Last Updated: March 2, 2021
Find out some of the best ways to clean the burners on your gas stovetop with this step-by-step guide!
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Stove burners can be a big pain to clean, especially if you haven’t cleaned them in awhile. Food gets caked on and once it’s been heated several times, it makes it tough to remove. That’s why it’s important to be proactive when caring for your stove burners so they stay in tip-top shape and your kitchen remains looking clean and sparkly.
While there are no hard and fast rules, there’s no question that it’s a lot less painful when you clean your stove burners as you go each time you cook something. Granted, sometimes you may be in a hurry and forget to wipe them down after cooking, but at least try to do it every time. It will save you a ton of extra hassle and effort in the long run!
Then, depending on how much of a neat freak you are, you can set a certain time to do more of a deep clean on your stove burners. This can include the full cooktop, from the burner cap and burner head to the burner grate and stove drip pans. You can opt to deep clean them once a month or only do it once every six months, whatever suits you best. Since you’re maintaining them regularly each time you cook, a deep clean will be easier than you think!
As the old saying goes, while there are always more ways than one to skin a cat, we’ve taken away the guesswork and outlined our best strategies below.
Step 1: Start by waiting. It might sound like a no brainer that the first thing you need to do before you start cleaning is wait, but yes, you do need to wait for your burners to completely cool off before you start. Only once they are cool can you proceed to remove your burners and set them aside. This is essential for stove cleanup sans unnecessary pain and gruesome burns. Of course, if you aren’t doing this after cooking then you can skip this step.
Step 2: Brush off all loose crumbs or residue that isn’t stuck. You can use a dry cloth or paper towel to do this.
Step 3: Take a good dishwashing soap and combine it with lukewarm water. Use a scrub brush to gently scrape off stains. Make sure you’re careful not to get any electrical components of your stove wet. It’s wise to have your stove’s manual on hand for easy reference, because you could easily damage your electrical stove if you were to wet those areas.
Step 4: You will probably notice that gentle scraping with dish soap doesn't help much with stubborn stains, only in helping to remove recent stains. If that’s the case, you’ll need to make a mixture of baking soda and water and let it rest on the stains for 10-20 minutes. The time interval will depend on how stubborn the stain is. You can always test a certain area after a few minutes to see how much more time it will need. Typically oil stains that are weeks old often take the longest to lift.
Step 5: Once you have managed to remove all the stains from your stove burners, all you need to do now is wipe them down. Use a clean cloth to wipe off all that soap and baking soda away and viola! Clean stove burners that look as good as new.
Step 6: If you have a gas stove, the process of cleaning gas stove burners doesn’t deviate that much. You’ll use the same supplies and start by wiping your burners clean with a damp cloth and scrubbing the stove top burner coils in case they have bits and pieces of food on them. Clear out the debris under the burner heads and use a toothbrush for hard to reach areas.
Step 7: Make sure the burner is completely dry before you fit it back in. Try to follow the instructions in the manual as you reassemble the burners back to their original positions.
Step 8: Light the pilots to fully dry them. This works double duty by allowing you to test the stove and make sure no parts were damaged during the cleanup. Electrical lights are often the most susceptible to damage while cleaning, which is why you have to be so careful when cleaning an electric stove.
Our 8-step cleanup encompasses the essentials rules to cleaning your stove top burners successfully. We highly recommend keeping your manufacturer’s manual on hand while cleaning just as a reference, because you wouldn’t want to do anything to accidentally damage your stove.
Some final things to consider before giving your stove top burners a good scrub down include:
Remember that you won’t have to deep clean your stove burners very often as long as you make sure to wipe them down well after each use. It’s only the strong, stubborn stains that have sat through multiple uses that take the most time and effort, because they’ve had time to set.
So, whether it’s oil that’s spilled, grease that’s spattered, crumbs that have dropped, or milk that’s over-boiled… if it leaves a mark on your stove, wipe it down immediately. Not only will your life be made infinitely easier in the long run, your stove will thank you by looking fab and even better, it will work as it should and not suffer in performance. We say that looks like a stove top cleaning win!
Looking for more cleaning how-tos and other sustainable swaps you can make at home? Grove has you covered. From timely topics such as our handwashing and hand sanitizer breakdown to evergreen primers like our simple ways to reduce your plastic use at home, our handy guides are here to answer your most pressing questions. And let us know how if you have any cleaning questions (or share your own tips using #grovehome) by following Grove Collaborative on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest.
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