By Jason Fitzpatrick, Lifehacker – March 30, 2010 at 11:30AM
Stoves are magnets for all manner of grease, splashes, and burnt on food. Before you power through the crust with a scouring pad, soften up gunk with this simple trick.
Photo by Attempts at Photography.
Over at Re-Nest, the home-centric blog, they highlight a great way to get your stove top sparkling without using potent chemical cleaners or wearing your elbow out scrubbing:
This is what I do when my stove gets a little crusty and thick with burnt-on stuff (hey, sometimes in the thick of things I just don’t wipe it all up!). I boil water in the kettle, then dribble a very shallow layer of water over the entire stovetop. I let it sit for about five minutes to do its work and to cool off a bit. Then I go at the stove with a soft scrub pad or steel wool if necessary. The crusty stuff comes right off, and I finish up with just a bit of soap and a final rinse. Result: Sparkling clean stovetop!
You’ll need to modify your approach for different kinds of stove tops. If you have a glass induction stove top, for example, you could place a rag on top of the burnt on crust and then pour a little boiling water on the rag to keep the moisture and heat on the grime.
Have a cleaning tip to share? Let’s hear about it in the comments.