Home » Misc » Cleaning stove top grill

Cleaning stove top grill


How to Clean Gas Stove Top Grates and Burners

Cleaning your range is a great way to keep your kitchen looking and smelling great. But, once you’ve finished sweeping up crumbs and wiping up surfaces, it’s time to turn your attention to an often-ignored component of your gas cooktop—the grates or burners. Learn how to clean gas stove top grates and burners with this step-by-step overview.

What you’ll need to clean gas stove grates and burners

Before you start cleaning your gas grates and burner tops, review your owner’s manual or user guide. Each range is different, and there may be special instructions for cleaning your grates and tops. If you have an electric cooktop with a glass-top surface, cleaning instructions will vary.

Supplies

Whether you need to scrape burnt-on food or brighten up your range's exterior, the affresh® stainless steel brightener1 and cooktop cleaning tools from Whirlpool brand can help provide a smooth process.

Note:

Do not use oven cleaners, bleach or rust removers to clean your gas burners. Do not use wooden toothpicks to clean the burner ports.

Step 1: Remove the cooking grates and burner caps

Remove your cooking grates and burner caps and disconnect the wires once the surface has completely cooled. For some models, you may need a screwdriver to remove the burner caps. If you have a range with a standing pilot light, make sure to turn off the gas valve prior to removing any parts.

Step 2: Soak the grates

Soak your cooking grates and burner caps in hot, soapy water for a minimum of 20 minutes. If your grates are cast iron, don’t soak them unless they’re coated or seasoned. If you’re not sure how to clean stove grates that are uncoated cast iron, check your owner’s manual.

Step 3: Create a baking soda mixture

If your grates or caps are very dirty, create a paste by mixing three parts baking soda to one part water. Coat the grates in this mixture and set aside for 20 minutes.

Step 4: Clean the burners

Wipe down the burners with a non-abrasive scrubbing pad, soft cloth or cleaning wipe, like one found in this affresh® cooktop cleaning kit.1 If you have coated the burners in baking soda paste, rinse this off first to avoid damaging the finish. Use a soft bristled brush to remove stubborn, stuck-on food. 

Do not use wooden toothpicks to clean burner ports. Be mindful to not enlarge or distort the openings during the cleaning process.

Step 5: Replace the burners and burner caps

Ensure the burners and burner caps are thoroughly cleaned and dried.

If your model has screws, use a screwdriver to replace the burner caps. The burner caps should be stable and sit flush with the burner base.

Step 6: Replace the grates

Ensure the grates are thoroughly cleaned and dried.

Shop Whirlpool

® replacement stove parts

If your gas cooktop grates and burner caps are looking worn or not working properly, they may need to be replaced. You can purchase replacement burner grates, burner caps, control valves and other gas range kitchen accessories from Whirlpool brand to keep your range up and running.

FAQs to cleaning stove burners and grates

When it comes to cleaning your gas stove, common questions may arise about how often to clean and signs it needs to be cleaned. Refer to the FAQs below for more tips:

How often should I clean my gas stove?

You should give your gas stovetop a quick cleanup after every time you use it since fresh spills and splatters are usually easier to clean. Make sure the surface is completely cool to the touch before cleaning. A deeper clean can be done about once a week.

Why do gas stove tops turn black or leave black marks on my pans?

Black marks may appear on your cookware if your burners are not heating evenly or if the flame is turned up too high.

Why is my gas burner flame yellow or orange?

A yellow or orange flame may be caused by dirty burner ports, insufficient air supply or the burning of existing spills on the surface. To resolve a yellow or orange flame, thoroughly clean your burners and gas stovetop.

How do I clean clogged gas burner ports?

Use a straight pin, needle or small–gauge wire to clean the burner ports and clear away any clogs. Be mindful to not distort the opening while cleaning. Refrain from cleaning the burner ports in the dishwasher or using wooden toothpicks.

How do I clean burnt-on food and grease on my gas stove top?

To clean burnt-on food and grease, spray the area with a cleaning solution and wipe away any debris with a damp cloth. Use a cooktop scraper to scrape away stubborn messes.

How do I clean cast iron stove grates?

If your cast iron grates are seasoned, place them in the sink and soak in soapy water for 20 minutes. After they are done soaking, wipe the grates clean and thoroughly dry before placing them back on your stove. Refer to your owner’s manual for specific instructions on cleaning the grates for your gas range.

Find gas ranges and cooktops from Whirlpool brand

Whirlpool brand offers a wide selection of gas ranges and gas cooktops with convenient features to help save you time on cleanup, like EZ-2-Lift™ Hinged Grates, for quick access to wipe up spills. Browse our selection to find the one that matches your cooking routine.

Shop Whirlpool

® gas ranges

WFG505M0BS

WFG775H0HV

WFG320M0BS

WGG745S0FS

Shop Whirlpool

® gas cooktops

WCG52424AS

WCG55US0HS

WCG55US6HB

Learn more about appliance care and cleaning

home heartbeat

Ready for more tips, home hacks and appliance guides?

Browse All Articles

Was this article helpful? Pass it on

1. affresh® brand products and the recommending brands’ products are all owned and distributed by Whirlpool Corporation.

How to Clean Stove Grates (3 Easy Methods)

Stove grates get covered in all kinds of dirt, grime, oil and food residue. Are you cleaning yours enough? If you’re not sure how to clean stove grates, it can be an overwhelming task. We’re here to recommend you a few different methods so that your stove grates are super clean on a daily basis.

How to Clean Stove Grates

Pour boiling water over the stove grates while they’re in the sink. Then fill up the sink with hot soapy water. Soak for 10 minutes. Scrub clean with a sponge. Rinse under warm water and wipe off excess debris with a cloth. Dry thoroughly. Replace.

Table of Contents

What Are Stove Grates Made From?

Yours are likely made from cast iron. Some have a porcelain finish which needs to be cared for well, since exposed cast iron can rust easily. Cast iron needs to be treated with care so make sure to avoid metal scouring pads and harsh chemicals such as ammonia.

Top Tip

Always dry your stove grates thoroughly before putting them back on your stovetop. If too much moisture stays on cast iron, it can rust.

How to Clean Stove Grates

We’ll share a few different methods so that you have multiple options up your sleeve, depending on what supplies you have in the house.

Baking Soda Paste

For this method, we’ll make a baking soda paste that can deep clean your stove grates.

What You Need
Step by Step Instructions
  1. Pour the baking soda and water into your bowl. Mix with a spoon to form a paste.
  2. Wearing gloves, use your hands to spread the paste evenly over the stove grates.
  3. Let it sit for 20 minutes.
  4. Scrub the paste with the brush. This will help remove loosened dirt.
  5. Rinse under cold water while scrubbing the excess residue with a cloth.
  6. Dry thoroughly with a dish towel.
  7. Return it to the stovetop.

Dish Soap

You can clean your stove grates like you do with the rest of your dishes. We do this with ours and it works great!

What You Need
Step by Step Instructions
  1. Place the stove grates in a sink with the drain open. Pour boiling water over the grates to help loosen dirt and debris.
  2. Put the plug back in the sink and fill with hot soapy water.
  3. Let the grates soak for 10 minutes. If yours are larger than the sink, let them soak for 10 minutes on each side.
  4. Scrub them clean with your brush or sponge.
  5. Rinse them under warm water and scrub using your microfiber cloth to give them one last wipe.
  6. Dry thoroughly with a dish towel.
  7. Return to the stovetop.

Use a Commercial Degreaser

If you need to follow through with a heavy-duty clean, we recommend using a commercial degreaser. Make sure that it’s suitable for the material of your stove grates.

What You Need
Step by Step Instructions
  1. Spray the grates, burners and stovetop with your commercial degreaser.
  2. Let it sit for half an hour.
  3. Scrub hard with your brush or sponge until you’ve lifted all dirt and debris.
  4. Repeat if necessary.
  5. Wipe down with a damp microfiber cloth.

How to Care for Stove Grates Daily

The above methods are good for deep cleaning which we recommend doing once a week or so. But what about keeping the grates clean daily? Here are our top tips.

  1. Clean with vinegar daily. Mix together a 1:1 ratio of distilled white vinegar and water in a spray bottle. Add some essential oils for a nice scent, if you like. Spray over your grates and let it sit for 15 minutes before wiping with a clean damp cloth.
  2. If you spill a liquid or food onto the grates, clean it up right away. It’s really easy for food to harden over the grates and be almost impossible to remove.
  3. Keep the stove grates dry. If they get particularly damp or wet during cooking, give them a quick dry with a towel. Make sure to do this after the vinegar spray method, too.
  4. Use a scrubby brush to loosen baked on food if you can’t remove it with just your fingers. Do this every evening as you clean your kitchen.
  5. Spot clean when you notice a nasty spot but don’t have time to deep clean. Dip a cleaning toothbrush in baking soda or salt and scrub the area. This will help lift the dirt or stain.

Clean Stovetop

Cleaning a stovetop is by far one of the most laborious and slow cleaning jobs in the kitchen. There are tons of small parts that need to be individually and carefully cleaned. But now that you know how to clean the stove grates, hopefully you feel a bit more prepared for a clean kitchen.

You can use a baking soda paste, dish soap or a commercial degreaser. All three will deep clean your grates. For daily cleaning, spray with a vinegar spray and spot clean with baking soda or salt.

Feedback: Was This Article Helpful?

Thank You For Your Feedback!

Thank You For Your Feedback!

What Did You Like?

What Went Wrong?

About the Author

Beth McCallum

Beth McCallum is a 20-something freelance writer & book blogger with a degree in creative writing, journalism and English literature. Beth firmly believes that a tidy house is a tidy mind. She is always looking for new ways to sustainably clean and tidy her house, that's kind on the environment but effective in the house, too!

How to clean the grill: is it possible and how to do it correctly, with and without removable panels

Does the grill need to be washed and, if so, why?
How to clean the grill?
Grill sink with fixed panels
Grill sink with removable panels
And if you didn't wash it right away?
How not to clean the grill?
Prevention

A classic grill is, in fact, a brazier. It is used to prepare meals on charcoal. Electric, gas and wood-burning devices are also popular.

It is sometimes believed that the grill, barbecue and barbecue are almost the same thing. It is not right. There are two fundamental differences:

  1. The grill has a lid so food is heated from all sides, making more cooking options available. In the brazier and barbecue, heating occurs only from below.
  2. In the grill, dishes are cooked according to the “high & quick” principle, quickly and at high heat. In other devices - “low & slow”, for a long time and on low heat.

In the grill, unlike the barbecue and barbecue, you can use all the main methods of heat transfer: thermal radiation, convection and conduction.

Do I need to wash the grill, and if so, why?

After each use, the electric grill must be thoroughly washed, remove carbon deposits. Why? So you need to take care of him according to the instructions. Dirt, if not removed immediately, tends to "eat" into the surface. Therefore, the remnants of fat and food, not removed immediately after the end of work, are later removed with difficulty.

In addition, leftover food crumbs begin to rot. Consequently, they exude an unpleasant odor and attract insects.

How to clean the grill?

First of all, you need to turn off the electric grill and wait for the surface to cool.

Under the working panels there is a fat tray - a fat receiver. During the washing process, it must be cleaned. The mass in it is poured into a garbage bag. Then the tray is washed with water to which detergents are added. Finally dry.

There is a folk way to remove the remnants of dirt in the pan: remove them with paper towels. Then the grease receptacle is washed with a soft, soapy cloth made of natural fabric. It turns out quickly and inexpensively, and the result is no worse.

Grill sink with non-removable panels

In an electric grill with non-removable panels and a drip tray, the grease receptacle is removed and washed first. If it is not there, then you must first remove the remnants of fat and oil accumulated under the grate with a paper towel.

Next, clean the grill itself with a sponge and detergent. Instead of a ready-made solution from the store, you can use vinegar, salt and soda. Then wash the worktops. Finally, wipe the machine dry with a soft cloth.

Grill sink with removable panels

If the panels in the electric grill are removable, then the washing rules are, in principle, similar to those given above.

The list of operations and their sequence are presented on the example of the Polaris PGP 1802 grill press:

  1. Switch off the appliance and wait until it has completely cooled down.
  2. Remove the work grates. Wash them in warm soapy water. If desired, in the dishwasher. Washing procedure - according to the instructions, based on the fact that the panels are made of aluminum alloy.
  3. Use the included plastic scraper to remove food residues stuck to the grates. It is made in the form of a comb, which simplifies the cleaning of the profiled surface. Hot panels cannot be processed with it - it will melt. If necessary, you can use a soft brush.
  4. Remove drip tray and drain grease. Wash with soapy water, dry, reinsert.
  5. Dry the panels and replace them.
  6. Wipe the housing with a dry or slightly damp cloth.

Removing the grilles is easy - just press the latches. To return the panel to its place, you need to insert the grooves into the hooks on the case, and then press it until it clicks.

What if you don't wash it right away?

There are no ideal people. Therefore, it happens that the grill was not washed immediately after work. And then - you have to cook something again, but it's dirty.

Metal grills can be washed with vegetable oil. To do this, you need to heat the panel so that the remains of food turn black, and then remove them with a scraper. Then take a special brush and clean the surface. Then saturate a paper towel with vegetable oil, but not too much: when oversaturated, the oil will begin to drip, smoke will appear. With this towel, the grate is lubricated and cleaned. In conclusion, the grill cover is closed and the device is warmed up for several minutes. Everyone can cook!

If there are residual food odors, to remove them, wipe the work surface with a solution of vinegar (2 tablespoons of vinegar per 1 glass of water).

How not to clean the grill?

In order not to spoil the device and not to suffer yourself, it is impossible:

And, of course, you can’t neglect cleaning the electric grill every time you cook something on it.

Prevention

In order to have less worries in the future, immediately after purchase, a new device is recommended to be well fried with the addition of vegetable oil. If this is done, the products do not burn later, the device is easy to clean.

It is better to store the equipment in a package so that dust does not settle.

The electric grill, which is cleaned after each cooking, lasts longer and the dishes are tastier.

How to clean the grill / Instructions from Food.ru - an article from the "Equipment and Devices" section on Food.ru

All summer weekends and holidays you can cook on the street instead of standing at the stove. Grilled meat and vegetables are delicious. But after dinner, the question will definitely arise: how to clean the grates and devices so as not to spoil it. Food.ru prepared instructions.

The grill comes in many varieties - a classic frying pan with a special function, a device with removable metal grills and a "solid" one in which the grills are not removable.

If you are just planning to buy, choose models with a removable grid - they are much easier to clean. A solid grill must be disconnected from the mains before cleaning, otherwise you risk provoking a short circuit. Make sure that water does not get on the wires and "nests" inside the case. Make sure you thoroughly rinse off all cleaning products.

Clean the device after each use. Don't be tempted to leave it until the next time, even if it seems to you that the grate is almost clean. In addition, meat fried on a dirty panel will acquire an unpleasant taste.

The best solution before any cleaning is to soak removable parts in hot water with vinegar, ammonia, citric acid, soap or any detergent. Leave for a few hours or overnight - an acidic or alkaline environment will help break down the dirt, after which all you have to do is wipe the grate with a sponge and rinse with water.

If you are carrying a barbecue grill after a picnic, you can soak it immediately in the bag and tie it tightly. By the time you get home, the soot will get wet.

How to clean your barbecue grill

The best solution is to use special detergents designed for kitchen appliances: these are now produced by most manufacturers of household chemicals. It is also worth stocking up on a stiff brush like a wire washcloth - just keep in mind that it is not suitable for all types of grill! - and a regular soft sponge for washing dishes. Some people like to clean with a tightly crumpled ball of foil - metallic paper is great for removing dirt. The algorithm depends on the material from which the grating is made. Several options:

Always read the instructions on the packaging before using household chemicals.

Learn more