When you cook (at least, if you cook like I do), things can get a little messy. And the messiest part is the stove, specifically the stove grates. Most stovetops you’ll see are covered in dirt and old food left over from last week’s dinner (at least I am).
With this little trick, you can get perfectly clean stovetops in just a few hours. This trick is simple, economical and can even be done overnight, so you don’t have to worry about it! And when you’re done, you’ll feel like you have a brand new cooktop.
To get started, all you need are Ziploc bags and regular ammonia. Both are relatively inexpensive and available at any store. In short, if you don’t already have these common products at home for this DIY, they are easy and cheap to find anywhere.
Remove your greasy grids and put each one in its own Ziploc bag. Fill the bag with ammonia and turn it upside down so that the grates are facing down; this will allow the ammonia to build up around the toughest dirt and food and remove it easily.
But, let’s face it, it’s not just the top of your stove’s grates that see the worst of your cooking problems. Your entire grill is probably covered in some substance or another, or at the very least, it’s probably a little dull or rusty from age.
Don’t worry about filling the bags to cover the entire grill (you don’t want to waste the ammonia!), just make a small puddle in the bottom. The direct contact will help the thicker parts dissolve faster, but the ammonia vapors will also play an important role in cleaning the grate, so there’s no need to fully immerse it.
Let the bags sit overnight. When you take them out in the morning, you’ll see that all the gunk has fallen out of the grates and is swimming around in the bottom of the bag. It’s disgusting, we know, but much less disgusting than having that gunk on your stove!
Remove the grates from the bag and give them a good scrubbing with soap and water – cooking with ammonia-soaked grates is not recommended. But once the grates have been scrubbed and dried, you can put them back on the stove and use them normally.
You’ll find that the dirt and food residue that had accumulated on your metal grates has completely melted away. You should also notice that the overall quality of the stove has improved; your grates should be shinier and less foggy, making them look like new. You can also have peace of mind knowing that the ammonia has disinfected your cooktop, not only making it look clean, but ACTUALLY ridding it of potentially harmful bacteria.
Try this trick once a month or so to keep your stovetop grates clean.
What do you think of this handy household trick?
Do you use another method to get your stove grates clean?
