Ruth and the sunset at the island of Dhiffushi, Maldives.
Where are Kevin and Ruth now? Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.

Where are Kevin and Ruth going next? Kuwait City, Kuwait on March 31st.

Saturday, September 13, 2014

The best and easiest way to clean your stove!

Not an exciting subject line today, but one that has to be done...and Ruth found a great way to do it so she wanted me to tell you about it.

You know those burner pan thingies that go underneath the element on your stove. They're a total pain to clean, and the chrome trim rings are even more difficult. Not any more!

First, you take everything apart...

Hm. Kinda grungy huh?

The trim rings don't look that bad, but there's actually a lot of crud there.

You need a jug of pure ammonia. Something like $3.00 at Walmart.

And you need some zip loc bags. 

And you put about 1/4 cup or slightly less of ammonia in each bag, toss in the parts that need cleaning, and just let them sit overnight or even a little longer for really bad ones. In the morning, rinse them off and a quick wipe (I did use an SOS pad on a couple of stubborn spots, but only lightly) ...and presto! Nice and clean! 

Ruth also used a large garbage bag with a twist tie for the oven racks, roaster pan and broiler pan. She just added more ammonia, maybe about a 1/2 cup or so and let it sit outside for the night. She said it was so much easier and less messy this way than spraying everything with oven cleaner.

This was one of those things Ruth had read about on facebook and decided to check and see if it worked. And it does!

Ready to be installed.

Sparkling clean!

28 comments:

  1. What a great tip! I'm going to try this for sure.

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    1. When it comes to some of these "pinterest" or "facebook" things, I am always a bit skeptical that they actually work. I figured this one was worth a try and it does work pretty good.

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  2. Oh wow...thanks. Our 5th wheel stove needs a good cleaning.

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    1. I especially found it did a great job on the oven racks when I put them in the green plastic garbage bag and left it outside for the night, actually it was probably even longer than just the night. Most of the stuff came off with just a normal kitchen cloth and scratchy pad. There were only the odd bits that I had to use an SOS pad on and even then I didn't have to use lots of elbow grease to do it.

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  3. Geez... I need to put my whole stovetop in a bag... it's one of those one-piece jobbies that have iron trivet-like things over the 3 burners. I know my words are inadequate but I truly don't know what how else to describe it. Wonder if just pouring some ammonia on it and leaving for the afternoon so I don't get asphyxiated would work?

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    1. I'm sorry but I can't quite picture what the stove top looks like. Can you put ammonia in a dish on the stove top and then cover the stove top with a large piece of plastic like a green garbage bag opened up and then tape the sides down to the counter either for the day or the night? Might reduce the smell and keep the ammonia in the area that you want it to work on..

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  4. Wow that's amazing! I'm so glad to read about this and pass it on to friends who have a regular stove. Amonia is much much better than those terrible toxic oven cleaners. Thanks Ruth!!! And Kevin for publishing it.

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    1. Thanks Sherry! It also works great on roasting pans and broiling pans. I agree, it's much better than that oven cleaner stuff and a lot less messy. Next time I am going to try it in the oven as well.

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  5. I have heard about this but never tried it - way cheaper than oven cleaner too! Looks great, all tidy for your return next year.

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    1. Yep, it's way cheaper because a bottle of ammonia will last a long time compared to about 1 to 2 times with the oven cleaner. I also like the fact that it isn't messy like oven cleaner. I did find that I had to use an SOS pad on some of the more stubborn spots but it didn't require lots of scrubbing.

      Now I just have to make sure I don't mess it up before we leave in a couple of weeks.

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  6. I use the aluminum liners on the elements and replace them about once a year!

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    1. That would work too, but I don't really like the look of them.

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    1. I thought so and I was happy with the results!

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  8. Wish I had known that when we had our old stove in the long gone sticks and bricks.

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    1. I wish that I knew about it sooner too! As I said in other comments, it can be used on a number of different items that get burnt on splatters so it doesn't just have to be for the stove top itself.

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  9. After reading an email earlier today, I found out that "I'm older than dirt!" Well, maybe I am; but not old enough to learn a new trick and this one is great. Thank you, Ruth; and, thank you, Kevin, for sharing it with this old gal with dishpan hands and arthritis, too. I'm going to remember this tip!

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    1. Good luck with it Mary Pat! And I didn't know you were "older than dirt", I thought you were a "spring chicken" lol!

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  10. Nice! To take it a step further, how much ammonia and how big a bag do you need to do a whole motorhome??? ;c)

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    1. You could always try to shrink wrap it for a night or two along with a gallon or so of ammonia, lol! Hmmm, maybe we should give that a try on Sherman when we get back to him! ;-)

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  11. Great tip for the stove top , now how about the oven?

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    1. Apparently up put ammonia in a dish and place it in the oven for a night or so! I am going to try that next time I have to clean the oven.

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  12. couldn't you put them all in a large bucket instead of using individual plastic bags?

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    1. I think it is the fumes that do the work not the actual ammonia itself but I could be wrong. I am saving the plastic bags for the next time though so that I don't waste the bags and create even more garbage.

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  13. Hey Ruth, Just getting caught up on some of your posts. We're in the middle of selling our house so things have been a little crazy and my routine is suffering. I just wanted to mention that a little bowl of ammonia will also do the trick if you have some jewelry that needs to be spiffed up. Works great! Grace (in Tucson)

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    1. Has the house sold or is it up for sale? If it has sold, congratulations! We can understand how crazy it must be for you.

      Thanks for the tip about the ammonia and it cleaning some jewelry. I like when things are made just a little easier!

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