• By nthdegreeadmin77
• In Cleaning

How to clean a stove top

In caveman days, human social life revolved around the campfire. The cave’s fire pit was where food was prepared, where warmth was received, and where light emanated. It truly was the center of existence. Without it, life could not be sustained. With it, life could thrive!

Obviously, humans have advanced quite a bit since those primitive, mammoth-eating days. For example, we don’t live in caves, and we wear underwear. We go to hospitals, schools, and grocery stores. We use soap (most of us), deodorant, and razors. We drive automobiles and fly in planes. And so on.

One thing, though, that we still have have in common with our caveman ancestors is that so much of our lives revolve around a “cave fire pit” or, in other words, “the kitchen stove.” Some say the refrigerator is what home life revolves around, but I would argue the stove is the rightful owner of that distinction. A stove provides comfort in a way a refrigerator cannot. There’s a reason why they call food prepared in the home stove: “comfort food.” One of the most common daily questions we pose is, “What’s for dinner?” A close second is “What’s for lunch?” And, coming in at a distant third is “What’s for breakfast?” What do all these questions have in common? They all require a stove to answer 🙂

So, if the stove is such an important player in our lives (and it is!), then it behooves us to know a thing or two about cleaning it. Not knowing how to maintain a stove is about as egregious as not knowing how to clean a toilet. We use both every day, but seem to care more about cleaning one more than the other :/

Here’s how you can tackle the task of cleaning your cave’s fire pit AKA the kitchen stove, specifically the STOVE TOP.

(1) Make sure your stove is off! 🙂 Wait until the surface has cooled off completely before attempting to clean it.

(2) Use a rag dampened with soapy water to perform an initial scrub of the surface. The goal is to remove as much “build up” as possible.

(3) Spray the surface with a multi-purpose cleaner like Melaleuca Tough and Tender or simple vinegar water like what’s available from Schmidts. After spraying, let it sit for ten minutes before wiping down with non-scratch paper towels such as those made by Sparkle.

(4) Repeat Step 3 again as needed.

(5) Once you’ve cleaned the heating surface, don’t forget to clean the knobs and buttons. If your stove top has knobs, usually you can remove them. If this is the case, remove them and clean behind the knobs. Make sure you put the knobs back on the control spots where they belong. They’re usually not intended to mix and match. Each knob should correlate with a specific heating element.

In conclusion, just as you wouldn’t go a year without cleaning your toilet (at least I hope you wouldn’t), you shouldn’t go very long without cleaning your stove top. A good rule of thumb is to clean it at least once a month.

Now, . . . what’s for dinner?