FAQ: How Should I Care for my Stovetop?

Appliance care might not be a top of mind concern for most people, but it should be! Good news though: a little effort goes a long way. In this FAQ series, we explore proper home appliance maintenance care starting with the kitchen! 

Your kitchen stovetop can take quite a beating, and it’s easy to guess wrong regarding proper care. As always, the manufacturer’s maintenance manual is the last word, but we’ve compiled a general guide on how to care for your stovetop with some basic principles that can help anyone stay on track, like 

Know Your Type

It’s important to determine what kind of stove you have. While electric vs. gas is a common way to think about stovetops, maintenance and upkeep varies a bit more than that. Electric stovetops can have exposed coil burners or a smooth top, which requires different care. 

There are pros and cons to each. For care, exposed burners on either a gas or electric stove present additional parts to clean but are often more durable than a smooth-top, which both wipes down and scratches easier.

Get Back to Basics

Luckily, the best thing you can do to keep your stovetop in good working order is to prevent stains and be smart about cleaning build up, which is easy to do no matter what type of stove you’re working with.

• Prevent boil-overs: Use pots and pans with deep enough sides to prevent boil-overs and splattering. Preventing spills minimizes cleanup work and helps prolong the life of your stovetop.
• Clean as you go: A damp sponge or paper towel will take care of most spills. So get in the habit of wiping down your stovetop after every use-your stove will gleam like new for decades, and you’ll save yourself plenty of scrubbing
• Scrub smarter, not harder: With a spill that has dried out and cooked for a while, use a sponge with a solution of dishwashing liquid and warm water, a 50-50 solution of vinegar and warm water, or an all-purpose cleaner. Avoid abrasive powders as they can easily create tiny scratches in your stove top surface, which future spills can grip, making them even harder to remove.
• Mind the little things: In addition to an after-use wipe down, periodically give your stove parts a more extensive cleaning. Remove control-panel knobs (usually by pulling straight out) and clean around the knobs’ bases. Wash the knobs in hot, soapy water, rinse, and dry before replacing them.

Get Specific

Complete your stovetop care routine with these type-specific tips.

• Clean under the hood: If you don’t have a sealed cooktop, food and grease can fall under exposed burners and out of sight. It can be easy to miss, but thankfully it’s also easy to clean. See your owner’s manual instructions for safely lifting the top, then clean with a sponge and warm, soapy water or a 50-50 solution of vinegar and warm water before rinsing with clean water and a sponge.

• Smooth-tops: Keep a clean stovetop surface to avoid scratches, and keep bottoms of pans clean so they don’t transfer food residue that will bake onto the glass.
• Gas burners: Keep it clean between the burner and burner cap so the gas flows through the burner channels smoothly. Burner grates are often cast iron, which can be safely cleaned using several approaches based on how dirty they are and your comfort level using different chemicals.
• Electric coil stovetop: Clean the inner bowls regularly, and never line them with tin foil – it can reflect the heat back on to the element and cause it to blow out. 

If you have any questions regarding what your Arizona Platinum Home Warranty requires to maintain coverage, reach out to any of our friendly Account Managers here.