Your kitchen benchtop may see a lot of spills and messes, but it’s your stove top that suffers the most! And no, avoiding cooking by ordering some takeaway is not the solution. You’ll need to give your stove tops a thorough washing every week or so to keep them clean.
Cleaning stove tops is essential to keeping a clean kitchen, whether you’ve got gas or electric stoves. You’ll need to wipe down your cooktop after using it (or at least, at the end of the day), but you can put off deep cleaning to once every week or two. Thankfully, you’ll only need a few things for cleaning a stove top – namely dish soap, vinegar, and bicarb soda.
Whether you own a gas burner or an induction cooker, you’ll need to know how to clean a stove top. So keep a clean kitchen – down to the last nook and cranny!
Why Clean a Stove Top?
Well, first of all, it’s just unappealing – who likes to look at a grimy cooktop? But more than that, it’s a health and safety hazard. Dried gunk and food bits can attract pests like mice and roaches to your kitchen. Meanwhile, debris can fall onto the burner heads or electric coil burners.
More than your stove top, though, your whole kitchen should be clean. It’s where you prepare your food, after all – you could get sick if your kitchen surfaces are dirty! Every so often, get an expert house cleaning service to go over the entire space and clean it. Then make sure you tidy up after you cook, too.
Types of Stove Tops
How you clean your stove top depends on the type of stove you own. This will help you pick the correct cleaning methods and natural cleaning products for more efficient tidying up. You’ll also minimise accidents.
There are two types of stove tops: gas and electric.
1. Gas stovetop
With a gas stove top, you cook the traditional way – using a gas-fueled fire. You can control the intensity of the heat used to cook by controlling the strength of the flame. Gas stoves come with grates to elevate your pots and pans over the flame, and burner caps where the flame comes out.
2. Electric or glass stovetop
Instead of using fire as a heat source, an electric stove uses – well, electricity! You have different kinds of electric stoves, such as coil burners, glass stoves, and induction cookers.
Coil stoves are less expensive than induction or glass-top cookers. But glass cooktops are more convenient to use, and add a sleek, sophisticated touch to a kitchen. They’re also easier to clean and store.
Cleaning a Gas Stove Top
There are four main parts to a gas stove: grates, burner caps, burner heads, and the stovetop surface. Each needs separate attention for a clean stove.
To clean a gas stove, you’ll need:
- Dish soap
- A soft sponge
- Vinegar
- Bicarb soda
- A pointed stick or similar tool
- Soft toothbrush
Also, make sure your stove is off (or even disconnected) before you start cleaning!
Step 1: Clean the stove grates and burner caps
To start cleaning a gas stove top, remove the grates and burner caps. Lift them off and pile them in your sink.
If there isn’t a lot of food debris and grease, you can simply wash them with dish soap. Use a non-abrasive or soft sponge so you don’t scrape off any coating. You may need to repeatedly wash them until they stop feeling greasy or sticky to touch.
For tough stains and stubborn grease, give them an initial wash with soapy water. Then mix up a bicarb soda paste – 1 part vinegar, 2 parts bicarb soda, and a few drops of dish soap. Smear the paste on, then let it sit for 20 minutes.
Wash off with a soapy sponge and wipe down with a dry microfibre cloth.
You can also place the grates and caps in the sink, then sprinkle bicarb soda over them. Afterwards, pour boiling vinegar on top. Let that work its magic, then rinse and wash off with soapy water and a sponge.
Step 2: Wipe the burner heads
Wipe the burners with a damp cloth to remove any loose debris. Then carefully use a pointed stick or similar tool to scrape at any notches, grooves, and holes. Be gentle so you don’t leave scratches.
Fill a spray bottle with vinegar (you can dilute it with hot water) and spray the burners. Gently scrub with a clean sponge or old toothbrush. Follow with a clean cloth to dry.
Step 3: Remove debris
Start off by wiping down the stovetop surface with a damp cloth to remove food debris. You can follow with a non-abrasive sponge to remove grease spots. For caked-on food and grease, spread the bicarb soda paste and leave for 10-15 minutes.
Gently scrub off the bicarb soda residue with a soapy sponge. Dry with a clean cloth, then replace all the removed parts for a clean stove.
Cleaning an Electric Stove Top
There are two kinds of electric stove: metal coil burners or glass-top. Induction stoves are made of a glass-ceramic blend, and you can clean them in the same way as a glass cooktop.
Again, make sure your stove is turned off and unplugged before cleaning!
Electric coil burners
If there’s not too much dirt, you can simply wipe the coils quickly with a damp cloth. Turn the burners on high for about 3 minutes to burn off any grime and dirt. Make sure you open a window beforehand!
You can wipe down the burners again after they’ve fully cooled.
If grime has built up, you’ll need to gently pull out the coils and drip pans from the stove. Wash them in warm water and dish soap. Then it’s time for your handy paste of bicarb soda again! Let them sit for 10-15 minutes, then gently scrub off.
For the coils, you can simply scrub them carefully with a dry toothbrush. Lay a few newspaper sheets on the floor to catch the debris. You can spritz on some vinegar to help you along.
Glass stove top or induction cooker
Cleaning a glass-top stove or induction cooker is easy peasy. Wipe down the surface with a dry cloth to remove any crumbs and food bits. Then sprinkle bicarb soda all over the surface.
Fill a spray bottle with vinegar, then spritz it liberally over your cooktop. (Yay, fizzy!) While that’s working its magic, fill a bucket with hot water and some dish soap. Dunk a towel into the soapy water, then wring it out.
Place the towel onto the stove and let it sit for 15 minutes. When time’s up, use the towel to wipe down the surface of your stove top. You can spray some vinegar and wipe the surface again for good measure, then dry with a clean towel.
Stove Top Cleaning FAQs
You’ve got questions – we’ve got answers. Besides cleaning the flat surface of your stove top, what else do you need to tidy up?
1. How to clean a stove top grill plate?
We’ve got two ways for cleaning your grill plate.
First, heat the grill plate on your stove, then hold it under hot running water so the grime sluices off. (Be careful, though!) Use a non-abrasive sponge to scrub off any food bits still clinging to the grill.
The other method is to sprinkle bicarb soda onto the grill plate and cover it with a hot, wet cloth. Let this sit for 30 minutes to loosen the grease and dirt. When time’s up, use the damp cloth to wipe down the surface. Remove any residue with paper towels.
2. How to get melted plastic off a stove top?
Accidents happen (probably more than we like). If you’ve melted plastic onto your stove top, don’t panic!
Sprinkle some bicarb soda onto the affected area, then spritz with some white vinegar. Then use a scouring pad to gently scrub the melted plastic until it comes off. You can keep spritzing vinegar to help you along.
3. How to get burnt grease off a stove top?
The magic of bicarb soda and vinegar will help you here. Sprinkle some bicarb soda onto the stain, then spray the area with vinegar. Let that sit for 10-15 minutes, then gently scrub off with a non-abrasive sponge.
For more stubborn grease, you can use a scraper. Spray some vinegar on the stain, then carefully scrape at the grime. Make sure not to scratch your cooktop!
4. Does glass cleaner work on a glass stove top?
Do not use glass cleaner on your stove top. It may seem logical, but glass cleaners contain chemicals that can damage the glass surface. Vinegar will do well enough.
5. What’s the difference between ceramic and glass stove tops?
Flat-top stoves are generally made of a glass-ceramic blend, so there’s really no difference!
Clean Food = Clean Home
That’s that for how to clean a stove top! The best kitchens have clean stoves that you can eat off – or rather, cook on. They also have clean ovens too. So go ahead and whip up your next meal on a nice clean cooktop. Just remember to keep your stove clean by wiping it down after every time you cook… otherwise, you’ll be in for a lot of scrubbing the next time you clean!
