11 steps to cleaning my stovetop? REALLY? Wow. I remove the grates. Spray it down with 409. Let it sit for 1 minute. Wipe it down with a towel, scrubbing a little at the caked on bits. Maybe run the grates through the dishwasher if needed. DONE. Who has time for this nonsense?

this just reminded me how much i hated cleaning my old gas top stove! although i would looove gas again, i have to say my flat ceramic top stove is a breeze to clean. It wouldn't have been my first choice but its what came with the place.

If you do it daily it is much easier because stuff doesnt "bake" on. Every night I cook the last thing I do after the dishes is to windex the whole stovetop and wipe down with a paper towel. 20 seconds, Done. If it isnt greasy (just splashed pasta water or bread crumbs) I just use water and a clean tea towel. On the rare occasions I have something that needs a little elbow grease I use a damp Magic Eraser sponge.

Our electric stove was already old when we moved in 8 years ago, and the knobs / raised area behind the burners was covered in a greasy layer of cooking residue that has proved impossible to remove. I've actually scrubbed off some of the black paint while trying to get it clean but it's just as greasy as ever :(

agree with bx. the simplicity of materials is nice but all that jumping from sink to stove to wash out sponges seems silly. I spray mine down good with cleaner and wipe it up with a paper towel which leaves it streak free.

I use window cleaner on my stainless steel stove. It really works wonders. The kind that is used an car washes.

i always feel like if i don't wash off the cleaning substance with water, once i start using the stove again it'll burn up into some not-so-excellent fumes.

i'd rather go ahead and do the oh-so extensive and difficult "jumping" from sink to stove and complete the very tough task of washing out a sponge a few times than breathe in shit.

how lazy are you people?

This is exactly how I do it every other week or so. No fumes. Clean as a whistle! I would imagine if you had a non-gas stove life would be easier...but for those of us with gas stoves, cleaning the cook top is a little tedious given that you must remove the grates and the whole ceramic top is dipped down. Just to clarify...

@likethunder, if you knew how non-lazy my real life is, you'd know A) why I don't have time to take 11 steps and 30 minutes to clean my damn cooktop, and B) not to spew such judgmental crap when you don't know anything about our lives. Come work a 12 hour shift in the E/R alongside me, then call me "lazy."

WHY would I buy a separate stove cleaner...when the dishwashing liquid is just staring me in the face?...

@Bx, i guess with our choices of profession, we have to consider the trade-offs and deal with the obstacles that they will pose. i'm sorry that you need to work 12 hour shifts and still have to clean the stove yourself.

the fact that the process was divided into 11 steps doesn't mean it's gonna take a ton of time. you can, in fact, put the random parts that come off in the dish washer to speed up the process considerably. it's practically a 3-step deal after that: scrub with soapy sponge, clean off the soap with clean sponge, wipe off water with towel.

you can still use your favorite cleaner, i just think that inserting a simple step of clearing it off the surfaces with a wet sponge is well worth it.

I use foaming bubbles bathroom cleaner, let it sit between 1 and 5 minutes and then wipe away gently. I never have to scrub!

My tip is a little counter-intuitive, but works and is non-toxic. I find that the oily patches on my stove are easily cleaned up with a little olive oil and some elbow grease. Buff with a clean cloth when done.

Damn, you guys. Chill.

I confess to cleaning my stove top about once month (and I cook every day). Bicarbonate of soda removes grease and burnt-on spills without the need to scrub, and baby oil leaves stainless steel sparkling.

I will give baking soda and olive oil a try! (err, not together!)

I just wait til it annoys me, and then spray it with the green cleaner I get. Gets the job done, and there's no funky fumes to mess with.

I'm with igot2babe -- I wipe down my stove every night, although I just use dish washing soap.

Regular spot cleaning saves me a world of trouble and time.

wiping down with a vinegar solution works great for me and leaves no residue or fumes.. once every couple weeks i do a deep clean removing all knobs etc and scrub down with barkeeper's friend. impt thing is to keep doing it every time you use the stove so everything stays easy to clean.

If you have a black and stainless steel stove top like me, I highly recommend using a microfiber cloth instead of a regular dishtowel for the "buffing." It really gives you a streak-free finish.

It's the division into steps that makes the method in the OP look onerous. In practice, it's basically "drizzle, scrub, rinse, wipe."

I discovered this method by accident because my stove looked like hell and dish liquid was the nearest cleaning agent to hand. If the mess has been allowed to build, dish liquid gets gunk off faster than anything else I've ever tried.

I actually clean off my stovetop every time after I cook, so I never need to do any heavy-duty cleaning. It's funny, I have friends who come over and make surprised comments about how clean my stove is. Like, well yeah, shouldn't it be?

I put my grates through the dishwasher every three weeks or so--it gets them squeaky clean and makes the sponge scrubdowns in between easier to deal with, but otherwise, I pretty much use the same method--soap and very hot water.

If, like me, you clean infrequently, use a mixture of bicarbonate of soda and vinegar (it should be the consistency of thick wallpaper paste). 'Paint' this mixture onto the offending surface, then wipe clean - even thick layers of grease will come off without the need to scrub.

I use a paste made of Dawn and baking soda to scrub out the tough spots. I usually take off all of the pieces of the stove that I can--the knobs, the grates, the burner covers, the plates below the grates--and let them soak for a bit in boiling water. The grates, burner covers, and knobs all go in the dishwasher, while the heavily soiled plates go on a slightly damp dishtowel. I rub them down with the Dawn/baking soda paste, adding some salt if necessary, and scrub them with a Tuffy. After scrubbing, they get another soak in boiling water. Meanwhile, I scrub down the rest of the stove with hot water and Dawn, using my paste as necessary. Works like a charm and doesn't take too long.

any chance we could get a PDF of the "how to clean your house in 20 minutes"?

Also, my only argument is that tackling my fridge/freezer is definitely more than 20 minutes, but I usually have to clean it out once every 2 weeks or so when we do a big shop for a dinner party or something.

If you clean the stove top daily right after cooking when it's still warm it takes only a minute, without any elbow grease. At the same time wipe the front and you're done. Works with gas and electric stoves, I've had both. With the gas stove I vacuum the burner box every few days and wipe it out.
To clean the inside of the oven without ANY work or any harmful oven cleaners check this site: http://www.websiterepairguy.com/articles/household_tips/clean_oven.html
I have done this with an absolutely disgusting stove that had probably never been cleaned. After a few days it looked like new. It's the best tip I've ever gotten from the internet!

@BX - my DH used to use that approach but now our click-click automatic ignition does not work! I use glass stove top cleaner, but its expensive. I'll give this approach a try!

I put my grates through the dishwasher every three weeks or so--it gets them squeaky clean and makes the sponge scrubdowns in between easier to deal with, but otherwise, I pretty much use the same method--soap and very hot water.

kitchen pantry cabinet

I really like bon ami ! 5 ingredients cleaning powder, including sodium bicarb and calcium carbonate =) it's like...89 cents at target for a nice can!