Tag Archives: electric stove top

How To Clean Your Stovetop

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Pots boil over. Taco fillings overflow. Pancake batter spills off the griddle. It happens, and often results in burnt on messes that are difficult to clean. But we’ve been around a stovetop or two, and lucky for you, are sharing our knowledge on how to clean your stovetop. Roll up your sleeves and get started.

How to Clean Porcelain Stovetop

gas-stove-top-cleaning-tips

No. 1 Enemy: Clean up spills containing acids, such as vinegar and tomato, as soon as the surface is cool enough, as they could affect the finish.

Tool: Nonabrasive plastic scrubbing pad and cooktop cleaner. Mr. Clean Magic Eraser saves a lot of elbow grease.

Timesaver: Throw grates in the dishwasher on the most powerful cycle you have. It’s recommended to give it a good bath in the sink first, but if you have a great Warners’ Stellian dishwasher, no pre-rinsing necessary!

DO NOT: Put caps on the dishwasher or reassemble caps on burners while they are wet. If you put caps back on the burners while they are wet, it could lead to future issues with trying to ignite your burners.

How to Clean Glass/Ceramic Stovetops

how-to-clean-ceramic-stove-top

No. 1 Enemy: Sugary spills (jellies, candy, syrup).

Tool: Cooktop Scraper or a razor blade. Clean while the cooktop is still warm, wearing oven mitts if necessary.

Culprit: Heavy soil, dark streaks, specks, and discoloration

Tool: Cooktop Polishing Cream or soap and water (and some elbow grease!). Do like Mr. Miyagi taught you: wax on, wax off until white film disappears and takes mess with it.

Culprit: Burned-on soil

Tool: Cooktop Cleaner and Cooktop Scraper (or razor blade). First apply cleaner. Then scrape surface keeping blade as flat as possible. Finish polishing cooktop until film disappears.

Culprit: Overboiling residue

Tool: A melamine sponge (aka Mr. Clean Magic Eraser) eliminates the evidence quite well.

How to Clean Cast Iron Grates

cleaning cast iron grates

Here are some steps recommended by Wolf appliances, which we picked up after a smart question from one of our customers.

Step 1: Remove grates from unit and place on a flat surface near the sink to clean. DO NOT immerse in water. Towel dry.

Step 2: Use a no-scratch cleaning pad to scrub with hot water and mild detergent or a paste made of baking soda and water.

Step 3: If needed, use a degreaser, such as Formula 409. Then, rinse and towel dry.

Step 4: In a worst case scenarios, spot clean with Fume-free Easy Off or use Carbona Oven Rack Cleaner.

For more background, read this post. HOW TO: clean cast iron grates.

How to Clean Stainless Steel Cooktop

how to clean stainless steel cooktop

You might have a full stainless steel stove top under your grates.

First try stainless steel cleaner. For tougher messes, try a Mr. Clean Magic Eraser. Always go with the grain for best results.

How To Clean Stove Drip Pans

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Cleaning your stove top is like making the bed: even if you do it today, you’re still going to have to do it tomorrow, too.

If you have an electric coil stove you have drip pans, which – by name – catch drips. Even if you clean your range top often, it’s a mess the next time you cook. Make cleaning drip pans easier with these methods.

How To Clean Stove Drip Pans Fast

The fastest, easiest – and perhaps even most effective way to clean the surface – is with Mr. Clean Magic Eraser, or a generic version of this melamine foam sponge.

It looks like an ordinary sponge, but because it’s melamine, it actually has little microscrubbers that can remove discoloration and baked on mess with minimal elbow grease.

That being said, it is abrasive in nature so it can scratch or dull surfaces if you’re not careful. Let’s save this cleaning method for Why didn’t you tell me you’re mother was visiting? times.

How To Spot Clean Stove Drip Pans

For day to day drips and stains, make sure the burner’s completely cooled and pull it up and out from the stove top. Wet the drip pan and sprinkle on a liberal amount of Bar Keeper’s Friend. Use a rag to work the cleaner into a paste and polish off the mess. Rinse and dry thoroughly before replacing the pans.

How To Deep Clean Stove Drip Pans

Pick a time when you don’t need to use your sink or stove for several hours, like right before bed or work. Again, wait until the stove is cool and remove the burners. Put each burner pan in separate gallon plastic bags. Add 1/4 cup of ammonia to each and fill the remainder with hot tap water. Close the bags and let them sit overnight (or for several hours).

Then, drain the bags and scrub off the loosened mess. Rinse well before applying any other cleaners, as ammonia can create toxic fumes when mixed. Rinse and dry thoroughly before replacing.

Bonus: Clean drip pans for your electric stove don’t just serve cosmetic purposes; keeping the surface reflective ensures the most efficient use of heat, meaning you’ll use less energy when you keep your burners and drip pans clean.

How do you keep your stove drip pans clean? Tell us in the comments!

What Is An Induction Cooktop?

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Gas or electric? Home cooks everywhere debate this age old question. They like the speed of electric, but the control and responsiveness of gas. But what if you could get all the good qualities of gas and electric cooking in one? Well you can. It’s called induction.

How Does Induction Work?

Instead of using an electric or gas-heated element, induction cooktops use electric currents to heat pots and pans directly through magnetic induction. If you want to get more technical, the electric current passes through a coiled copper wire under the cooking surface, creating the magnetic current. This only works with magnetic cookware, such as cast iron or stainless steel. To know if your cookware would work with induction, try sticking a magnet to the bottom.

Induction Cooktop Benefits

What do you lose with induction? All the wasteful energy loss. Cooking with induction is 70% more efficient than gas and 20% more efficient than electric. Because the heat is direct, your pots and pans heat up quicker. In fact, boiling is 50 percent faster with induction than electric cooktops. Home cooks appreciate the precise temperature control induction provides.

Cleanup is easier  because spills don’t burn onto the surface. You can stick a hundred-dollar bill between an induction burner element and a pot of boiling water without worry. This also makes induction cooktops popular choices for kid- and pet-safe kitchens.

Due to its recent rise in popularity (induction has been around since the ’70s but only took off recently), brands now make induction ranges in addition to induction cooktops. We can’t wait to see more people delight in the ability to cook like they’re using gas without the cost and hassle of switching from electric.

Featured image via Frigidaire