I get asked all the time for an easy way to clean the stovetop and the stovetop grates. I've written a post on it before but I just discovered a new sponge from Scotch-Brite Brand so I decided to write another post about how easy it is to clean a stove top without chemicals. If you've been following me for a while then you know how much I love the brand and how I've always used them for everything. The new Scotch-Brite Extreme Scrub Sponge is super cool because it's treated to resist bacterial odors so it doesn’t stink up the sink area and has 4x the scrubbing power than the next leading brand on tough baked-on messes, perfect for cleaning up cooked-on food messes on the stove!
I'll be honest, I don't let my stovetop stay dirty because a dirty kitchen is a pet peeve of mine and clean feels so much better, so I called a friend of mine (who has good lighting in her kitchen) and asked her if I could use her stovetop.
The cooked on food and crusty crumbs on her stovetop were perfect for this post. :)
All you need to clean up a mess like this is the extreme scrub sponge.
1. Remove the grates and set them aside.
2. Get the sponge wet and wipe up any loose crumbs on the stovetop.
3. Remove all the pieces around each gas eye. Set them aside in a bowl of soapy water. (I have always put them in water out of habit but after seeing how well the sponge cleaned the stovetop without pre-soaking, I'd say you don't really need to put them in water, unless you want to).
4. For tougher baked-on spots turn the sponge over to use the scrubbing side. Gently scrub the dirty areas, making sure to not use too much pressure because you don't want to scratch the cooktop.
Make sure you also scrub the seam between the eye and the stovetop. The shape of the sponge makes it the perfect shape for getting around the edges.
My friend was so impressed she kept making comments about how she'd never been able to get her stovetop that clean! I ended up leaving her the sponge so she could keep it that clean from now on. :)
5. Rinse the sponge and then scrub each of the stovetop grates.
All the burnt on food came off so easily but it didn't really feel like I was doing anything so my friend and I double checked the sponge to make sure it was coming off. Judging by how dirty the sponge was, we decided it was working great!
6. Rinse the sponge thoroughly then scrub each of the gas eye parts. These required a little more scrubbing effort but they are also the part of the stovetop that gets the hottest.
7. Reassemble the stovetop putting all the parts back in place. Then stand back and admire how clean and sparkly your stovetop is and how little effort it took you!
It was so easy we decided to clean my friend's teapot too. :)
Make sure when you're scrubbing certain items that you scrub with the grain, otherwise it will scratch it. Scotch-Brite Brand does not recommend using the extreme scrub sponge on stainless steel appliances.
I know this will help all of you that keep asking me how to clean the stovetop, and it's grates, and now that you know how easy it is to clean the stovetop without chemicals, you can keep it clean all the time!