What You Can Do To Remove Stubborn Grease From Your Stove

Admit it — it's been far too long since you really inspected your stove and gave it some much-needed TLC. Chances are, there's a stubborn grease stain or two that just won't quit. No matter how many times you try to wipe things down after your latest one-pot meal (that may or may not have boiled over when you weren't looking — don't worry, we get it), the issue stands: You're unsure of how to clean up those stuck-on stains.

Shiny Clean Kitchen recommends you start out with a kitchen staple that you probably already have on hand: lemon. Mix equal parts lemon juice with distilled white vinegar to create a natural degreaser. Simply spray the solution on your stove and let it sit for around 15 minutes. If your burners are still looking dingy thanks to some extra-stubborn spots of grease, coat the area in a layer of baking soda and gently work it in with a scrubbing pad or brush. Alternatively, you can rub the lemon directly on your glass or metal cooktop for some extra shine (via Ovenclean).

You can clean up your cooking messes with more oil, too

If you're all out of lemons thanks to your daily glass of lemon water, try grabbing some oil instead. It may seem silly to use the same thing that possibly got you into this mess in the first place, but working a small amount of vegetable or olive oil onto your stove actually helps loosen difficult grease stains (via Shiny Clean Kitchen). Follow with a gentle cleaner or white vinegar and you should be good to go!

To avoid those pesky, difficult to remove grease stains, your best bet is to simply clean your stove after each use; and while it may be tempting to kickstart your kitchen clean-up, it's important to wait for the stove to cool down completely before you get to spraying and scrubbing. You could burn yourself, of course, but some cooktops — especially glass — can also quickly burn the cleaning solution on top and become permanently damaged as a result (via cnet). So if you're short on time or feeling particularly lazy about cleaning your stove post-dinner, maybe just opt for some hassle-free fancy toasts instead.