That's too much work for me. I now have a glass top stove and love it. No gunk to remove, no grates to clean.

I went to a glass top, too. Easy to keep clean.

I have never needed to do this yet, as I clean as I cook. But it also works for the racks in the oven, just use a garbage bag instead.

Moni

I'm with you Moni, I clean my stovetop most everyday. I have a gas range, the top metal grate comes off, quick wipe off, and the porcelain top of the stove wipes and polishes up beautifully. I will have to try this one with the oven racks, though. I don't leave them in the oven when I turn on the self clean. This sounds way easier than trying to scrub them in/over the sink.

I don't think the lady had ever cleaned these. You should see the rest of the stove. The entire house was one of the worse ones I have ever been in. The yard looks like they have just opened the doors and pitched it out. You can't even see the grass. They had let cats use the bathroom in every room on the floors.. The entire bathroom had to be ripped out and replaced. The guy had to wear a mask while working. This is the home we furnished for our pastor with everything paid for him and his family.. I would be so embarrassed.

That is how I clean my electric stove's burner pans. Those things get brown so quickly! I don't even know what gets on them, I never fry anything in oil...well not never but a couple times a year maybe. But still they turn brown and spotted in no time. I take them all and stick them in a bag with ammonia. I just keep a bag down in the basement in a dish pan for that purpose, I leave them in overnight and clean them the next day and the crud comes right off. It is the ONLY thing I've found that works.

My grates are cast iron. I just wipe off any "chunks" of spill that get on them. With cast iron the rest of the grease etc. will eventually season them and they will take on that nice black patina of a well used skillet. Over cleaning them would be like over washing a cast iron skillet.

Arkansas, I buy those little aluminum liners that fit in the burner pans. Mine get black so fast, and need to be replaced. Like you, I don't know why they get so dirty. My potatoes always boil over before I turn them down but other than that..........

Ammonia does work on the outdoor grill grates, too.

About 5 years ago I helped clean one of our parsonages.The Assoc. Pastor loved to cook but apparently didn't clean the stove. She had only been there 3 years and her cats had ruined the white carpet. We had it replaced with laminate and sent the bill to the Bishop to forward to her. She paid the full amount $2,300. A church friend told me about a parsonage she once helped clean where the bathroom was filthy and the pastor's boys had punched holes in the walls.

glass/ceran top stove. Trust me: buy one. It's soooooooooo worth it! I'll never go back to a stove that has the grates or doesn't have a self clean oven again.

I just put my gas stove grates in the dishwasher every week or so. Spray and clean around the burners about daily. I've done more stovetop cooking this winter as I can't get to my grill out on the deck yet! The snow has melted a lot, but still about 3 feet deep between me and the grill.

My niece just got rid of her "glass top" stove and bought a 5 burner gas top stove. I wonder if she will regret it since everyone is saying that they have done just the opposite. She hated her glass top!

I do love a gas top stove for the fact that the heat is off instantly. We have one in our other home. But, I love my new glass top stove. So easy to keep clean.

I went from electric to gas to smooth top and finally back to gas. I much prefer gas! The grates are no problem if you just clean them after use.... just like you clean the smooth top after use. ;)

Moni

PS, No, I don't put them in a dishwasher, as I don't have one.

I can use that tip for the oven racks. Thank you! (Your not supposed to put them in when using the self clean feature, it weakens the metal)

Some people make their cooktop choice based on performance, not ease of cleaning. We did - we have one in the mid-range - gas burners with more BTUs than a normal household model, a bit less so than a true restaurant model. We're very happy with it.

As others have said, cast iron grates can be wiped but really need no cleaning. The burner pans underneath can use attention from time to time, but the best way to keep those clean (on any stove) is to avoid boil-overs.

While I haven't tried an induction range, I very much dislike the traditional electric ones. Heat control is too difficult, pan scorching and boil-overs are too common.

The best cleaner for anything oily or greasy or baked on burners is purple power. 10 percent in cold water will clean counter tops and kitchen floors with an oily residue. I have a black enamel stove top and this stuff doesn't leave so much as a streak after you wipe it down with a cold water rag. Full strength will clean an old engine block. So burners aren't too big a deal. Let the burners soak full strength then scrub with cold water. Oh yeah, wear gloves. You can find this stuff almost anywhere. I get mine at auto supply store.