Cleaning oil spills and burnt food from your stovetop can be challenging even for the most experienced. It’s hard to find a cleaning method that doesn’t involve using harsh chemicals on your cooking surface, let alone one that removes residue effectively and leaves the burners free from any damage. Luckily, you can easily clean gas stove burners with baking soda and vinegar.
Here’s how you can clean gas stove burners with baking soda and vinegar:
- Gather your supplies
- Cool and remove the burners
- Wipe down the surface
- Make the vinegar solution
- Sprinkle baking soda onto the burners
- Add the vinegar solution
- Cover and let sit
- Remove residue
- Wipe again with the vinegar solution
- Rinse the grates
Although the process might seem self-explanatory at first, there are actually a few essential tips and specifications you’ll need to keep in mind to get the best possible results. Therefore, if you want to learn more about what each step entails and how to go through it in the most efficient way possible, keep reading.
1. Gather Your Supplies
The first step you’ll want to take is ensuring you have all the necessary supplies in hand, as you don’t want to go through half the process only to find out you’re fresh out of baking soda. Fortunately, when it comes to supplies, this approach is as convenient as it gets. Not only will you need very few of them, but I can assure you you’ll already find most of them in your house.
Here’s a comprehensive list of what you’ll need:
- Potholder
- Soft microfiber wipes
- Water
- White vinegar
- Spray bottle (optional)
- Baking soda
- Kitchen towel
- Non-abrasive brush
2. Cool and Remove the Burners
After gathering everything you’ll need, it’s time to prepare the gas burners for cleaning. The first thing you’ll want to make sure of is that the burners are completely cooled and safe to touch. If so, you can start removing the burner’s components one by one and placing them on top of a soft surface to prevent any scratching.
A potholder works excellently for this purpose, especially if the burner caps or heads are still warm. Remember to completely remove the grates as well, as they can hinder the cleaning process, not to mention they’ll need a thorough cleaning themselves.
3. Wipe Down the Surface
By this point, the burners’ surface should be exposed and ready to be given a preemptive wipe down. Take a soft microfiber cloth and gently remove any crumbs that might be on the stove. Only after getting rid of all food fallout will you be able to properly clean the equipment with your vinegar solution and baking soda.
4. Make the Vinegar Solution
Before adding vinegar to your stovetop, it’s essential to dilute it as otherwise, it’ll be too acidic and potentially damaging to the burners. Making the vinegar couldn’t be easier, as all you have to do is mix white vinegar and water in a 1:1 ratio.
The specific measurements don’t matter, but you want to make sure to make enough so you can go through the whole stovetop twice. Afterward, ideally, you’d need to put the solution in a spray bottle. This isn’t necessary, but it makes the cleaning process much more convenient.
5. Sprinkle Baking Soda Onto the Burners
Set the spray bottle aside for later use. Take the baking soda and sprinkle generously on top of the stovetop. Although there’s not an exact measurement when it comes to how much you’ll need, before starting, you should always make sure you have enough, as you don’t want to skimp on the baking soda.
You should be able to cover the entire surface and add a bit more to stains or areas that need a thorough cleaning. However, although it’s best to be generous, I still suggest sticking to a single baking soda layer, as otherwise, it’ll be harder to remove afterward.
6. Add the Vinegar Solution
Now you can take your vinegar solution and spray it on top of the entire stove surface. If you don’t have a spray bottle on hand, you can sprinkle the solution to achieve a similar effect, but try to be careful when doing so, as it can be easy to add too much or too little.
Afterward, you should see and hear the signature baking soda and vinegar fizz. This means that the ingredients are reacting to each other as they should.
7. Cover and Let Sit
This is the easiest part of the process, as all you have to do is leave the mixture to do the cleaning for you. After you’ve covered the stovetop with both ingredients, you’ll need to cover it and let them sit until the reaction ends.
To do so, you start by dipping a kitchen towel into soapy water just until it’s damp but not soaking wet. Depending on the size of your stovetop, you might need to do this with two or three different towels.
Afterward, you’ll need to cover the stove completely with the damp towels. With this, your work for this step is done. Leave the ingredients to sit for at least 30 minutes, after which you’ll be able to proceed to the next step.
8. Remove Residue
Remove the towels and use them to wipe away. You’ll want to get rid of not only the baking soda and vinegar solution but also any remaining stains or oil spills that need a little more force to get off.
If there’s still some stubborn residue remaining, you can switch to a soft-bristled brush. Although this will provide you with some additional abrasive force, you never want to use too harsh of a brush, as otherwise you risk scratching and damaging the surface of your burners.
9. Wipe Again With the Vinegar Solution
By this point, the stovetop should be mostly clean. But for good measure, it’s best to use the remaining half of the vinegar solution to give the burners an additional wipe down. By doing so, you’ll make sure there’s no remaining residue on the surface and get rid of any stains you might have missed on the first go.
Afterward, all you need to do is dry the stovetop with a clean towel, and the burners will be ready to use again. As you can see, you won’t need to rinse the surface after using this cleaning method, as you’ve only used natural, toxin-free ingredients. Everything you’ve put on your burners is safe to use around food, which is why with this step, the stovetop cleaning process is done.
10. Rinse the Grates
Now that your stove top is spotless, you might want to make the grates and other components match. This process shouldn’t take long, as all you need to do is give the movable parts a quick wipe or rinse. Given that they don’t often collect a lot of residues, chances are you won’t need to struggle with scrubbing and wiping a lot.
After the grates, burner caps, and burner heads are wiped and clean; it’s time for reassembly. Carefully put each component in its place. When doing so, ensure that both the surface and the movable parts are entirely dry, as otherwise, the trapped moisture may cause some damage.
Now that you’ve reassembled the gas stovetop, the surface will be clean and ready to use again.
Final Thoughts
Cleaning a gas stove’s surface doesn’t have to include any harsh chemicals or abrasive brushes. As long as you have baking soda, white vinegar, and some other basic kitchen tools at your disposal, you’ll be able to make your burners squeaky clean with minimal effort.
However, the process is as simple as it is specific, so make sure to follow the instructions closely if you want to get the best possible results. Additionally, stay away from highly concentrated solutions or hard-bristle brushes, as they can significantly damage the burners’ surface.
