By: Consumer Reports
During the busy holiday season, your kitchen can start to get pretty gross, with sauce-spattered burner grates, dirty controls, and a greasy oven window that can make it impossible to see inside.
Good thing all that clutter probably means you’ve served your family and guests well. But don’t let the grime sit for too long or it could start to affect your kitchen’s performance and possibly attract unwanted critters that want to munch on the leftovers. Here’s how to get it from the cleaning pros at Consumer Reports.
Step 1: Clean the cooktop
If your kitchen has a gas stove, start by removing the cast iron grates and burner covers. Small spills can be removed with hot, soapy water. If the racks and covers are badly stained, place them in a plastic bag or other sealable container along with a quarter cup of ammonia and leave overnight. The strong alkaline is also a mild grease solvent, so it will weaken stains, making them easy to remove with soap and water.
Warning: Whenever you work with ammonia, be sure to Make sure the area is well ventilated and never combine it with bleach or the mixture will give off dangerous fumes. As a precaution, place bagged burner grates in the garage or in a secluded area of your home.
Clean the top of the burner with hot soapy water and a plastic scouring pad. Never use steel wool or abrasive cleaners as they can scratch the surface.
Do you have a smooth surface electric stove? Watch this instructional video on surface care.
Step 2: Clean burner ports
“If a burner is having trouble lighting, it could be due to a clogged ignition port,” explains Tara Casaregola, who oversees cooking tests for Consumer Reports. “You can clean the port with a wire or a needle.” Do not use wooden sticks or other materials that can break inside the ports.
“If the burner slots have dirt, the flame will not be uniform”, he adds. “You can clean around the grooves with a toothbrush.”
Step 3: Degrease the controls
After being handled for days with hands covered in food, stove controls will be up for a good scrubbing. Most can be removed and cleaned in the sink with hot, soapy water, or even put in the dishwasher. Clean the control panel where the knobs sit with a damp, not wet, sponge, taking care that no liquid reaches the electronic components.
Step 4: Clean the inside of the oven
Most new ranges have self-cleaning ovens, so Consumer Reports tests by spreading a mixture of eggs, cheese, stuffing of cherry pie, lard, tomato puree, and tapioca into the oven cavity, door, and window, then bakes at 425 ° F for an hour. Most of the top-rated models in our stove ratings scored Very Good or Excellent. But other models have a harder time coping with accumulated dirt. Also keep in mind that the oven will be out of commission for several hours during the self-clean cycle, and your house could smell of burnt dirt, so it’s not appropriate if guests come over.
You can skip the self-clean cycle and clean the oven by hand with hot soapy water and a plastic sponge. Cover the stuck stains with a damp cloth to loosen them and then pass the sponge again.
And finally, clean the oven door with a damp sponge or cloth that is not very wet. You don’t want the water or cleaning solution to drip and leave streaks on the inside of the glass, because that may require disassembly of the door.
Step 5: Polish the exterior
Complete the job by cleaning the exterior. For stoves with a white or black finish, use soapy water and a sponge. For stainless steel, you’ll get the best results without drip streaks by using a special cleaner for that task, such as Weiman Stainless Steel Cleaner & Polish. Regular glass cleaner is also effective at removing built-up dirt, as well as smudges and fingerprints. Whatever cleaner you use, apply it with a soft cloth in the direction of the metal grain.
In the following video, the experts at Consumer Reports will guide you on the right way to clean a dirty oven and stove.
Consumer Reports is an independent, nonprofit organization that works side by side with consumers to create a fairer, safer, and healthier world. CR does not endorse products or services, and does not accept advertising. Copyright © 2022, Consumer Reports, Inc.
Consumer Reports has no financial relationship with advertisers on this site. Consumer Reports is an independent, nonprofit organization that works with consumers to create a fair, safe, and healthy world. CR does not endorse products or services and does not accept advertising. Copyright © 2022, Consumer Reports, Inc.