How to clean an electric stove

Electric stoves are no less common in kitchens than gas stoves. They differ in design, construction and degree of difficulty in care. You can wash an electric stove of any modification using universal folk remedies, which are also useful in cleaning other household appliances.

Types of electric stoves and the details of caring for each

Modern kitchens use:

Classic electric stoves. Such models have cast iron pancake burners or spirals made of the same material. First they heat up, then the dishes and, finally, the product. The slabs are easy to maintain.
Induction electric stoves. Here the burner remains cold, and the dishes with their contents heat up. Such a home assistant requires special utensils. And caring for the stove is easy.
Hobs with HiLight burners. The heating element here is a thin spring (or spiral) made of a special high-resistance alloy. Heating is instantaneous, which makes it possible to save electricity. These stoves have a glass-ceramic surface, which requires high-quality cookware and special care.

Electric stoves are also divided into open and closed. Open ones have spiral or disk heating elements located outside, closed ones have induction, halogen, tape heating elements located under the hob.

General rules for cleaning electric stoves

Regardless of the type of electrical appliance, immediately before cleaning it is recommended to do the following:

Set the switches to the zero position.
Turn off power.
Wait until the stove has completely cooled down.
Wipe the burners dry.
Do not use abrasive products.
For equipment, prefer soft sponges, lint-free wipes, and plastic scrapers.
Have a liquid spray bottle, a toothbrush, and toothpicks on hand.

You need to be extremely careful when working with liquid cleaners; use them sparingly so that moisture does not get on the heating elements.

Cautions

When working with electrical appliances and various substances, precautions should be taken . This will avoid health problems and protect equipment from damage:

Do not use abrasive sponges, hard scrapers, knives or other sharp tools for washing, so as not to damage the enamel coating;
Cleaning agents must not be applied to heating elements and the fan;
be sure to ventilate the oven after the cleaning procedure so that harmful substances do not penetrate into the food;
It is recommended to work with gloves and a mask.

If the smell remains, put a glass of water in the oven, dissolving activated carbon in it. This is the best product to absorb unpleasant odors.

How to clean carbon deposits from a regular electric stove

When choosing a purchased cleaning product, look at the label: it indicates which stoves it is intended for and which ones it will harm. Remove all removable parts (grids, burners) and wash them separately. Clean the enamel on the top surface of the stove carefully so as not to scratch the surface. Otherwise, dirt will accumulate in the resulting cracks, rust will appear, and the slab will lose its good appearance.

Aggressive powders and hard brushes are prohibited for enamel surfaces. Damage to the enamel can lead to chipping, which can allow harmful particles to get into the food. Use a plastic scraper. From cleaning products, choose those that create a film on the surface.

On a stainless steel plate, stains, traces of dried drops, and dust are very visible. Do not leave the stove wet, wipe until dry. Do not scrub metal surfaces with hard brushes, otherwise the stove will soon become unsightly.

Proceed like this:

After waiting for the burners to cool, apply the cleaning agent to the dirty areas;

leave for 15-20 minutes;
Use a moistened cloth to collect all soaked particles;
rinse with clean water;
wipe until dry.

To make the surface shiny, use wax paper.

Wipe the oven with soapy water, rinse with a clean cloth, and dry thoroughly. If you use a special oven cleaner, be sure to remove any remaining chemicals.

Pre-soak the grates in soapy water. Then clean with a stiff brush. It is better to remove the on/off handles (if possible) and wash them separately. If they are not removable, spray them with detergent and use a spare toothbrush to clean them. Remove dirt from the cracks with a toothpick. Rinse off any remaining solution and wipe dry.

Adviсe

A few simple tips will help you quickly cope with the procedure and also protect you from mistakes.

Before cleaning the oven, be sure to remove the racks and baking sheets from it. It's easier to wash them separately.
The door can also be removed, making it easier to handle.
Preheating the oven ensures that carbon deposits and grease soften and you don’t have to scrub the problem areas too hard. This will protect the enamel from damage.
Do not allow detergents to come into contact with your hands or eyes.
Be sure to rinse surfaces with clean water and dry them, followed by ventilation.

Following simple tips is a must. This is taking care of your health and the safety of your equipment.

Cleaning products for electric stoves

Use store-bought and improvised ones. Alkali-based products effectively eliminate fat: Shumanit, Cilit bang, Sanita Antifat, Unicum and others. Domestos, Cif, Comet surfaces are washed until shiny. It is better to buy solutions with an antibacterial effect. And do not wipe the panel with chemical compounds, as they will simply dissolve the inscriptions.

When there are small children or people with allergies in the house, use organic products. They do not wash away stains as well (they will take longer to act), but they are safer. Washing the stove at home is possible with improvised means. Dirt and grease are dissolved by soda, soap, alcohol, vinegar, and citric acid.

Preparatory stage

Before you begin, you should prepare the oven for cleaning. This is an important step that eliminates the possibility of electric shock and ensures high-quality cleaning of all surfaces.

Operations to be performed:

Be sure to disconnect the household appliance from the electrical network.
Remove baking sheets and racks.
Remove greasy food residues.
Prepare cleaning preparations or a homemade working solution.
From available means, prepare a washcloth, cloth napkins or rags.
Don't forget to wear gloves on your hands.

When the preparatory steps are completed, you can wash the electric oven. You should not ignore this stage in order to get the job done efficiently and quickly.

Here's how to clean an electric stove using "grandmother's" methods:

Moisten soda or dry mustard with water, and scrub the contaminated areas with this slurry.
Spray half-diluted table vinegar or apply with a melamine sponge onto greasy stains. Wait a little and wipe.
Instead of vinegar, dilute a teaspoon of citric acid in a glass of warm water. Treat burnt food residues. If there are only a few stains, rub them with citrus peels.
Dishwashing liquid also works on the surface of an electric stove. A soap solution performs no worse.
A combination of agents will enhance the effect. Vinegar is applied to the surface, followed by soda. After active foaming, it will be possible to clean off the dirt faster.
A mixture of soda with liquid soap and hydrogen peroxide (ratio 1:1:2) is effective. Add 2 tbsp there. l. vinegar and 2 tsp. baking soda. The solution is applied to the surface of the plate and washed off with warm water after 20 minutes.
It is better to clean the burners and switch knobs with a soap solution diluted with ammonia (5 ml per glass of water) or diluted table vinegar.
You can also clean the stove using a steam cleaner. You don’t have to wash off any remaining cleaning agents; you just need to wipe all the parts until dry.

Let's sum it up

If your electric oven is used occasionally, the best recommendation is to steam clean it.
If you cook food in the built-in oven at least once a week, clean it using a catalyst or ecoClean coating.
If the oven is used much more often, use powerful pyrolysis cleaning.

When choosing an oven, many practical housewives pay attention not only to access and ease of manual cleaning to the internal surfaces (no seams, protrusions, recesses, folding grill, etc.), the presence of a self-cleaning system, but also to the possibility of cleaning the space between the glass doors. Different manufacturers have different methods for disassembling the door. You need to carefully study the operating instructions: someone needs to first remove the door, and then disassemble it using a Phillips screwdriver; in others, the glass can be removed without removing the door, without using a tool.

Cleaning pancake burners

Cast iron “lids” are susceptible to rusting. Purchased compounds will help prevent corrosion: Scrubman, Comet, Cillit. From your home arsenal, use a mixture of turpentine and salt (2:3), 9% vinegar with lemon juice solution. You can use fish oil. First, treat the “pancake” with soapy water and wipe it dry, then lubricate it with fish oil, and after a couple of hours, remove the fat layer with a napkin.

Try treating the metal with Coca-Cola and wipe it off after a few minutes. Vegetable oil is used differently. They lubricate the “pancake” with it. After 2 hours, scrub the surface and apply a solution of laundry soap. And again treated with vegetable oil. This creates a non-stick layer on the metal. The procedure is carried out every time after washing the stove.

How to clean carbon deposits from a glass-ceramic stove

It is wrong to think that heated burners will speed up the removal of carbon deposits. It may be easier to work with, but the surface of the slab may become covered with microcracks and scratches. Therefore, clean when the stove is cold. If the stain is fresh, use dishwashing gel. Apply with a soft sponge to the stain and leave for 10 minutes. Then rinse with water and wipe the stove dry so that there are no streaks left.

First remove stuck stains with a plastic scraper. Then proceed as in the previous example. On old stains, leave the cleaner for half an hour to soften the burnt marks, then remove along with the dirt and rinse the surface.

Do not use the sponge you use to wash dishes to clean glass ceramics. Even the smallest amount of fat will cause the panel to become cloudy. Use microfiber cloths.

To remove grease stains and carbon deposits, purchase special care products for glass ceramic products. With regular use, a silicone layer forms on the surface of the plate, and dirty stains are easier to remove. Do not forget to rinse the panel thoroughly after using chemicals so that any remaining substances do not damage the glass plate.

Let's find out how to wash a glass-ceramic stove. Special purchased detergent compositions and effective improvised means are suitable. For example, experts advise cleaning the cooktop with a glass cleaner. Follow the instructions for the cleaning product.

Vinegar is also acceptable. It disinfects the surface and fights germs. Copes well with grease and limescale. But take diluted vinegar. Pour the solution into a spray bottle, shake, and apply to the surface. After a quarter of an hour, wipe thoroughly. Then go over with a dry cloth.

You can wash a glass-ceramic stove with baking soda. There are abrasive elements in it, but they are so small and delicate that they do not harm the glass. To enhance the effect, mix baking soda with a small amount of water and apply this paste to the stain. After waiting a little, but not allowing it to dry, use a sponge to collect the remaining substance and loose dirt. Rinse with water.

If the stain is old, keep the paste on it longer, and when it dries, pour lemon juice on top.

When choosing how to clean a glass-ceramic hob, choose expensive but effective professional products designed specifically for this type of hob. They contain silicone and polymers, which form a thin film on the surface and protect against the accumulation of dirt. Popular: Heitmann, Selena-extra; Domax. Remember that you should use paste-like compounds without abrasives.

What else can you use to clean a ceramic hob? Experts recommend the following products for cleaning glass-ceramic electric stoves: Ceranreiniger, Toprens; Miele. They will not harm the coating; on the contrary, they will increase its performance characteristics and help preserve the original appearance of the product for a long time.

Self-cleaning systems for electric ovens

The self-cleaning function was invented for professional kitchen equipment. But technologies are improving, becoming cheaper and becoming more accessible for a conventional electric built-in oven. Many housewives are happy to save themselves from the tedious and dirty work of cleaning the oven from accumulated fat deposits.

Easy self-cleaning system EasyClean

The most common self-cleaning technology (used on models from all manufacturers) is lining the inner walls of the oven with special coatings made of easy-to-clean smooth enamels. Such coatings do not absorb dirt at all. This cleaning system is called EasyClean. It's easy to use:

Pour a little water (a little less than half a glass) into the special recess in the bottom of the oven.
Add a few drops of a special detergent composition.
Turn on the oven heat mode at 100 degrees for 25–30 minutes.
Using a sponge, remove all dirt from the bottom of the oven that will settle there along with the hot condensate of the cleaner steam.
Wipe all surfaces with a paper towel.

Catalytic cleaning

Catalytic cleaning of a built-in oven is the chemical decomposition of fats into simple components: water, soot (carbon) and organic matter without the formation of soot. At the same time, these constituent substances are absorbed by a sorbent formed from nanoparticles. These actions are caused by oxidizing agents that are part of the special coating. This porous enamel can be used to cover only the side walls or all the internal surfaces of the built-in oven. The catalytic cleaning system starts automatically when the oven temperature reaches 140 degrees. It is most effective at a temperature of 200 degrees.

Some manufacturers enhance the cleaning effect of the coating using a special built-in catalyst. In Miele models this device is called AirClean, in Siemens ovens it is called AktiKat. All manufacturers use catalytic cleaning. This cleaning method is recommended for those housewives who often use an electric oven to prepare dishes, but at the same time want to save on the cost of the oven and energy consumption. The disadvantages of this method include:

hand washing of baking sheets, grates, grill;
periodic manual washing of surfaces to remove incompletely absorbed soot;
The efficiency of fat decomposition sharply decreases when dairy and sweet products come into contact with the catalytic surface;
Frequent use of the oven is required to cope with large grease stains;
limited service life of the coating of 4–5 years.

EcoClean cleaning system

This system is still a world novelty. It is widely used mainly by two manufacturers: Bosch and Siemens, but other companies are also interested in it.

EcoClean self-cleaning kit from Bosch

The innovation lies in the use of a new high-quality EcoClean ceramic coating for self-cleaning the oven. This type of cleaning begins automatically when the oven is turned on and preheated to 270 degrees. In this case, all emerging contaminants turn into easily removable plaque. Up to 80% of all odors are absorbed at the same time. The know-how of the invention lies in the use of tiny ceramic balls that destroy carbon deposits when heated strongly. They have an amazing ability to independently restore their unique properties at high temperatures, which makes this coating durable. This coating is applied only to the back wall. Other internal surfaces with EcoClean ceramics are purchased separately.

Pyrolytic cleaning

Pyrolysis is an effective technological technique in which all contaminants inside the oven are burned. The hard pyrolysis mode is activated using a special button. Thermal conditions reach temperatures of 500 degrees. The door is automatically locked against accidental opening. Pyrolysis requires additional electricity consumption, so models of such ovens are equipped with powerful heating elements. When they are turned on, all fat deposits turn into ash, which can be easily removed with a damp sponge or cloth. All control over the pyrolysis process is vested in electronics. Several pieces of glass are installed in the door (if this function is available) to prevent the outer glass from becoming too hot.

Results of pyrolytic cleaning

This cleaning method is not without its drawbacks. When burning fatty contaminants, a persistent odor is formed. To remove it, powerful ventilation will be required. The main weak point of ovens with this self-cleaning method is the high price. Cleaning using pyrolysis is widely used in their models by manufacturers such as Bosch, Ariston, Siemens, Miele. Moreover, Siemens uses special glass for the oven door, which is also cleared of grease when the pyrolysis mode is turned on.

Video: electric ovens - self-cleaning methods

How to clean an induction electric stove

There are several recommendations that should be followed when using an induction cooker in order to keep the expensive surface intact.

Cook food on a clean stove. If there are burn marks or grease stains on it, you must first deal with them.

Serious cleaning should be carried out only when the surface of the stove has cooled, otherwise the cleaning substance will leave traces on it that are difficult to wash off. If fusible food comes into contact with a hot stove while cooking, you should immediately turn it off and remove the contamination. Burnt-on stains are more difficult to remove, and trying to scrape off the caked-on mass can damage the surface.

Do not place objects on the stove that could melt and damage the material.
Use cookware with a flat bottom only and do not move it around the stove.
Do not rub the surface of the stove if there are solid particles on it, such as sugar or salt. They need to be swept away or soaked.
Do not hang heavy objects over the electric stove to avoid accidental falling and damage to the device.
Do not expose glass ceramics to sudden temperature changes. For example, placing dishes from the refrigerator on a heated panel.
It is not recommended to use pots and kettles made of copper and aluminum: they leave white spots on the glass ceramics, which are almost impossible to get rid of.

Daily care

An induction hob is easier to clean than a classic hob. The main part of the surface does not heat up, so food rarely burns. The glass ceramic hob should be cleaned daily to prevent dirt from sticking to the surface. For this purpose, always have a special composition on hand.

If something goes wrong during cooking, or some liquid escapes from the pan, clean the surface immediately. Remove the cookware from the panel and wipe the stain with a dry cloth. The stove does not heat up, so it can be cleaned without turning it off. You won't get burned, and the napkin won't catch fire. At the end of cooking, quickly carry out a cosmetic cleaning of the panel. Wait for the surface to cool, wipe it with a sponge soaked in soapy water. Rinse with a clean sponge, wipe with a cloth and polish with a dry cotton cloth.

Why clean?

The question seems to be simple, but not everyone can answer it. Many people don’t think about this issue at all. Since the dirt is visually hidden, is there any point in cleaning it? It turns out there is, and here's why:

Firstly, the carbon deposits accumulated in the oven prevent it from heating normally. Because of this, the overall cooking time for different dishes varies. In some cases, it is absolutely impossible to predict when food will be ready.
Secondly, if you do not keep the oven clean, a foreign heavy odor will certainly appear. If you neglect the basic rules of care, you simply will not be able to get a dish that fully corresponds to what was declared, and instead of a fragrant vanilla cupcake, you will end up with a dessert on the table with the smell of past food, burnt oil, meat dishes with pepper and garlic.

Ideally, the oven should be cleaned every time after cooking.

If for some reason this was not done, there is no need to worry. There are many effective methods that effectively and quickly cope with the removal of such contaminants.

General cleaning for induction cookers

If you fail to pay attention to the stove every day, complex contaminants will form on it. For cleaning you will need:

soft melamine sponges.
cotton lint-free napkins.
silicone knife for cleaning glass ceramic hobs.

First, the stains will have to be soaked. To do this, wipes soaked in detergent are placed over the contaminated areas. After a quarter of an hour, burnt particles can be easily removed with a scraper. Now you can wash the stove using a sponge moistened with soapy water. Rinse, wipe the surface, polish.

If there are any white spots left, try to “mask” them by wiping with vinegar. They will not disappear completely, but will become less noticeable. Do not try to remove stubborn stains with plumbing cleaner. Caustic chemicals will certainly ruin the glass coating. Just repeat the procedure with soaking and then scraping off the carbon deposits.

Traditional methods of cleaning an induction cooker

If you are against household chemicals, use traditional methods to clean your induction cooker. They cope with pollution no worse than store-bought ones, in addition, they are more environmentally friendly and not at all expensive.

Soda: Dilute baking soda with a small amount of water and apply the resulting paste to the stain. After 5 minutes, collect it with a damp cloth. If not everything has come off, reapply the paste and add a little vinegar on top. Wipe the stove with a clean damp cloth, rinsing it periodically.
Ammonia: Good for removing stains from escaped milk. Dilute alcohol with water (1:5), pour into a spray bottle, and apply to the surface. After 10 minutes, wipe the stove with a soft cloth. Ammonia will give the surface shine.
Vegetable oil: Excellent for cleaning glass ceramics. Soak a napkin in it and place it on the stain. After half an hour, wash by adding detergent to the water. Wipe with a damp sponge, then with a dry cloth.

Cleaning products for induction hobs

Special products for the care of induction cookers contain components that leave a thin film on the glass ceramics. It makes the surface easier to clean.

It is recommended to purchase the following household chemicals for hobs:

ELECTROLUX. Removes burnt marks, polishes the plate, and leaves a protective film on it.
Glutoclean. The product is conveniently applied with a sprayer and easily removes grease, carbon deposits, and scale.
Astonish. An excellent product for cleaning induction cookers in the form of a cream with a pleasant smell. Also suitable for microwave ovens. Cleans all types of dirt on induction cookers.
Beckmann. It contains micropolishing balls, silicone oils, and jojoba oil to give the surface a beautiful shine.
Ecover Oven & Hob cleaner. It has the most natural composition without caustic chemicals and phosphates.