I had tried virtually everything to remove the little cooked on spots around the edges of my stove burners, and everything seemed to help a little, but nothing really worked well.
Until I discovered hydrogen peroxide and baking soda!
Mix some baking soda in a small bowl with enough hydrogen peroxide to make a paste. Use a scrubby sponge and the gunk comes off surprisingly easily! I recommend wearing rubber gloves, especially if you have sensitive skin.
There were a few stubborn spots, but they are hidden by the edges of the burner drip pans.
Ah. So much better. I love simple and thrifty solutions like this!
Oh...and on a somewhat unrelated note...Did you know that the top of your stove probably lifts up for easy cleaning?
I was cleaning my stove once after a giant oatmeal overflow and lifted the stove top to clean under it and blew my husband's mind. Apparently, he had no idea that most stove tops lifts up like a car hood for easy cleaning. And just in case he isn't the only person who didn't already know that, I decided to snap a picture and share it with all of you!
The stove top will be hinged at the back and have posts to keep it from falling. Once you've removed your elements and drip pans just gently pull up on the front of the stove top and it should lift right up, allowing you to wipe up any spills or bits of food that have fallen down there.
If it doesn't open, don't force it...your stove may not have this feature! And as always, use caution when cleaning any household appliances.
Thanks so much for visiting the Complete Guide to Imperfect Homemaking!
also want to add,on some stoves,you can take the oven door off to clean the oven easier.this was great for me because i have severe back issues.now,i have to get someone to help me put the door back on,it is heavy but it is such a great help when i need to clean an oven mess! thank you
ReplyDeleteWe always had a flat top electric growing up, so I didn't know that either--until we had to repair my first stove! But not all stoves lift up-I tried to clean my second stove that way and poked holes in the gas line. Very bad! so check for hinges before lifting...
ReplyDeleteI am almost positive we have the same stove! So hopefully mine lifts up too.....Yay! Thanks for the tips, and thanks for writing your blog...I enjoy it very much!
ReplyDeleteThis totally came 1 weeks late!! But I'm glad I know where to go next time. Thanks!
ReplyDeleteI am going to go clean my stove now! Thanks for the idea and motivation!
ReplyDeleteMr Clean Erasers take that stuff off in a jiffy, too, for a higher price. I love those things. They clean everything -- soap scum, shower doors, permanent marker, stove gunk, grout. Love 'em!
ReplyDeleteOh yeah. LOVE those things!
DeleteI also just spray some vinigar on the stove, then make a past of baking soda with water and it cleans up just as nice.
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for the tip! No matter what I use, there is always some of those spots under the burner cover. I can't wait to try this.
ReplyDeleteDone! It works!
ReplyDeleteWow, You don't waste any time,do you? Good for you to jumping right on it!
DeleteAnyone know if this is safe to use on a glass top? I have a HARD time getting spots off of it and have tried lots of different glass cleaners.
ReplyDeleteThank you so much, both for the cleaning potion, and for the knowledge about the stove top hood, who knew!?!
ReplyDeleteI so did not know that stove tops lifted like that. I can't wait to get home and really clean my stove now. Thanks for showing this.
ReplyDeleteJust found your blog through IHeart Organizing. :)
ReplyDeleteGreat stove tips, and you just blew MY mind about the whole stove top lifting up thing. I just ran to my stove and lifted it up and grinned like a little kid.
Excellent! Those stubborn stove messes have been bugging me for quite some time, watch out ...here I come!!!
ReplyDeleteSuper-impressive shot of your stove top lifted up...thanks for hydrogen peroxide/baking soda tip!
ReplyDeleteYou just blew my mind....
ReplyDeleteI had no idea that it lifted up!!! {Shudders as she contemplates the YEARS of gunk that must have accumulated underneath}
My mind is also blown. I just tried it, and I can FINALLY clean under the burner pans effectively. Thanks so much!!!!
ReplyDeleteI usually use magic erasers, but I will definitely give this a shot!
ReplyDeleteThanks for this post. I just finished cleaning my entire stove top. Holy it was filthy!!!
ReplyDeleteLove this tip, I used it today to clean my stove and it looks great! So easy! I used a razor blade to get those last, stubborn bits.
ReplyDeleteI just found your blog. I was already loving it and saw that you have twins. Since I have twins too, that made me love your blog more. Is that bad?
ReplyDeleteOnce a week (or so I'm supposed to) I steam my microwave. I put 1 cup of water in my glass measuring cup and microwave on high for 3 minutes. Then I can just wipe out my microwave and all the loosened bits come right off. Rather than waste the cleaning power of that boiling water, I carefully aim the pour spout of my measuring cup at the stuck on stuff on my stove. (At first I hesitated to do this until I realized that any stove worth having should be up to the task of handling a few boil-overs.) It cleans up nicely, for free, with little to no elbow grease.
ReplyDeleteThis is exactly what I needed! We are getting ready to move out of our apartment and our stove has been neglected. Thanks for the great tips!
ReplyDeleteI am SO trying this! White stove+cooked on gunk=bane of my existence. ;)
ReplyDeleteThank you!!!
I like the peroxide-baking soda magic paste too. I used it to completely renew a hand-me-down gunky skillet over spring break. It took off the cooked-on food really well!
ReplyDeleteBaking soda is a miracle worker, especially when paired with hydrogen peroxide! It's totally under-appreciated!
ReplyDeleteI wish. I think my stove is original to my 1949 house!
ReplyDeleteLove the baking soda and peroxide idea, I might have to try that, thanks!
I never knew my stove top opened!! Awesome!! THanks!!!
ReplyDeleteok, i saw this somewhere else a few weeks ago and i tried it, it didnt work any better than some clorox kitchen cleaner and a sponge. i even let it sit on there for a while thinking it would come off better, it didnt!
ReplyDeleteI had cooked a Cajun turkey on my stove and it left this black burnt ring around it and with cooking everything stuck to it. I just tried this method of cleaning (believe me I've tried a lot of things) and I can truly say it works! My daughter wanted me to buy a new stovetop, something I could not afford right now. This did the trick and my stove looks great! Thanks for a tip that finally works!
DeleteI didn't know about this until I had a short stint working as a house cleaner. But my own stove does not lift up, so it must be a bit old. :) It came with the house, so no idea!
ReplyDeletep.s. I've discovered your blog today and have been looking through it. :)
I just though of this.....do you think it would be safe (um, not a fire hazard) to line under the stove top with Aluminum foil for even easier clean-up?
ReplyDeletehmmm....I'm not sure. If it is infact safe, it's a fabulous idea! My mom lines the bottom of her oven with foil...and I guess that is safe because she'd been doing it my whole life! :)
DeleteI used to work in a health care facility where each resident apartment had an electric stove. To make cleaning a little quicker we put foil under the cook top (all of ours lifted up) and on the bottom of the oven and just replaced the foil when it needed cleaned. Just make sure to keep the foil flat so it doesn't touch electric wires or the burners.
DeleteTried it on my drip pans and it worked well enough (better than anything else I've tried). But I will add that if you're stubborn like me and refuse to wear gloves, remember to take off any jewelery, like say your wedding ring. :)
ReplyDeleteI just tried this on my stove top and it worked great! Thanks so much for the tip.
ReplyDeleteThat just blew my mind too! Just tried lifting the top of my stove and it worked! Yay! Thanks :)
ReplyDeleteNow that you have discovered the magic stove, go one step further: line it with aluminium foil to catch spillages and to reflect the heat. Most (older?)British housewives do this. Betsy.
ReplyDeleteThis really works! I didn't think anything would get the greasy grime off my stove. I'm using a razor blade and its scraping right off!! Thank you!!
ReplyDeleteI had NO idea that my stove lifted up like that...but YIKES am I going to have to clean it :/
ReplyDeleteOh, my goodness! I had NO idea stove tops could lift like that! I went to check mine, and it does! I'm so excited that I can clean out all the gunk underneath it!
ReplyDeleteMagic Eraser works well too
ReplyDeleteyour hubby is not alone. I just lifted my stove top & it blew my fiancé's mind to! He stood there for almost 2 minutes in complete awww lol.Thanks for the tip! :)
ReplyDeleteI'm wondering if this also works if your, when I say your I mean my, stovetop is extremely gunky around the edges & then some or is it just for 'minor gunkiness' just around the edges, as you have pictured above? Thank you!
ReplyDeleteMy stove top was super gunky!! LIke, has needed to be cleaned for a really long time :/ And it worked!! I had to do it twice underneath the eye I use the most but it does work!
DeleteThe second I saw your picture, I ran over to my stove. It works! It really works! I cleaned with baking soda and vinegar. As someone who didn't even know how to cook when I got married 3 months ago, I've "scoured" your entire blog and have already used most of it! From the bottom of my heart, thank you, thank you, thank you.
ReplyDeleteThank you!!!
ReplyDeletethanks! I love that the most awesome cleaners seem to be the most basic and from things I keep in my home already. :) I just discovered that it lifted today and was very pleased with myself :) Then I thought.. 'if I had a blog, I'd totally have to share this!' :)
ReplyDeletethen I came searching the internet for what other people used to clean.. and found your blog :)
Wow! This worked great and I never knew my stove top opened either! Well we have lived with it for six years, any idea if this same remedy will work for caked, literally burned on God knows what for underneath the stove top? Thank so much!
ReplyDeleteHow do u clean gas stove.?
ReplyDeleteI have the same stove! Thanks for the tip with the perioxide...it made the difference!
ReplyDeleteHow much baking soda and hydrogen peroxide would you think is needed to clean 4 burners?
ReplyDeletejust tried this and really worked GREAT! I have a stainless steel stove and had no issues. Thanks for the tip!
ReplyDeleteI have NEVER bought a premixed bottled kitchen or bathroom cleaner in my life! Grandma taught me very well how to make that stuff on the cheap. I make everything I use to clean those two rooms myself. It's amazing what baking soda, hydrogen peroxide, lemon juice and vinegar can be made into! I have saved big bucks over the years and kept myself from washing all kinds of weird chemicals down the drain in the process. Keep up the good advice, more people need to know about these kinds of things. I salute you!
ReplyDeleteI am definitely going to try this on the problem areas! Thanks
ReplyDeleteThanks. It worked great!'
ReplyDeleteWill this work on a black stove top without damaging the surface?
ReplyDeleteCan you make some paste in advance? Will it lose its cleaning power acter sometime?
ReplyDeleteThank you so so much...I have been looking for something that would work. I am hoping it will work on the drip pans also.
ReplyDeleteDoes anyone have a way to clean the stuck on stuff off of burners?! Mine get stuff on them from boil overs and smoke and I can NEVER get it off and my apartment does NOT have a fan over the stove (odd since the place is brand new and ANAL about mold)! I can get everywhere else clean, but I am so afraid of the burners doing me in that I just DON'T eat on it to the point of starvation at times and either cave and order out (which I can NOT afford as I have yet to find a job here, as I have ONLY been in the area two months) or just cook anyway as it's an electric so it's NOT as much of a fire risk I do NOT think unless it were a gas burner if I am EXTREMELY careful and dont cook with oil! I know I still shouldn't be anyway!
ReplyDeleteAny solutions on how to get those burners before they get me!?!
Ahhh.... I have used so many different cleaners to attempt to get my stove, which looked almost identical to your "before", clean. Nothing would touch that mess. Then I saw this and figured nothing to lose. WOW. It wiped right off. Clean as new. Thank you for posting this!
ReplyDeleteThank you for the wonderful tip on using baking soda and hydrogen peroxide for cleaning all the gunk off the top of the stove, it really works. I am going to use stove drip pans to prevent future gunk build up around the burners. THANKS
ReplyDelete