Cleaning a black stovetop

[Drtgirl]

So what can I use to clean our black stovetop? More specifically I am trying to remove the crud that's around the burners. I was wondering if something like Easy-Off would work- I know it's fine for the insides of stoves but I'm not sure about stovetops.

Thanks!

[kat_h]

Vinegar.

[sgtiger]

Vinegar.

+1

Easy-off will work for enameled metal surfaces. Not recommended for glass cook tops though. But I'm in the camp of using less caustic methods before bringing out the big guns.

If it's baked on crud that's been there a while, try the vinegar full strength and let it soak into the mess before wiping it away. Baking soda can be used as an abrasive if the vinegar doesn't loosen the blackened stuff enough. Expect some foaming.

For reflector bowls, the vinegar may not be enough. In that case, place the reflector bowls in a Ziploc bag with paper towels soaked in ammonia in between them. Close the Ziploc bag and leave it in a well ventilated area(preferably outside as the fumes can still leak out of a plastic bag) for a couple of hours to overnight. That should be enough that they wipe away clean with a sponge or clothe. Rinse well.

Then a mixture of 1 part vinegar to 3 parts water in a spray bottle for regular maintenance cleaning. It cuts through grease very well. I use this mixture for cleaning through out our home actually. It does make my home smell as if I've been pickling or something(Still better than the chemically odor of most commercial cleaners IMHO and it doesn't give me a migraine!) and the odor can take up to a couple of hours to dissipate. I just have to remember to crack open a window and light a candle while I'm cleaning.

[Crankin]

There are products made just for glass cook tops. It's a white goopy stuff that you rub on and let dry. Then when you wipe it off, everything comes off.
Nothing else really works.

[Blueberry]

Bar Keeper's Friend works great - we've used it on regular and our current (black) smooth top stove. Gets all the burned crud off WITHOUT scratching. It's Oxalic Acid, and is much more environmentally friendly than many other products (and than the version of the cook top specific stuff I had - that was nasty stuff).

http://barkeepersfriend.com/

Good luck!

[OakLeaf]

The cook-top specific stuff that the previous owners left at my house is just a concoction of citric acid and detergent. After three years I'm still on that original container, a little goes a long way!

I use plain crystalline citric acid for all kinds of cleaning applications. You can get it in 2-4 lb. packages at stores that have beer-making supplies, in the canning department of grocery stores, or in the bulk department of some natural food stores.

Another thing that works really well with baked-on grease is one of those high pressure steam cleaners. Naturally I busted the nozzle on mine and haven't got a new one... but it worked really well for a while