Yup, my stove was just a little dirty!
I’ve been cooking a lot these past few months and have always found a reason NOT to clean our stove-top — either I didn’t have time, or I was just going to make another mess, or… you get the idea.
And while our current stove-top isn’t anything close to my “dream stove/oven”, it’s what we have for now. So even though it’s a huge pain to clean, I’m stuck with it!
Last week, I finally decided to bite the bullet and clean my filthy dirty stove!
Since I’ve always had a glass-top stove, I honestly didn’t even know the best way to clean a gas stove… so I turned to Facebook to see what you would suggest.
I got a bunch of different suggestions, but the overwhelming majority suggested to use Ammonia and a large trash bag.
So I removed all the grates and burner covers and put them in a large trash bag in our garage.
Then I poured about a 1/2 cup of ammonia into the bag and tie the top to seal in the fumes.
I was told that ammonia fumes are really bad for pregnant women, so after about 4 hours {you could also let it sit overnight} I had Dave go out there and wipe off any residue left behind.
Meanwhile, I was inside scrubbing the rest of the stove-with vinegar and Soft Scrub. I actually got it really clean without much work!
As you can see by the before and after picture below, the ammonia worked wonderfully and removed almost every speck of stuck on grease!
And now I have a sparkling clean stove top again.
We’ll see how long it will stay clean!
So if you are looking for a really simple and extremely inexpensive way to clean your grubby gas stove grates and burner covers — Ammonia, a trash bag, and a few hours work just great!
We’re going to try it on our grill grates next!
Have you ever tried this Ammonia method?
Timothy Slough says
What a marvelous cleaning tip for nasty burner caps! Thank you. Much more reasonable than buying new ones!
Kathy Higgins says
Thanks for the tip, however, I’m more interested in getting caked in grease and grime from my gas cooktop. What’s the ratio of vinegar and soft scrub you used and fo you have any other tips for cleaning the cooktop?
gas plumbing says
You could possibly be among those people moms or dads that generally leap in the fray in acquiring a stove or 36 Inch Gas Range in accordance to how wonderful they will likely show up from the kitchen.
Laura says
I’m trying the ammonia in the bags with the burners tonight. wish i would have read the part about putting it in a bowl in the bag first…i imagine that is less messy, and less chance for leaks…however, was wondering about the oven. Do I need to turn off the gas before I put ammonia in a bowl in the oven overnight? Is it flammable?
Kat says
I have put one grate on top of the other and turn on the fire until it burns off reside. Also now that I have electric I clean with Magic Eraser and if it is burned on blue label only Easy Off per companies advice. Works for me. Also grease I use CASTORAL SUPER CLEAN you find this in the automotive department. this is an all purpose cleaner/degreaser that is a must for any home. Note do not use on leather make sure you do color fast test because this stuff is seriously strong. Comes in concentrated and full bottle. Walmart is where I purchase this.
aamarpali says
I will also clean today and will see how long it stays clean hmmmm
B. G. says
How do u clean an electric stove?
L. says
can u do a post about how to clean an electric stove?
Amy says
Your gas stove top burners can be cleaned in your self cleaning oven. They are iron and can withstand the high heat. I do this all the time…have for years & my burner tops for my gas stove look great! The white part of my stove does not look nearly as good as yours though. I use it hard & it shows. Got any tips for bad stove tops? I’m gonna try what you did but my before is worse than yours. 🙂
Andrea says
Amy, I don’t have a self-cleaning oven {I have a built-in double wall oven that is probably close to 50 years old!} So, the ammonia is my only relatively simple option right now. However, once we renovate our kitchen — which probably won’t be for several years — I will most definitely clean them in the oven!
Pam says
I use Dawn Power Dissolver. Less work, great results. Spray it on, leave it set a few minutes and wipe it off. I also use this on my glass window on my pellet stove. Cleans the brown build up right off. Wonderful stuff it is. Highly recommend it.
Kristen @ Joyfullythriving says
Once again, Andrea, great minds must think alike! I was just looking at my gas stove (first time I’ve had one, too) and realizing how much it needed a good cleaning! I have ammonia ready to go, but you did beat me to the punch. I hope my stove looks as nice as yours shortly. Thanks for the motivation to get cleaning…so I can continuing baking!
Mikki says
I saw this somewhere else and I keep forgetting to get some amonia to try this out..
Thanks for tip 🙂
Lauren K. says
I’ve used ammonia on the electric stove drip pans and on parts of my vent hood. I have a metal screen that gets really gross, but can also detach. I’ve never used the trash bag method … I usually soak all parts in a sink filled with ammonia. I like the idea of getting the stench out of the house!
TLE says
My cleaning staples are vinegar and baking soda. Cornstarch is magic on glass walls and tops. I hear the Mr Magic clean eraser is v popular but not sure if its available in this part of Asia. Will look out for ammonia as well, tho doubtful its easily available here (where lye is a controlled substance ;o)
Jill says
Will this work on an eletric stove as well.
Andrea says
I’m not sure Jill — you need to be able to take the grates off and seal them up with the ammonia fume in order for the “de-greasing process” to work. So, if you have a glass-top electric stove, it probably would not work. However, if your electric stove has removable burners, you could give it a try.
for glass-top stoves, I would recommend buying the cleaner that is specifically for them — that’s what I always used at our old house.
Donna says
I have used this method for years. I also use it for the inside of my oven as I don’t have a self cleaning oven. I put the the shelves and the bottom of the oven in a trash bag in the garage and put a dish of ammonia inside the bag. I don’t pour the ammonia in the bag. Works great. I still have to scrub the chrome shelving from burned things but it’s much easier.
Megan Camp says
I just saw the ammonia tip on pinterest and pinned it to try in the future. They said it also works for the inside of your stove. Just put a dish with ammonia in and close the oven door overnight. Will definitely be trying this next time my stove needs cleaning. Ammonia is currently on my shopping list!
Andrea says
Yes, I’ve heard it works for the oven too — so I may have to give that a try since our ovens are not self-cleaning!
Ann says
This ammonia trick works very well for oven racks, and the inside of the oven. I also used it on the bottom of my stainless steel electric skillet.
(You know how electric skillets get brown gunk on the bottom?.)
And guess what? It worked very well, and the skillet looked nearly new again! Thanks for all your work!
Jeny says
I always love using a Mr. Clean (or off brand) magic eraser on ours. Works like a charm.
Patra @ I Do Declare says
I wish I would have seen this two weeks ago when I went through half a box of Brillo pads scrubbing my stovetop! It’s still not totally shiny, so I will be giving this a try soon!
Deborah in Atlanta says
I used ammonia to clean the grates, but mixed baking soda and water together into a liquidy paste and it cleaned the top of the stop (and the glass inside the oven) beautifully! No smelly fumes to deal with, and hardly any scrubbing. Loved it!
Tiffany says
Thanks! I have attempted to clean my gas stove top and it still looks lie yours did. Definitely going to have to try your method and Kristen’s method of Mr Clean Eraser.
Tammy says
We have our first glass top electric stove in this rental and I boiled over syrup on it Sunday morning. YIKES what a mess! It’s hard to clean when it’s hot because of burning yourself or whatever rag you try to use, but the second it cools, you have to scrape it off. Hubby was able to use the regular glass-top cleaner from the store that comes with abrasive pads specifically for this and got it ALL off! I think that is one store-made cleaner I’ll be keeping around for a while 🙂
Looks like you are ready for Fall/Holiday baking.