How to Clean an Electric Stove Top

Co-authored by Michelle Driscoll, MPH

Last Updated: April 18, 2024

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Even though the coiled burners of most kinds of electric stovetops are designed to be self-cleaning, some spills and messes might require more thorough efforts. Not to mention, your burners will accumulate buildup over time. Pre-treat your stovetop by wiping it with a damp rag and turning the burners on high. Remove dirtiness from your stove by scrubbing burners clean along with the areas beneath burners. Maintain your stovetop by using liners and wiping up messes immediately.

Part 1

Part 1 of 3:

Pre-treating Your Stovetop

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1
Wipe your stovetop with a water dampened rag. Burners should be cool to the touch. Use a clean, lint-free cloth, like an old t-shirt or dish towel. Thoroughly dampen it with water. Wring out any excess moisture. Lightly wipe all surfaces of the stovetop, including the tops and sides of coil burners.^{[1]
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- In some cases, you may only have a flat stovetop without coiled burners, like a glass topped stove. Generally, these stoves are simply wiped clean with a suitable cleaning agent, like window cleaner.^{[2]
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- Lint left behind on coil burners will smoke unpleasantly when you turn these on later. For this reason, only use lint free cloths to clean your electric stove.
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Turn burners to their highest setting. This is a self-cleaning measure designed into electric stoves. The high heat will burn off much of the remaining dirtiness on the coiled burner. However, in many cases, this feature only reduces dirtiness. A thorough cleaning is required for heavy dirtiness or stubborn buildup.
- This technique will likely cause smoke to rise from the burners. This is natural. Prevent your smoke detector from going off by turning on a stovetop fan or opening a window.
- When the smoke stops rising from your burners, they have burned off what they can. Turn off the burners at this point.
- Refrain from touching the burners with your bare hands shortly after turning them off. Doing so could result in burns.^{[3]
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Remove the burners from the stove. Allow the burners to cool fully before handling them. Most coil burners can be removed by tugging the burner in the opposite direction of its connection to the stove and lifting. Some stoves may have extra fasteners. Consult your user manual if you have difficulty removing your stove's burners.^{[4]
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- If you don't have the manual for your stove, look up its make and model number online. Most appliance manuals can be found in digital format online.^{[5]
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Part 2

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Removing Dirtiness from an Electric Stove

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1
Scrub burners with a rag dampened with water and soap. Hold coil burners so the end that connects to the stove and supplies the coil with electricity does not get wet. Rinse your rag in warm water and wring out excess moisture. Apply dish soap to the rag and use it to scrub the coil burners.
- For especially dirty burners, you may need to “rinse” surfaces while cleaning. Wipe dirty burner surfaces down with a separate clean, lint-free, water dampened dishrag.
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Use Bar Keeper's Friend and a scouring sponge for very dirty burners. Sprinkle the Bar Keeper's Friend over the burner. Then, wet the scouring sponge. Rub the sponge against the burner to remove any debris.
- This is an effective treatment for burners that you can't clean with just soap and water.
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Break up stubborn buildup with baking soda. In a small bowl or cup, combine a half cup (118 ml) of baking soda and 3 or 4 tbsp (44.4 or 59 ml) of water. This will make a thick paste. Apply this paste to dirty burners for about 20 minutes.
- When the baking soda paste is through, remove it by wiping it away with a damp, clean, lint-free cloth. Rinse this cloth often to remove paste from it.
- This baking soda cleaning paste can be used to clean much of the stove. For example, you might want to save some to clean the areas beneath burners.^{[6]
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Clean the areas beneath the burners. Use a clean dishrag, warm water, and a little bit of liquid dish soap to wipe down these areas. If any baking soda paste remains, this can be used as a soap substitute. Lightly scrub dirty areas with a cleaning pad. Avoid getting the socket (connecting) end of the burner wet.
- In some cases, you may need a cooktop scraper to remove stuck-on gunk. These are usually made of a hard plastic to prevent scratches to your stovetop.^{[7]
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Wipe all surfaces of your stovetop and coil burners with a dry, clean, lint-free dish towel. Reinsert your burners into their positions on the stove. Run each burner to verify you've installed each one correctly, then use your clean stovetop as you please.^{[8]
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Part 3

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Maintaining Your Electric Stovetop

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1
Prevent messes by using liners beneath the burners. The sunken area beneath coil burners is called the drip pan. This part of the stove tends to get dirty quickly. Save yourself time and effort spent cleaning by using drip pan liners, which are available at most supermarkets and grocery stores.
- Save money by making your own drip pan liners out of aluminum foil. Layer the bottom of your drip pan with the foil and discard the foil when it becomes dirty.
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Wipe up messes as they occur. Every time the cooktop cools, you should wipe it with a clean, lint-free cloth. This will keep your stove looking neat and well maintained. It also helps to prevent heavy buildup that can be time-consuming to remove.
- Set a time every day you can make it a habit to lightly clean the stove. This will make it easier for you to remember to do regularly.
Even cleaning messes as they occur, over time, spills and spatter will build up on the surfaces of your stovetop. Keeping up with your day to day light cleaning, however, should make a once a month deep-cleaning fast and relatively easy.^{[9]
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Question

How do I clean the scorch marks on an oven door?

Michelle Driscoll, MPH
Founder, Mulberry Maids
Michelle Driscoll is the Owner of Mulberry Maids, which is based in Fort Collins, Colorado. With five years of experience, her business specializes in cleaning homes and small offices. She holds a Masters in Public Health from the Colorado School of Public Health. Additionally, Mulberry Maids has an A+ rating from the Better Business Bureau.

Michelle Driscoll, MPH

Founder, Mulberry Maids

Expert Answer

Try mixing dish soap, water, and baking soda. Rub the mixture onto the oven door, then let it sit for at least 15 minutes. Use a scrubbing pad to scour the area, working the mixture into the scorch marks. This should remove them. Alternatively, you can try scraping away the marks and grime with a razor.

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Question

How do I make an electric stove top shine?

Michelle Driscoll, MPH
Founder, Mulberry Maids
Michelle Driscoll is the Owner of Mulberry Maids, which is based in Fort Collins, Colorado. With five years of experience, her business specializes in cleaning homes and small offices. She holds a Masters in Public Health from the Colorado School of Public Health. Additionally, Mulberry Maids has an A+ rating from the Better Business Bureau.

Michelle Driscoll, MPH

Founder, Mulberry Maids

Expert Answer

Make sure you are performing regular stovetop cleaning and always wipe up messes right after they happen. You should also use the information in this article to clean your coils regularly. It may take a lot of scrubbing with soap and water or baking soda and water to remove stuck on grime. You can also use a degreaser to remove stuck on grease.

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Question

How do I prevent spillage onto a flat glass electric stove top so it doesn't spill all over the floor from the sides?

Community Answer

Be more attentive and learn from your mistakes. You have the heat up too high, the pot is too full or you're just throwing a lid on and thinking it will retain everything. Lids allow the pot's contents to heat faster and therefore boil-over, most specifically directly out and over the pot's/pan's sides.

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