November 23, 2020
How to Clean a Gas Stove or Cooktop
We’ve all been there. You turn your back on the stove for a moment and before you know it, that pot of oatmeal has bubbled over the top or the tomato sauce has managed to spatter over the entire surface. Or maybe it’s been a busy week or two and you’ve neglected your gas stove. I keep a damp bar mop towel next to the stove while I’m cooking to wipe up spills and little messes as I cook. This definitely helps, but as you can see, sometimes the mess gets away from us. Here’s how I quickly clean our gas cooktop.
Regardless of whether your gas stovetop is covered in the remnants of last night’s dinner or just needs a good cleaning, today’s post is for you. There is no need for harsh chemicals or stinky concoctions – just a little elbow grease and a common kitchen ingredient or two. Let’s get started!
Simple Tools to Clean a Gas Cooktop:
- All-Purpose Spray – I love how well this works on Stainless Steel and general cleaning. If you want to DIY your spray, I would use my All-Purpose Disinfecting Spray or Stone Cleaning Spray, both recipes are found here.
- warm water
- dish soap
- microfiber cleaning cloths or bar mop towels
- appliance cleaning brush – this is the set I have.
- baking soda (optional)
- Kosher salt (optional)
How to Clean a Gas Cooktop:
Begin by removing the grates on your stove and placing them in an empty sink. If possible, remove the knobs and the burner covers as well.
Fill a bowl or container with warm water and a squirt of dish soap. Place the knobs and burner covers in the bowl and allow them to soak while you tackle the cooktop and grates. If I’m not feeling like soaking the burners and grates, I’ll put them in the dishwasher instead. (Check and make sure that this is safe for your appliance.)
Dampen a soft cloth (I use microfiber or bar mop towels) with warm water and thoroughly spray the stove top, carefully avoiding the mechanisms of the stove or the gas outlets.
Thoroughly wipe the entire surface of the cooktop using a circular motion. 
After wiping down the surface with the cleaning solution, rinse and wring out the cleaning cloth thoroughly. Spray again and wipe down the entire surface once more to catch any errant crumbs and cleaning spray residue. Dry thoroughly with a soft cloth.
Food that has sat and baked on requires the help of a little extra cleaning powerhouse: baking soda. Baking soda is perfectly suited for this job as it is a mild, safe abrasive that is both economical and effective. Sprinkle a little directly on to the damp grates and scrub using your wrung out cleaning cloth with a bit of soap.
If you have some stubborn baked on bits that need some extra oomph, add a dash of Kosher salt to the mix. Sprinkle a little salt on to the grate as it sits in your sink and use the same damp cloth and dash of soap to scrub away those more challenging spots. The salt is just a bit more abrasive, but is still gentle enough to not damage your grates.
After you have scrubbed off all the residue, give the grates a good rinse, wipe them down with a warm, damp cloth and dry. I like to lay out a large towel and lay the grates on them to dry until I put them back on the stove.
The final cleaning step is to take care of the knobs and burner covers. The knobs won’t likely need much for cleaning other than a simple wipe down.. Dry them and put them on the towel along with the grates. If your burner covers are in need of more than just soap and water to clean, you can follow the same procedure as you did with the grates. Enlist the help of baking soda or salt as needed.
Make sure everything is thoroughly dry and reassemble. Stand back and enjoy that clean and shiny stovetop! Have stainless steel appliances? Head to this post.
Diane Says
Well Becky I put my grates in a trash bag with ammonia, this cleaned the majority of the gook off but just a little crud left so I did it again a week or so later. NOW there are white streaks on the black grates, anything I can do ??? Thanks in advance
Sherrie Says
I have a glass top stove. There are stains I just can not get off. Boiled over mac n cheese or potato that boils over. I have tried baking soda and cleaner from my grocery store designed to clean glass cook top stoves. Maybe I need to replace the glass top but I can not afford that right now
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Liane Says
I have one little trick I do before disassembling the range top and that is to vacuum it with a cordless vac. Assuming I already blotted up anything liquid. My stove seems to accumulate crumbs or bits of stuff that misses the pot on the stove – a random macaroni or tiny chunk of onion or dry parsley flakes. So vacuum then spritz. I find crud cutter which is all natural cuts grease really well so I keep a spray bottle with a dilute solution – about a single teaspoon to a pint, then I use the lemon and clove plus water and I always use water from my RO system because we have really rusty hard well water with a very high pH. I get less spots on stuff when I make my DIY solution. I looked up crud cutters MSDS and while I don’t plan to drink it, it seems to be a plant based cleaner. Just a tiny amount.
For glass and this is an appliance I’d never ever purchase ever, if a house came with one I’d insist on replacing it with gas, I’ve found in the past that easy off (yes it is lye, but actually a very old like 200 yrs old, cleaner) works used in extremely small amounts. I spray it into an old clean can or jar carefully and then use a sponge paint brush to dab it on. My daughter lived with a glass induction range for 6 months and it was disgusting when she moved it – my technique worked.