How To Clean A Burner On An Electric Stove

In a perfect world, you may imagine that kitchens would magically clean themselves and you'd never have to clean electric stove top burners. Unfortunately, that type of technology hasn't been developed yet, and cleaning stove burners is a priority if you like to cook and keep a clean kitchen. You can use commercial products, but there are DIY stove burner cleaner options that you'll find right in your kitchen.

Before you start cleaning stove top burners, you should know the electric stove part names, which include the coil and drip pan. The coil is the round part that gets hot when you cook. On an electric stove top, there are four coils of different sizes. To operate a specific coil, you turn the knob for that area of the stove. These coils are also called stove eyes.

The drip pan is the stainless steel metal bowl that's underneath the coil. Most of the time, if you spill anything while cooking or food drips, the drip pan should catch it. As you've probably seen for yourself, the drip pan gets dirty too.

When it's time to clean your stove, you want to make sure it isn't turned off and cool. Before you clean electric stove top burners, you should remove and unplug them. To do this, lift the burner and detach the wiring that's beneath. Consult the owners manual if you don't see any wiring and it will tell you how to unplug them.

Read more: Types of Stove Tops

When using the baking soda method to clean an electric stove top, you're going to want to first wash all the burners with lukewarm water and dish soap. This will get rid of the top layer of dirt that's on the burners. Then, make a paste using baking soda and water. Make sure you don't use a lot of water because you want more of a thick paste instead of a runny one.

Coat all of the burners with the thick paste and let it sit for 20 minutes. After 20 minutes, scrub the food residue and dirt with a scrub brush. After you scrub all of the residue and dirt off, rinse the baking soda paste completely off the burner.

Another popular method to clean electric stove top burners is to do daily maintenance with vinegar and water. This method is even more straightforward than the baking soda method because you just need vinegar. Make a solution of 1 part vinegar and 1 part water and shake it up in a spray bottle. Spray the mixture on the burners and let it sit for 15 minutes.

Afterward, wipe down the burner with a clean cloth, and they're as good as new. This method is perfect if you like to clean your stove every day and not let dirt and grime build up over time. Daily maintenance is the best way to clean electric stove tops. You'll only have to use the baking soda paste method if your burners are very dirty or there's a lot of oil and grease on them.