How to Remove Burnt-On Grease from a Stovetop
It happens even to the best, whether you’re a professional chef for a restaurant establishment or a stay-at-home expert cook for the family, sometimes grease manages to make contact with the stove and burns quite an impression on it. Whether you are a talented cook that experiences this mishap, or someone who isn’t quite so adept with the stove, you can choose to either clean up that burnt-on, greasy mess the hard way or the easy way. And, this issue is apparently problematic enough to give product manufacturers a good reason to come up with their idea of ideal solutions to remove the burnt remains of a grease spill on your stovetop.
Stove Types
There are four main types of stoves most commonly found in a home, namely coil-type, ceramic, glass, and stainless steel. While a ceramic, glass or stainless steel surface is certainly easier to deal with than the ones that have the circular coil versions, there is still the need to be aware of what you’re working with. Because of the ceramic material, you have to keep in mind that it’s not scratch-proof. Whatever you apply to remove that burnt grease needs to be done in a manner that avoids the usage of a cleaning tool that can actually do more harm than good to your stovetop. This can also be said for coiled stovetops, regardless if it’s new or considerably aged.
Coiled Stove Stove Cleaning (with Chemical)
According to the Clean Freak & Germaphobe coverage, there’s no need to spend hours of scrubbing, nor blow a fortune on a collection of chemicals just to get this “icky” job done. You will, however, need a good amount of paper towels as that’s the tool of choice to get rid of what can even be many years’ worth of burnt-on grease. In this video, ammonia was the magic ingredient to soak the coils in a deep enough pan to get the job done, covered with plastic wrap. Should anybody consider this method to clean their stove, definitely wear a pair of quality rubber gloves to protect your hands as the harshness of the ammonia is not something you want to come into skin contact with. And, it wouldn’t hurt to wear eye protection as this tends to be one of the most overlooked parts of the body whenever coming into contact with chemicals. The trick is to soak the paper towels in the ammonia and layer it all out all over the stovetop and cover all of it with the plastic wrap. Let it sit for a solid three hours, allowing the ammonia, the plastic wrap, and the paper towels to do their job. Once those three hours are up, carefully peel away the plastic wrap, then the paper towels. You will already see at this point how effective just doing this alone has been. It’s as effortless as it gets, even when it comes down to rounding up additional paper towels to reach into the little nooks, crannies, and corners that require a little more detailed attention.
Ceramic/Glass Stove Cleaning (with Chemical)
For flat stovetops that are made from ceramic or glass, create a ring around the burner by squirting dish soap straight on the burnt grease. Afterwards, spray vinegar straight on the soapy areas. This starts to break things up a bit, but before doing anything more to it, just leave it alone for half an hour so that the soapy vinegar mix can settle right into the targeted area. This ultimately makes your job easier doing so. After the wait, using a sponge to work away some of that grease is a start, but then it’s time to resort to a razor blade. As scary as that sounds, when angled right and worked right, it does the job without causing damage to your stovetop. The video coverage shows very well how this procedure is done.
Stainless Steel Stove Cleaning
A product known as Bar Keeper’s Friend, mixed with water, does the trick best with stainless steel stoves. This method is acting as a glue of sorts upon the burnt grease stains on the stove, and this is what you want. The idea is to apply this glue-like mixture with a soft cloth right on the grease stains. After the application, let it sit for about ten minutes. This allows the paste to really get into that grease and absorb it. When it’s time to get back to work, it will be easy to get rid of any sign of evidence that you even had anything unsightly there. While this isn’t exactly considered chemical-free, the key ingredient in Bar Keeper’s Friend is oxalic acid, which is found on the leaves of rhubarb. And, majority of the ingredients involved are deemed non-hazardous. Not only does Bar Keeper’s friend work well on stainless steel stoves, but it also works well with ceramic and glass stovetops as well.
Chemical Free Stove/Oven Cleaning
If chemicals are not your thing and you would rather go with a more natural approach, Emily P shares great footage on her YouTube channel of how simply using the mix of hydrogen peroxide and baking soda can get the job done. Even if these ingredients come into direct contact with your skin, there will be no need to worry about what sort of damage it’s going to do to you. It’s harmless, even though may feel a slight bubbly or burning sensation for a few minutes. It won’t eat your skin and even if for some reason you wind up consuming these two ingredients, it’s not going to do anything more than make you feel icky for a few minutes. In fact, baking soda is a common ingredient found in antacids that actually work.