A ceramic stove top is not only a very efficient cooking appliance to have in your kitchen but it is also quite aesthetic to look at. That is until you let it get dirty from various food spillages and oil stains. A dirty ceramic stove top essentially loses the visual appeal that it is so known for.
Thus, if you want the appliance to look iconic all the time, you must clean it regularly. But cleaning a material as fragile as ceramic needs more care and thus you must handle it carefully. You cannot exert too much force or use anything coarse or it will leave scratch marks on the surface.
But stains such as dried-up oil, watermarks, and stubborn dried food can be hard to clean with little force. What are you supposed to do then? This is a common query for those who have a ceramic cooktop in their kitchen. Thankfully, there are several methods to safely clean a ceramic glass cooking top.
How to Clean Ceramic Stove Top?
Ceramic stove cleaning can be of three different types. One is the regular cleaning that is done daily or after every time the stove is used. The two other types involve special cases where the stove top is stained by burn marks or stubborn stains from cooking something.
Each of the three scenarios has been addressed below.
Regular Cleaning of Ceramic Glass Cooktops
Cooking food is a greasy affair more often than not and no matter how much you try not to spill on the cooktop, little crumbs here and there will always escape from the cooking utensil and settle on the ceramic cooktop.
That is why you should clean it regularly. If you use the appliance every day, then wipe it down after the day’s cooking is done. Here is how you can do that:
- Allow the cooking top to cool down to avoid any burns or scalds on your hand.
- Dilute some mild detergent or liquid soap and spray it over the cooktop thoroughly in generous amounts. The amount of cleaning solution you spray depends on how grimy the cooktop is.
- Now let the solution marinate on the ceramic surface for at least 10 minutes.
- In the meanwhile, cover the cooktop with a damp rag that has been soaked in the same soapy solution. The rag should not be less in dimension than the cooktop.
- After the 10 minutes are over, use that same rag to gently scrub the cooktop in wide circles. Try to get rid of all the accumulated grime and scoop it up with the rag.
- The remainder of the frothy soap solution and grime can either be cleaned with that very same rag after being washed thoroughly. Or just use a soft sponge for the purpose.
- Now let the cooktop air-dry for a minute or two.
- Run a dry paper towel to remove any remaining soap from it.
If mild detergent is not effective for you then you can use a cooktop cleaner or even baking soda along with detergent. Just make sure you are not using any ammonia-based cleaner to clean ceramic cooktops, as it will leave iridescent stains on the ceramic.
Also, make sure that the rug/sponge you are using is not abrasive but has a soft surface. Products like scouring pads and steel wool will leave unremovable marks on the cooktop.
Dealing With Burn Marks On The Stovetop
Burn marks are a bit more difficult to deal with than the regular grime and dirt that accumulates on the stove. Therefore, some extra steps need to be taken in order to clean a burn mark.
First of all, you should not wait for very long to clean such a stain because it may become dry, hard, and therefore difficult to remove.
Here is what you can do to get rid of them:
- Without waiting for the stove to cool down, scrape the burn mark(s) with a silicone spatula. This will prevent the debris from hardening into a solid mass that will be difficult to remove.
- Now make a paste with 4 parts baking soda and two parts water. If the cooktop has cooled down by now, smear the paste on top of the burn marks. Make sure the marks are thoroughly covered with the paste.
- Wait for 20-30 minutes after covering the area with a damp rag.
- After this time has elapsed, use a soft wet rug to clean the area.
- If the burn marks are still there, reapply the paste and repeat the process.
- Now use a dry paper towel to wipe it one more time.
There are other alternatives for the baking soda paste such as a stovetop cleaner, vinegar solution, or letting the burnt area marinate in olive oil. However, using the baking soda paste is by far the most effective.
It acts as a mild alkali and makes it easier for dirt to dissolve faster in water. This makes baking soda better suited for ceramic glass cooktop cleaning than chemical-based cleaners.
Also, try not to use metal scrapers to remove the burnt mark and only use soft silicone scrapers or spatulas.
If you do use a metal scraper, make sure it is very thin and used gently. This will protect the stovetop from scratches.
If you do not have a silicone scraper available, then fold paper towels until it becomes solid and unfoldable and use that as a substitute scraper.
Cleaning Serious and Stubborn Stains
Stubborn stains are those that do not come off even after multiple rounds of scrubbing and cleaning. They can be really annoying and just stick to the ceramic surface without showing any signs of ever disappearing.
These stains can come from spillage from stews, oil spills when frying, tomato sauces, sugar or syrup etc. In the worst case scenario, even a plastic container that was unassumingly placed on the stove top may melt and accumulate into a shapeless solid puddle on the ceramic.
When you encounter stains from tomato sauce, coffee, sugar/ syrup, melted plastic or aluminum foil, do not wait for the stove to cool down and immediately take action to save the cooktop from permanent damage:
- Turn off the heat and gently lift the cooking utensil from the burner area. Do not drag the cookware in a hurry as it will crack / scratch the ceramic. Cookware should always be lifted and removed.
- Wear a heatproof rubber glove as the stovetop is still hot.
- Take a silicone spatula and scrape off the stains while it is still warm. For melted plastic and syrup stains, you may have to use a metal scraper. Make sure to safely handle it.
- After you have scraped off most of the spillage, marinate the area with a suitable dishwashing liquid/baking soda/vinegar solution and gently follow a regular cleanup routine using a damp towel or sponge.
For stubborn stains from any other kind of food that do not pose a threat of permanent damage, you can wait until the cooking is done to clean them up. Several methods can be used for this:
- A Magic Eraser- A microporous sponge specially designed to deal with stains that are difficult to clean or remove. If your using baking soda with a regular washrug has yielded no results then you can try this.
- After you have done the initial cleaning with a magic eraser scrub, use a cleaner meant for cleaning stove tops to wipe the ceramic surface down. This will not only get rid of the remaining dirt and stain, but also restore the shine on the ceramic glass.
A word of caution– you should resort to scraping with a metal razor only if no other methods worked because using such a solid object such as a metal scraper can cause scratch marks on the ceramic surface. And scratch marks are permanent.
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Wrapping Up
So, this was a comprehensive guide on how to clean your ceramic cooktop safely, without causing any damage to it.
That being said, you should not have to wait for any spillage or food stains to occur in order to clean your stove top. You should maintain your ceramic stove and make sure to clean it regularly to preserve that sleek shine.
To protect it from scratches, apply a thin layer of olive oil after each wash and then rub it off with a paper towel. This will reduce friction on the ceramic surface and prevent any damage from contact with tough cookware such as made of cast iron. And finally, to keep the glass safe, you can keep it covered with a transparent cooktop protector
It is best to take care of a thing as fancy and elegant as a ceramic cooktop because firstly, one tiny crack or scratch will stick out like a sore thumb whenever you lay eyes on it and secondly, prevention is always better than cure!