How to clean gas stove top with baking soda and vinegar

It is best to wipe up cooking spills as you make them, but that doesn't always happen. No matter how carefully you try to clean as you go, you sometimes have to clean burnt on food and grease from the grates and burners on your gas stove. Fortunately, you don't have to turn to chemical cleaners. There are natural options available.

Table of Contents Show

• Instructions for Grates
• Cleaning Burners
• Vinegar and Baking Soda
• Method for Grates
• Method for Burners
• Lemon Juice
• What You Need
• Cleaning Grates
• Scrubbing Burners
• Spot Cleaning
• Cleaning Your Gas Stove
• How to clean a gas stove top, stove burners and stove grates:
• How to clean an electric stove top:
• How to clean a glass stove top:

Supplies

• Vinegar
• Water
• Spray bottle
• Shallow pan
• Soft scrub brush (a toothbrush works well)

Instructions for Grates

1. Fill a shallow pan with a 50/50 mixture of vinegar and water.
2. Fully submerge the grates in the solution. Let them soak for at least 30 minutes.
3. Pull the grates from the solution and use the scrub brush on them.
4. Rinse the grates.
5. Repeat the vinegar soak followed by more scrubbing as necessary.

Cleaning Burners

1. While the grates are soaking, mix 50/50 water and vinegar in a spray bottle.
2. Spray down the burners carefully. Give them a nice coat so the acid can eat at the grime, but do not saturate the burners.
3. Allow the mixture to sit for 15-20 minutes.
4. Use a scrub pad to wipe off the grime.
5. Repeat as necessary.

Vinegar and Baking Soda

If your gas stove's grates and burners are covered in crusted on food, you may need baking soda in addition to a vinegar and water solution. The acid in the vinegar will help to break down the grease, while the baking soda will work as a gentle scrubbing agent to remove the dried food.

Materials

• White vinegar
• Baking soda
• Shallow dish
• Water
• Soft bristle brush
• Spray bottle
• Microfiber cloth
• Scrub pad

Method for Grates

1. Fill the shallow dish with a 50/50 mix of water and vinegar. Use enough to cover the grates when you put them in the pans.
2. Place the grates in the vinegar solution.
3. Allow to sit in solution for 30 minutes.
4. Pull out the grates out of the mixture and rinse them.
5. Mix the baking soda and water into a nice thick paste.
6. Coat the grate in the baking soda paste.
7. Allow them to sit for 15-30 minutes
8. Use the scrub brush to remove caked on food and grease.
9. Rinse and spot clean as necessary.

Method for Burners

1. Spray down the burners carefully with the 50/50 water and vinegar mixture, coating them well without saturating.
2. Allow the mixture to sit for 15-20 minutes.
3. Apply a thin coat of the baking soda and water mixture to the burners and allow to sit.
4. Use the scrub brush to scrub away the caked-on food.

Lemon Juice

If you don't have vinegar on hand, you can use lemon juice to remove caked-on grease from your burners and grates.

What You Need

• Lemon Juice
• Water
• Plastic zipper baggies that fit the grates
• Soft scrub brush
• Dish rag

Cleaning Grates

1. Place the grill grates in the plastic bags, making sure they are completely covered.
2. Fill the bags with lemon juice and allow the grates to sit in them for 30 - 60 minutes.
3. Pull out the grates and scrub them with the brush, focusing on the corners.
4. Rinse with water.

Scrubbing Burners

1. Soak the dish rag in lemon juice and rub it on the burner.
2. Allow the juice to sit on the burners for 15 - 20 minutes, or even longer for really stuck on particles.
3. Take the scrub brush and scrub the burner to remove the baked-on grease.

Spot Cleaning

Depending on how much crusted on grease or burnt on food is on your stove, you may need a more stubborn cleaning method. To get a little extra scrubbing power, all you need is a toothbrush and salt or baking soda. To use this method, simply:

• Dip the toothbrush in the baking soda or salt
• Scrub the area with the toothbrush.

Cleaning Your Gas Stove

Cooking is an art form that sometimes leaves your kitchen in dire straits. Fortunately, there are several natural methods you can use to clean your gas stovetop. Once the grates and burners are clean, it'll be time to move on to your oven!

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Whether it’s gas, electric or even glass, it takes more than a halfhearted promise to really clean a messy stove top in one day.

TODAY Home asked Meg Roberts, president of Molly Maid cleaning services, to share her expert tips for this kitchen chore. As a pro, she recommends cleaning stove tops immediately after cooking so it's before spills and splatters harden.

Follow her advice for cleaning any type of stove top — whether its glass, gas or an electric stove.

How to clean a gas stove top, stove burners and stove grates:

Supplies:

• Microfiber cloths, dish towels, or a sponge
• Baking soda
• Vinegar
• Dish soap

Instructions:

To start, remove the grates and burner caps from the stovetop and let them soak in hot, soapy water for 10 minutes. While they're soaking, make a paste of baking soda and water.

After the ten minutes are up, take the grates out of the water and apply the paste, focusing on any tough spots. Let the paste sit for at least 30 minutes.

While this is happening, sprinkle some baking soda onto the stove cooktop and spray it with vinegar. Let sit for fifteen minutes.

Use a damp sponge or cloth to wipe the paste off the grates and burner caps. Do the same for the cooktop!

To wrap up, just put everything back in its place and get ready to start cooking again!

When fuel ports become dirty and clogged, and automatic igniters lose their spark, Roberts recommends calling an appliance professional, since pros know how to safely and effectively remove debris on these delicate parts. They also know how to adjust burners so they burn with a blue flame. (Orange/yellow flames indicate poor combustion and require attention.)

How to clean an electric stove top:

Supplies:

• Microfiber cloths
• Mild grease-busting dish detergent
• A sponge

Instructions:

Wipe coils with a damp microfiber cloth. If burned-on residue remains on the coils, burn it off by turning the heat on high. (This can get smoky, so turn on the exhaust fan, too.)

Clean reflector pans with a mild grease-busting dish detergent, such as Dawn, hot water and a microfiber cloth.

Check out the area under the cooktop for food and spills. Wipe the area clean with a damp sponge. Use soapy water if needed.

How to clean a glass stove top:

Supplies:

• Microfiber cloths
• Mild grease-busting dish detergent
• A sponge

Instructions:

Allow the burner to completely cool before you do anything. Remove any debris from the burner with a silicone or plastic spatula. Roberts prefers spatulas for this task as they are flexible and safe. Single edge razor blades or anything else sharp may scratch the glass- top surface.

To remove burned-on food and stains, Roberts suggests using baking soda. Sprinkle baking soda directly over the stained area and add a bit of water to make a paste. Leave a warm, damp cloth on top of the spot and let it sit for 30 minutes. Then try to wipe the spot clean.

If the spot is really stubborn, add a few drops of distilled white vinegar to the baking soda. That should do the trick.

If you prefer to purchase a product to keep your glass stovetop clean and polished, consider liquid Bar Keepers Friend, which is available at most superstores and at Amazon.

Warning: Some people use white eraser sponges for extremely tough burn marks. These do work, but Roberts advises that you use with caution as this substance is like microfine sandpaper and can scratch the surface if you’re not careful.

Using interviews with specialists, online reviews and personal experience, TODAY editors, writers and experts take care to recommend items we really like and hope you’ll enjoy! TODAY does have affiliate relationships with various online retailers. So, while every product is independently selected, if you buy something through our links, we may get a small share of the revenue.

This article was originally published on TODAY.com on November 24, 2017.