Cooking is always a delight.
However, sticky grease grime, and mess a little bit of spill every now and then creates, are certainly not as much fun. They don’t add to the experience, ruin the pleasant feeling of cleanliness, and definitely ages the stove with all the bad effects of irregularity and strongly demanding a change.
But getting rid of the crust and grime is not that hard. There are plenty of cleaning choices available out there, that can restore your stove’s previous sleekness in a surprisingly short time; and vinegar is definitely one of the popular choices for that due to its DIY effectiveness, which you’re already aware of.
Now the only question remains, how to clean those grates with vinegar mixture?
Well, firstly, we have to find out what we’re dealing with here. If it’s just some greasy grime, there’s not much work.
However, you will have to get a bit more active while dealing with the crusty mess. Don’t worry, not that hard, and won’t take much longer.
Cleaning Grease [Only]
Things to Gather Beforehand:
- Vinegar: Any vinegar will do. It’s the acidity we’re after. The acid eats up the grime build-up.
- Water: For making the solution.
- Pan or Tub: For reserving cleaning solution.
- Spray Bottle: While cleaning the grates, the mess over the burner has to be dealt with as well. This is where the spray bottle will come handy.
- Brush with Soft Bristles: Since vinegar is being used, going rough with the brushes won’t be necessary. Hence, soft bristles. (Toothbrush will do)
- Scrub Pad: For a thorough wipe.
The Process:
- Preparation: Take a pan or tub. Now, pour in the water first, and then vinegar. The proportion ratio has to be ½ : ½ of each element. The grate is meant to be soaked in this solution.
Make another similar solution of ½ : ½ ratio, and fill the spray bottle with it. It’s for the burner. - Soaking and Spraying: Now for the grate, soak it into the solution. Let the grate rest in the water-vinegar solution for good thirty minutes.
And use the bottle for spraying the solution all over the burner. However, don’t overspray it, otherwise, that might mess with the burner’s functionality. And wait 20 minutes for the spray to deal with the grease.
During this period, the solution will gradually soften and separate the grime. - Scrubbing: Take the grate out of the solution and start gently scrubbing it with the brush. The same method goes for the burner as well. Since the grease is softened now, it won’t take much time and effort to get rid of the buildup.
- Rinsing and Wiping: After being done with scrubbing, give the grate a thorough rinse. If there’s still grease on it, repeat the same scrubbing and rinsing process several times till it’s completely grime-free.
Shouldn’t try to rinse the burner for obvious reasons. Take the scrub pad and give the burner all over a thorough wipe until all the stains are gone.
Cleaning Dried Crust
Things to Gather Beforehand:
- White Vinegar: White vinegar is essential for breaking the crust compound. It’s also the most effective in contact with baking soda.
- Baking Soda: For ultimate separation of the dried out spill.
- Water: For making paste/solution.
- Pan or Tub: To soak the grate.
- Spray Bottle: For spraying solution over the burner.
- Scrubbing Brush: With soft bristles, of course. Toothbrush will do.
- Scrubbing Pad: For wiping purpose.
The Process:
- Preparation: Make a vinegar-water solution like before with ½ : ½ ratio of each element. Fill the tub/pan and the spray bottle with that solution.
After that, make a paste of baking soda by mixing it into water. - Soaking and Spraying: Soak the grate into the tub/pan’s solution and then let it rest there for thirty-something minutes.
Also, spray the solution all over the burner, while making sure not to overdo it. And then wait for twenty minutes for the solution to be effective. - Applying Paste: After soaking the grate for thirty-something minutes, rinse it; and then coat the whole grate in baking soda paste. Coat the burner as well after letting the spray sit over for twenty minutes. Wait for twenty to thirty minutes more after that.
- Scrubbing and Wiping: When the paste has sat well on the grate and the burner, take the brush and start scrubbing until you manage to get every bit of crust off. When you’re done, give both the grate and the burner a good, thorough wipe.
- Rinsing: Wiping after scrubbing is enough for a burner. However, the grate has to be rinsed; so rinse it until you can see no crusty bit on the heavy cast iron structure. Repeat the whole scrubbing and rinsing process several times if needed.
With the proper application of vinegar, you can always maintain the tidiness of the stove grate without needing to rely on store-bought soap. What a save!