Stovetop Cleaning HELP!

[Anne]

While making jelly today, the pot boiled over and now I have blackened jelly syrup burned on to my gas stovetop. Is this permanent? Is there any hope? Please help!

 

Anne

(Fed up and Sticky)

[gardenmom5]

have you tried letting it soak in water? wet rags sitting on the blackened sugar is necessary.  usually what happens is the sugar becomes carbonized - and it will dissolve if exposed  to enough water. 

[J-rap]

When things spill over in the oven, I liberally sprinkle salt over it and then when I get around to cleaning it, it comes off so much more easily.  Granted, it's warm when I put the salt on it, in case that matters.  You could try putting salt on it, and maybe it will soften up when you cook something on it again and the salt will get in there and have the same effect?   You might be able to scrub it off more easily then.

 

Otherwise, I've used oven cleaner on stovetops before.

[nd293]

I would also opt to cover the area with wet cloths, probably wet soapy cloths.

[MEmama]

After getting the solids off, Mr Clean magic erasers do wonders on super tough jobs on my stainless cooktop.

[RoughCollie]

This happened to my gas stove last year. I tried many things. My stove top's exterior is clad in black enamel paint (factory-applied), and I was worried this would take off the paint, but I was desperate and had already tried everything else I could think of with the help of Google research. This includes fume-free oven cleaner, stove top cleaner, Mr. Clean, 409, Fantastic, Barkeeper's Friend, water soaking, covering with baking powder paste and letting it sit for a long time, etc.

 

If I had to do it again, I would test my plan on a burner cover (flat round painted disk that sits atop the burner). But I was desperate ... this process had gone on for nearly a year already! By this point, I was willing to risk damaging my stove top even though to replace a burner cover would cost only $100 ("only" is a relative term).

 

I poured straight ammonia on the stove. I made sure that there was not enough ammonia to get inside the burner (where the fire comes out). I was super careful about that because I didn't want to break the stove. Then I covered the entire stove top with plastic wrap. The plastic wrap didn't touch the ammonia because the burner covers (metal disks atop the burners) and the rim around the perimeter held it up. I covered it as tightly as I could.

 

I left it there for at least 12 hours. It is best to do this after dinner and plan not to use the stove again until the process is over.

 

The next day, I took off the plastic wrap. I sopped up the ammonia with paper towels, taking with it any gunk that was loose. I used a *plastic* spoon (so it wouldn't scratch the stove paint) to scrape the remaining gunk and the blackened mess came right off. Then I more or less rinsed the stove top with wet paper towels and dried it off.

 

Any spots remaining that were bumpy, I attacked with the plastic spoon, and they came off easily. Any spotting left (not bumpy), I rubbed with Barkeeper's Friend (not wedded to that brand name, it's just what I had).  Rinsed again and went over the whole thing with 409 cleaner.

 

Then I cleaned the burners themselves (parts come off!) with wet q-tips. I didn't use any products on parts that couldn't be removed because I didn't want to cause a fire the next time I turned on the stove. I didn't know if a fire would result, just being careful.

 

Voila! Clean stove top!

 

Two things.  Yes, ammonia smells awful, but needs must. The plastic spoon was the sturdy kind they give with Frosties at Wendy's.  I used a plastic spoon because I had read that it wouldn't scratch stove paint.

 

I tried this only because it works to clean oven racks -- put them in a double plastic trash bag with a cup of ammonia, tie the bags closed, and set them outside for 24 hours. The gunk on them will rinse right off.

 

 

Edited September 20, 2016 by RoughCollie

[gstharr]

a stainless steel friendly abrasive is Bar Keepers Friends available at Walmart, Target for around $2.00. Package and content looks similar to Comet (Dutch Cleaner), but stainless friendly.

[PinkTulip]

I am a huge fan of a product called Bon Ami. Make a little paste by mixing with water, let it sit, and it should come off with a little scrubbing.

[EKS]

I use a paste made from ashes from the fireplace and water.  I smear it on with a paper towel and rub.  Sometimes it takes a couple of tries, but it works great.

 

It is somewhat abrasive, so it does scratch our stainless steel stovetop.  You don't really notice when it's right next to the burners though.

 

I think the other poster's idea of oven cleaner would do the same thing chemically and would pose a risk of scratching.