely a happy camper as this is a brand new stove! Thanks again for the very helpful tip!
Thank you so much!! Your advice saved my life.
This just happened to me. I burned my fingers removing the cloth; my mistake – was wrong burner on. 🙁 Left it cool until I found advice. My cloth was the one used for polishing. When I went to try your advice, it had cooled and came off with the spatula. I used some ice cubes on the parts that were left; came right off. Never leave clothes on stoves; lesson learned.
I placed a paper towel soaked in vinegar over the fabric remnant(s) – I had this problem on two burners…some of us learn more slowly than others – let it sit for several hours and VERY carefully used a razor blade to scrape those resistant fibers and it worked!! Thank you very much – thought I would have to live with my mistake; nothing is worse than those microfibers!
I used non-fume oven cleaner and left it sitting for about 3 hours. Scrape with a small knife (non-serrated) or spatula and it comes right off.
Genius; the vinegar, low heat, and razor blade worked!
I was so terrified. When making tea, I used a microfiber cloth; accidentally dropped it on glass top burner. Tried paper towel; it singed it…smoke coming from everywhere. We recently bought the house and all the appliances were like-new. I’m not impressed with the upkeep on these appliances, but I googled and used the ice cubes and spatula; it helped, but not fully. I didn’t have full-strength vinegar; I had blend of water/vinegar, so I used it and a paper towel; ten minutes and got most off. It’s much better. I will try again.
Panicked & tried to wipe off pancake mixture with a microfiber cloth & created a huge burnt-on smear. When cool, I got the worst off with a razor blade, but ceramic hob cleaner wouldn’t shift it. Rubbed it with an ordinary pencil eraser, which, with a little effort, got it all off back to new (oven less than week old).
I wiped up some water drops once with a dish towl and it melted and put a melt smear on the cooktop in two places. I cleaned it and razor-bladed it, but finally looked on the internet, for this was slow-going and painful, and tried the baking soda and water trick. That worked great and it’s clean, however I have a small smokey mark with tiny black dots in side where the fabric didn’t adhere I guess (ceramic top is black). I have soaked this with vinegar, peroxide, cooktop cleaner and baking soda and water…and rubbed and buffed and even razor-bladed again with cooktop cleaner and can’t seem to remove it. Any ideas?
So happy – thick cube and razor blade worked like a charm. Looks like new again.
Warming up the area to soften the residue did very little. The vinegar soak did absolutely nothing for me. I made a paste of baking soda/water and “massaged” the area with the back of a spoon. Scraped most of it off with a razor, but it took a long time! Husband put a dab of toothpaste on what was left, rubbed it around and around then scraped it all off with the razor. Whew.
I totally suggest using a good quality glass/ceramic hob scraper. Soaked the affected area with vinegar and used the scraper and it was gone!
The vinegar is what helped me the most, thank you!! I very carefully used a butter knife (just the top edge) after that. I don’t know if that’s recommended, but my mom used to use a butter knife for cleaning everything. It worked for me.
Found a very fine emery board and scraped and rubbed with that in addition to vinegar, heated wash cloth, and ceramic cleaner, but the fine emery board did the final clean up…phew, thanks for help!
Use the cleaning cream that came with your glass cooktop! I had burnt a towel on mine and tried absolutely everything to get it off and all the while I had the cleaning cream and I didn’t think it would work! Sure enough I applied one coat of the Kenmore cleaning cream and it came right off. I was amazed!!
Your method of vinegar worked great for me on the glass of an electric fire place.
White vinegar and a light scrape seems to have done the trick for our fire; thank you for the comments!
Vinegar did not work but a razor blade in the Weiman kit from Wal-Mart carefully at a 45 degree angle worked 100%. Gently scrape the highest areas first. Wipe away, then place the blade flat on a clean spot then with firm steady pressure push forward at a 45 degree angle and it all will come off.