I love cooking with my gas stove. I feel like it does a way better job of holding the right temperature and cooking food. However, I do miss the easy clean up of a cooktop stove. With the cooktop, I could just wipe it down any time I had a spill and it always looked great. With my gas stove, it is very difficult to clean all the little nooks and crannies. The problem then occurs when the food or liquid gets spilled on the stove burners and then cooks. It makes a nasty mess that is difficult to scrub off.
I sometimes put the stove burners in the dishwasher and that helps a little, but it doesn't get the baked on food off. So I was thrilled when I discovered the easy no-scrub way to clean stove burners.
To clean them all you need is a large air tight bag and some ammonia. I used a gallon ziploc bag for my burners and it worked great. This is how they looked before.
Place the burners in the ziploc bag and then add a small amount of ammonia. About 1/4 of a cup should be plenty. The stove burners don't have to be touching the ammonia, it's the fumes that do the cleaning. Then seal the bag and let it sit for about 12 hours. I did mine in the evening and then opened them up in the morning.
After around 12 hours you can take the stove burners from the bag and wipe them down. The baked on food should just wipe right off. I was amazed the difference that it made. If you have larger stove parts that won't fit in a ziploc you can put them in a big glass pan (I use a lasagna pan) add 1/4 cup ammonia and then carefully cover with plastic wrap to keep the air in. The trick is to make sure you get it wrapped well.
Without any scrubbing, you can easily clean your stove burners and have them looking like new again. This is a fantastic trick to use once or twice a year to really get your stove looking shiny and clean.
Leslie says
I love my gas stove, too, and hope never to have any other kind, but you're right about the cleaning. I never thought of doing that with the burner pieces, and I'll do that the next time.
I wanted to share a related ammonia trick I do use. I take the oven racks out and put them in a heavy duty trash bag with ammonia and seal it tightly overnight. I do this outside and then just hose down the racks the next morning. It works really well.
Thank you for all your good ideas!
Julie says
I love your idea for using the ammonia on the oven racks! Mine get dirty and I put them in the dishwasher, but it never gets them 100 percent clean. I can't wait to try this idea next time I clean the oven. Thanks!
Kay Childs says
I see that this can be done with oven racks, and I can't wait to try it! But I'm wondering, since I have an electric range, will this also work for the drip pans under the burners?
Julie says
I don't see why it wouldn't work. I would give it a try. I would love to hear how it works for you.
Jenny says
What a great tip! This is my least favorite thing about having a gas stove-to the point where I have considered electric just to be able to make clean up easier. I will definitely use this! Do you have tips for under the burners? My stovetop is black and it feels like it is IMPOSSIBLE to get clean looking.
Fay says
Can this also work on the burners of a gas stove?
Julie says
I don't see why it wouldn't work. Maybe just try it on one first to make sure it works ok? I would love know how it turns out.