Range Cleaning 101

Wouldn’t it be great if your entire oven range was self-cleaning, even the stovetop?! Unfortunately, no one has invented this yet … In the meantime we’ll have to manually clean our stovetops and the outside of our ranges/ovens. Repair Clinic knows this is not a chore anyone looks forward to. So, we’ve broken stove and range cleaning down to the basics so you can spend the least amount of time possible on this task:

• Control Panel
  Use either just soap and water with a rag or an all-purpose cleaner to wipe down the control panel on your stove and oven. Anything harsher than this could wear off the panel’s indicator decals. Too late and you’ve already rubbed off the temperature markings? Never fear, RepairClinic.com has replacement control panels that are pretty simple to install – just check out our video library for help with installation.
  Warning:Use water sparingly when cleaning a gas stovetop, especially around the knobs, too much water can drip down and short out the ignition switch.
• Oven Door
  It’s important to remember to clean both the inside and outside of your oven door. Who wants to use the self-cleaning mode if all you need to do is clean the inside of the door? Plus, leaving spills on the glass can lead to hard-to-remove stains later. We recommend using a heavy duty degreaser on the inside and an all-purpose cleaner and/or a stainless steel cleaner if that’s what’s on the outside.
• Glass Cooktop
  If you’ve maintained the glass cooktop on your electric stove, then cleanup should be a cinch. You’ll want to use a razor scraper to remove bigger cooked-on spills. Then use a special cooktop cleaner to get everything else. A scratch-free cleaning pad can help with this. Finally, you’ll want to apply a coat of cooktop protectant to keep it looking its best. To make your life easier, Repair Clinic has the last three items in a convenient stovetop cleaning set.
• Gas Stovetops
  If your gas stovetop is glass or ceramic, follow to tips above for an electric glass cooktop. Metal gas stovetops should be cleaned with a heavy duty degreaser using a non-abrasive pad. Grates and burners aren’t the easiest things to clean. Before you give up and just replace them, try using a grate cleaner first.
• Solid Burner Element
  If your stovetop has solid burner elements, use a gentle non-abrasive cleaner to remove any spilled food or liquid. If you use anything harsher you could scratch and damage the element. To be safe, you might want to use a solid surface element cleaner.
• Underneath the Range
  If the idea of pulling the whole range out away from the wall is a bit too daunting, we have a simple trick to cleaning underneath your range. If yours has a bottom drawer (vs. a broiler) you can pull the drawer out towards you and life the front to remove it. Once the drawer is out, you can clean the cabinet with all-purpose cleaner and vacuum any debris with a long hose attachment like this. This is also a great opportunity to clean and vacuum out the drawer itself.
• Inside the Oven
  If your oven is self-cleaning, then check out your owner’s manual before using this function. If yours isn’t self-cleaning, a simple oven cleaner spray will do the job.

You can check out this video for additional range/stove/oven maintenance tips. We also have a comprehensive Range/Stove/Oven Repair Help page if you need other assistance.

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