This $4 Painter’s Tool Is the Secret to a Perfectly Clean Stovetop

I am a big believer in the powers of dish soap and elbow grease. Together, this powerful duo can be used to clean almost everything. You really do not need a lot of other fancy products! (I would argue that you also need bleach, but that is a case for another time, and P.S.: Do not mix bleach and dish soap.) 

However, I will admit that sometimes dish soap just isn’t enough and you have to get a little bit resourceful. Lately I’ve been leaning a lot on a tool that you’d normally find in a toolbox: a paint scraper.

A paint scraper is basically just a razor blade with a sturdy, metal handle for leverage. It’s used by handy pros to remove paint from glass, tile, metal, and other hard surfaces. Turns out, it’s also extremely good at removing that dried-on spaghetti sauce / fried rice / food glob of undetermined origin from your stovetop. 

As previously mentioned, dish soap will go a long way when it comes to cleaning your kitchen and sometimes it is enough to clean your stovetop. But maybe (just maybe) you’ve let your spills and splatters harden for a little too long. Maybe you gave yourself a vacation from cleaning because you deserve it (you do!). Well, that food debris isn’t going to get easier to remove with time. 

That’s where a paint scraper comes in handy: Before you attack your stovetop with dish soap, use the tool to scrape off any stuck-on bits and burn marks. Scrape, scrape, scrape until everything is loose and then clear it away and see what you’re left with. (Personally, I like to use my vacuum cleaner to suck up whatever I’ve scraped off, but you can use a dry brush and dustpan or just a dish towel). If you missed any spots the first time around, repeat. 

This works really well if you have a glass stovetop, but the scraper is nimble enough to work on other types of stovetops, tiles, and, really, any hard surface that might have leftover bits of food glued on.

What do you use to clean your stovetop?