I hate my flat/glass top stove and a question.

[6packofun]

It's way too easy with this stove top to use it as more counter space because we don't have much.  I'm always worried that someone is going to burn themselves because we have one little orange light that lets us know that one or more of the burners is still hot...but who knows WHICH one??  

 

Would it be safe to use an iron trivet over a burner that is cooling down so that people know for sure it's the one that is hot?  Is there another option I'm not aware of?

 

Something like this: https://www.amazon.com/Creative-Co-op-Round-Trivet-Black/dp/B00JJXREJE/

[Reefgazer]

Doesn't your stove have a "hot" red button as a warning?  Our red hot button stays lit until the burner has completely cooled.

Edited October 10, 2016 by reefgazer

[marbel]

I hate our glass-topped stove for many reasons, but this is not one of them.

 

Ours also has a light that says there is a hot burner, but there is no way to know which one it is.  Well, I always know, but that's because I did the cooking.

 

We always have a teakettle on the stove and there's almost always a little bit of water left over when we make tea. So, when I turn off a burner but it is still hot, I just set the teakettle on it. 

 

I would probably burn myself on the iron trivet, because I'd forget.  The teakettle has a bakelight handle so it's cool even if the kettle gets hot.  But you may not be as absent-minded and your family may do better with things like that.  "Hey guys!  if the trivet is on the stove, back off!  That means the burner is still hot."  That might or might not work in my house.

 

ETA:  But actually putting stuff on the stove is not a problem anyway.  I read once about a house fire... the power had gone off while the stove was on.  But, no one remembered to turn the stove off, and  at some point put a stack of papers on it.  When the power came back on, no one was home, and the papers burned, and so did the rest of the house.     I'm not sure how I forgot that till after posting about my teakettle.   I told my kids the story too, and they are good about not putting stuff on the stove.

 

 

Edited October 10, 2016 by marbel

[TKDmom]

I keep my glass-top stove covered with pots and pans so no one can store anything on it.  :laugh:

[6packofun]

 

Ours also has a light that says there is a hot burner, but there is no way to know which one it is.  Well, I always know, but that's because I did the cooking.

 

We always have a teakettle on the stove and there's almost always a little bit of water left over when we make tea. So, when I turn off a burner but it is still hot, I just set the teakettle on it. 

 

 

Yes, ours has the one light that doesn't let us know which burner.  I'm in the kitchen a lot, but so are the 7 other people in this house AND our microwave is above it so people are right there and sometimes set a hand down accidentally!

 

TEAKETTLE is a great idea!  The trivet idea was only if I could find one whose "feet" did not actually touch the burner so it wouldn't get super hot, but it was mainly as a reminder.  Sometimes I cook something up on one burner, then move it OFF the burner to another.  It would be reasonable for someone coming in to think that the burner under the pot/pan is the only one that's hot, kwim?

[bettyandbob]

Dh replaced my broken range with one that has a glass top. I hate, hate, hate it.

[Tap]

I have had a glass top stove for 22 years.  We don't use it like a counter top, we treat it like a stove top, always. Just like a stove with burners would be treated. Ours has the microwave above it also, so I understand that you may need a place to set something hot. If it isn't appropriate to set on a hot stove top, I wouldn't set it there.  I think it is just asking for trouble to try to find ways to signify what is hot or cool.  Mistakes will inevitable cause injury or fires, and I am not willing to risk either for an extra 18 inches of counter space. 

Edited October 10, 2016 by Tap

[kewb]

Our house came with the glass top stove.  It never occured to me to use it as counter space as it is a stove.  I have left the tea kettle on it since I would be using it frequently.

[Garga]

Why do you hate them, those who do?  Other than the hot burner problem?

[MotherGoose]

I don't have the hot burner problem because well I'm the only one who cooks and there is a schematic diagram of hot burners on the control panel to show which one is hot. I hate mine Because it's difficult to keep clean and nice. I do a lot of heavy cooking and they aren't made for that. I need a gas range, but that's not available where I live due to lack of service. Mine is scratched, cracked, you name it.

[SparklyUnicorn]

Why do you hate them, those who do?  Other than the hot burner problem?

 

I had one and hated it.  The biggest issue is that you'd think they were easy to clean.  No...no no no.  They are very difficult to clean.  It's not a matter of just wiping it down.  I also often felt as if I had to baby it.  If you have the coils, as a contrast, you can slam pots down and shift them around without doing damage.  With the class top I just never knew and didn't want to find out. 

[SparklyUnicorn]

I just wonder with that trivet if the trivet itself wouldn't just get very very hot and kinda defeat the purpose.

[marbel]

Yep, hard to keep clean.   Mine is black and it always looks bad.  No matter what I do, what I use... it is always either dirty, or recently cleaned but still looking dirty.  I hope never to have one again.

[SparklyUnicorn]

Yep, hard to keep clean.   Mine is black and it always looks bad.  No matter what I do, what I use... it is always either dirty, or recently cleaned but still looking dirty.  I hope never to have one again.

 

Someone warned me and I did not listen.  I now warn people and they do not listen.  LOL  It just makes no sense that it would be so annoying to clean.  I had this tool thing that was basically a large razor blade with a handle.  Even that didn't cut it.  There would always be something I couldn't get off of it.  It was never evenly clean looking.  It was just so stupid.  Like a streaky greasy window that never got clean no matter what you did to it.

 

I have gas now.  Electric is the pits.

[QueenCat]

Our house came with the glass top stove.  It never occured to me to use it as counter space as it is a stove. 

 

I've had glass top stoves for at least 15 years. I've never put anything on it that doesn't go on a stove or in an oven.

[Pawz4me]

I like my glass topped stove. Really, really like it. I can't imagine ever going back to one with coil burners. To me they're much harder to keep clean.

Edited October 11, 2016 by Pawz4me

[Guest]

Someone warned me and I did not listen. I now warn people and they do not listen. LOL It just makes no sense that it would be so annoying to clean. I had this tool thing that was basically a large razor blade with a handle. Even that didn't cut it. There would always be something I couldn't get off of it. It was never evenly clean looking. It was just so stupid. Like a streaky greasy window that never got clean no matter what you did to it.

 

I have gas now. Electric is the pits.

And see I've had gas for years and am dying to switch to an induction cooktop - cleaning the gas stove is a nightmare and SO time consuming.

 

The grass is always greener I suppose :p

[Selkie]

I like my glass topped stove. Really, really like it. I can't imagine ever going back to one with coil burners. To me they're much harder to keep clean.

I agree!  Keeping my glass topped stove clean has never been a problem.  Cleaning coils and drip pans was such a pain!

[Tap]

I agree to liking my glass top!  I have had two Whirlpool white/grey glass top stoves in different homes and they were (are) both great.  Super easy to clean (and I am very fussy) even if I let it go a week or two, a bit of stove top cleaner and a sharp glass scraper take care of it for me.  It looks great in just a swipe and no tippy burners for my huge Le Creuset or stock pots to deal with.  I don't baby it and use plain cast iron on it all the time. 

 

In the cabin we used to frequent, they had a  GE shiney black glass top.  Booooo Hissssss.  That thing never looked clean.  Swirls and streaks not matter what I seemed to use to clean it baked on food was hard to get off even with the same cleaner I used at home.  The stove top in the cabin was only used when we went there (the owner didn't cook at home-he ate out every meal) and I was the first person to power it on so I know it wasn't mistreated. LOL. 

Edited October 11, 2016 by Tap

[goldberry]

I had to get a trivet to cover the control pad on mine.

 

It has a lock on it that you have to hold for 5 seconds so I thought it was safe.  The first week we lived here we woke up one morning to one of the burners on high.   :scared:  One of the cats had apparently gotten up there and not only unlocked it but turned a burner on.  SCARY!  The trivet over the controls works great though.  

 

Cleaning was awful at first, until someone told me to use the Dawn-baking soda combo, then the razor scraper.  Love it now.

[skimomma]

I had one for years and we did the tea kettle thing.  That worked well.  And I did use mine as extra counter space.  It was right next to the fridge so I often found myself stacking fridge things on it while digging to the back of the fridge looking for something or when unloading groceries to go in the fridge.  Nothing ever stayed on the stove for more than a minute or two.  I hate that thing but I did not find it any more difficult to clean than my current gas stove.  Different but just as much of a PITA.  My beef was that it was electric which does not fit my style of cooking.  I recklessly use my current gas stove top as a drying rack for pots and pans.....

[MyLittleBears]

I had a friend with a glass top stove who had a fire because she used it as extra counter space. I believe she put a package of napkins on there without realizing it was still on.

[KungFuPanda]

I use mine as extra prep space when it's off and keep it clear when it's on. People simply don't put stuff on it when it's hot. It's never been a problem and nobody has come close to getting burned. I mean, you know A burner is hot and it's easy to puzzle out which one without actually touching it. I think you can feel the warmth easier than you can see the tiny indicator light anyway. I'm not getting the problem, but then again I'm not ever putting paper or flammable things on it.

[6packofun]

Why do you hate them, those who do?  Other than the hot burner problem?

 

We rent and ours is an older model that came with the house.  For me, the hate comes from how slowly it heats up, but I know that probably isn't as much of an issue with newer models. Maybe? I thought it would be easier to clean but it's just about as annoying to clean as any other stove.  OK, a bit less.  :P  I have a few big pots/pans that the largest burners are a bit too small for as well.  So it takes even longer to get a pot of water boiling.

 

I know that we shouldn't be using it as counter space, but we have ONE counter in the kitchen, about 4 feet of prep space and I do a LOT of cooking.  The stove is on an island and there are just 2 little 18" long counters on either side which are nearly useless.  lol  So I can't ADD an island for space, kwim?  It's a weird old house, what can I say!

[catz]

For me, waiting for it to heat up was so annoying after having gas for years.  We actually had the gas re-run at our house to replace it with gas.  We put the grates for the stove in the dishwasher occasionally and wipe down the top with some special cleaner and scrubber.  It hasn't been totally fine to keep clean IMO. 

[Reefgazer]

I can let you know what happens, LOL.  I needed to reach above the glass range to change the battery in a clock that was hanging there, and when I couldn't reach, I leaned my right knee on the top.  Knee busted right through the burner.  $1K to fix.  *That's* what happens.

I had one and hated it.  The biggest issue is that you'd think they were easy to clean.  No...no no no.  They are very difficult to clean.  It's not a matter of just wiping it down.  I also often felt as if I had to baby it.  If you have the coils, as a contrast, you can slam pots down and shift them around without doing damage.  With the class top I just never knew and didn't want to find out. 

 

[Reefgazer]

I use one of those green pot-scrubber scouring pads, followed by a wipe down with the dishcloth and it's looks fine.  Been doing that for years.

Someone warned me and I did not listen.  I now warn people and they do not listen.  LOL  It just makes no sense that it would be so annoying to clean.  I had this tool thing that was basically a large razor blade with a handle.  Even that didn't cut it.  There would always be something I couldn't get off of it.  It was never evenly clean looking.  It was just so stupid.  Like a streaky greasy window that never got clean no matter what you did to it.

 

I have gas now.  Electric is the pits.

 

[stephanier.1765]

I agree with you. It makes me absolutely insane when my family uses it as a counter. Why? Not because they might accidentally burn the house down but because they get it dirty. I clean it after every use because cooking on a dirty stove makes for a very difficult clean up so I keep it clean. When the male members of this household use it as a counter, they get food all over it. Streaks of mayo, sauce from pizza, and heavens knows what else. Then guess who has to clean the stove AGAIN before she can even use it. UGH!

[Soror]

I've had one since I got married, 17 yrs now. Love mine. I never, ever use it as a countertop. I try to always be cautious of it being hot and tell the kids the same. I don't find them any harder to clean than a regular stove. Really I think they clean better b/c with the straight razor I can actually get everything up, those with the coils would inevitably have some nasty thing spilled on them that I couldn't get up. I just use a soapy rag and razor.