Cleaning Gas Stovetop Burners

Remember when we were kids how our Mamas all cleaned everything with ammonia?  Oh how I hated that smell … eeeew!  Mama would open up all the windows when she cleaned and/or mopped with the stuff … you had to or the fumes would knock you out!  But it worked, right?  All these new expensive products out there and we kick the smelly ammonia to the curb and no one uses it anymore.  Well I’ve gotta tell ya … we need to go back to the simple stuff because the simple stuff does work.  I use white vinegar for lots of things around the house … always have cause … it always works … well that’s another story for another blog.  This one is about ammonia and cleaning those hard to clean gas stovetop burners.

If you cook with gas, you know how build up can occur even with regular cleaning ... so there comes a time when you have to do some heavy duty, elbow grease kinda cleaning.   Well ... I had tried everything to clean my gas stovetop burners (and the stovetop too) … everything from oven cleaners, SOS pads, Softscrub with Bleach … I could go on and on … EVERYTHING just short of sandblasting the dang things!!!  Well we do cook and cook A LOT at that so dirty burners are a sign of a well used kitchen … yes but …I like a clean kitchen.  AND you can clean them every time you cook BUT there is always that slow build up when you cook with gas!!!

Well ... I've recently become addicted to Pinterest … love it!  It has so many ideas for so many things on and when I ran across the idea of cleaning your gas stovetop burners with ammonia … I’ve gotta admit, I was a bit skeptical … who wouldn’t be … I thought I had tried EVERYTHING ... "one more thing to try that doesn’t work" I thought.

I tried it ya'll and dang gum if it didn’t work … and worked wonders at that, I tell ya.  See the photos for yourself … my burners look like brand new … well except for the scratches from wear … otherwise they are shining again like they should be.

Here’s what cha do:

Take and put your burners into a zip lock bag … now I had to use the XL Ziplock bags because my burners wouldn’t fit into the gallon size.  Then pour in ¼ cup of Ammonia … that’s it … just a ¼ cup.  Zip it closed, of course, and then let it sit.  It’s the fumes that do the work!!!  I let mine sit overnight (outside in the sun, just in case the bag sprung a leak).  Next day, simply rinse them off with warm water.  Now there was a couple spots where I had to scrub lightly with a Scotch Brite sponge to remove the gunk but no real elbow grease was used!  NOTE: The XL Ziplocks are large enough you can fit all of your burners into it! 

I know it seems too easy, right?  Well I gotta tell ya … I checked on the bag a few times myself and I was still skeptical … seeing it sit there it appeared to be doing absolutely nothing.  I thought … hmmm should I add more ammonia … maybe since my burners are extra large I need to add more … BUT I DIDN’T.  Then this morning when I brought them inside, I thought … well one more thing tried … they didn’t look any different then when I put them in the bag.  But when I took them out and started rinsing … I was in awe at all of the gunk rinsing off of them!!!  Just rinsed right off!!!

BEFORE

AFTER

I am amazed at the difference.  I left one burner out just so I could see the difference with my own eyes and can’t wait for Scott to see them!  Oh he is gonna be glad to see how clean they came because frankly … this is one chore I had given to him cause it was that much work and I don’t have the elbow grease that he has. 

Well this ammonia thing … no elbow grease required.  Easy and cheap!  No more expensive products that DO NOT WORK for me.

NOTE: I've have done this several times since the original post and for some reason it seems to work BEST if the bags are put into direct sunlight (outside) on a warm/hot day ... I imagine its the combination of heat and sunlight that warms up the ammonia and helps it work its best.