How to Clean a Black Stove Top (Pro Tips)

Here’s how to clean a black stove without scratching it in five simple steps:

Remove your stove grates.
Soak the stove top grates in warm water and dish soap in your sink.
Sprinkle baking soda on the stovetop.
Scrub the baking soda lightly into your stove to help break down the tough stains
Spray the stove top with vinegar and wait five to 10 minutes.
Wipe your stove with the soft side of a sponge or microfiber cloth.

Black stoves do a great job of hiding grease, dirt, and other grime on your stovetop. It’s really easy for stains to go unnoticed and it may be quite some time before you realize the baked-on food is still there.

So how do you keep it clean? This baking soda and vinegar strategy works wonders! However, be extra cautious if you own a glass or ceramic stove top; baking soda may leave scratches. For glass cooktops, try dish soap and water or a glass cooktop kit for tougher stains.

Check out this video below, which also shows you how to clean your stovetop in less than two minutes.

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What You Need

Scrubby sponge
Baking soda
Vinegar
A towel or microfiber cloth

How to Clean a Black Stove Top with Baking Soda

1. Remove your stove grates.

2. Soak them in warm water and dish soap in your sink.

3. Sprinkle baking soda on the stove top.

4. Scrub the baking soda into your black stove top to help break down the tough stains.

Scrub lightly to prevent scratches on your black stove. The abrasive side of a sponge shouldn’t scratch your stove top, but it is possible.

If you have a glass or ceramic stove top, skip step four. Baking soda may scratch the surface. Rather than scrubbing the baking soda, just spray the vinegar and let the chemicals do the work for you.

Or, you can go with an alternative like dish soap and water or a glass and ceramic cooktop cleaner from Amazon.

If you’re short on cleaning materials, buy a new sponge from Amazon here. You can purchase baking soda at this link.

5. Spray the stovetop with vinegar and wait two to three minutes.

If you ran out of vinegar, stock up on Amazon here.

6. Wipe your stove with the soft side of a sponge or microfiber towel.

Once you’ve finished wiping down your stove, it should look good as new! Be sure to wipe off all the baking soda residue.

There’s much more to learn about cleaning black stove tops. Keep reading and we’ll show you how to give your stovetop an extra shine.

How to Clean Baked on Grease from Black Stove Top

Baking soda and vinegar is one of the most reliable methods to tackle baked grease on your black stove. Combine them into a paste with vinegar and water for an even more thorough clean. Here’s how:

Remove stove top grates.
Soak these in your sink with warm water and soap.
Mix three parts baking soda with one part vinegar to make a paste. It should be a little thick – closer to the consistency of paint than water.
Spread the paste on your stove top using a wall paint brush or sponge.
Wait up to 30 minutes to give the paste enough time to break down the difficult baked-on food.
Wipe your stove clean with a microfiber cloth.

Check out our recommended kitchen degreaser sprays here.

How to Clean a Black Electric Stove Top

Most electric stoves are more delicate than gas ranges; they either have heating coils, which have an electrical element, or a glass stove top which is prone to scratches. Just be careful when cleaning your electric stove.

Remove heating coils (if applicable)
Spray your stove top with cleaner or degreaser.
Let it sit for up to 30 minutes depending on the toughness of the stains.
Wipe the stove top clean with a microfiber cloth.
Mix vinegar and water in a 1:1 ratio and put it in a spray bottle.
Lightly spray your stove top to give it a beautiful shine and polish.

If you would like more details on cleaning your electric stove, check out this article where we highlight the step-by-step process.

For more information on cleaning the heating coils on your electric stove, click here.

How to Clean Black Gas Stove Top Grates

There are many ways to clean black grates on a gas stove. You can:

Soak them in warm water and soap.
Spray them with a multipurpose cleaner and scrub with a sponge.
Place them in your oven and run the self-cleaning feature (the most thorough clean).

If you have a little more time, you can soak your stove top grates in a bag with about two cups of ammonia and let the fumes break down the grease overnight. For more details on this method, check out this comprehensive article.

How to Clean a Black Glass Stove Top

Cleaning glass top stoves requires care and patience. Baking soda may scratch the surface of glass stove tops. To make it less abrasive, you can combine baking soda and water to make a paste. When this paste is paired with vinegar, it will break down tough grease and stains.

The abrasive side of your sponge may also scratch your glass stove. To avoid scrubbing, let the baking soda and vinegar sit for several minutes – the longer the better. If you’re really worried about scratches, simply try dish soap and water or a glass stovetop cleaner. Be extra cautious, though; scratches and other marks are more visible on a glass stove.

Some baking soda residue or other chemicals from cleaning solutions will remain on your cooktop after you clean it, so don’t forget to wipe it off with a microfiber cloth and some vinegar.

How to Clean Black Stove Top Burners

There are several different ways to clean your black stovetop burners. If you only need a surface-level clean, simply spray it with some glass cleaner or dip a towel in vinegar and wipe the burner. Or, try this method for a more thorough cleaning:

Cut a hole the size of your burner in a gallon plastic bag.
Set it around your burner to make sure that, when cleaning, no baking soda or other cleaning solutions fall inside the stove.
Sprinkle baking soda on the burner and let it sit for 5-10 minutes.
After letting the baking soda sit, spray the burners with vinegar and then wait a few seconds as the reaction begins. The vinegar will sizzle.
Once it’s done, wipe the burner with a damp cloth.

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How to Clean a Black Stove Top - Frequently Asked Questions

What is the best cleaner for a black stove top?

The best cleaner for a black stove top is the Weiman Cooktop Cleaner Kit. This product is for glass stoves, but they have a line of effective cleaners that work for many different stoves. Check them out along with more great cleaners in this article.

How do you clean a black stove top without streaks?

Use a streak-free stove top cleaner. If you still have streaks, you may not be letting the cleaner sit and break down the baked-on food for long enough. Wait at least 30 minutes to allow the chemicals to soften up the grime before wiping it clean.

How do you get water stains off a black stove top?

Water stains are tough and may take some time to clean off of your stove top. Rather than scrubbing vigorously for several minutes, just mix three parts baking soda with one part vinegar or water and spread it across the stained area. Wait at least 30 minutes and then wipe the stains off with ease. You can always repeat this process for the toughest water stains.

Can you use Easy Off on a black stove top?

Yes, Easy Off is a powerful kitchen degreaser for your black cooktop. It works wonders on gas and electric ovens. Purchase Easy Off stove cleaner from Amazon here.

What is the best way to clean black appliances?

You can’t go wrong with a professional quality kitchen degreaser. For stove tops, try one of the best stove top cleaners on the market that we reviewed here. To tackle tough stains, sprinkle the area with baking soda, spray with vinegar, wait at least 10 minutes, and wipe the surface clean. Easy!

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Can you clean a black stove with bleach?

Never clean a black stove with bleach. Bleach is an abrasive chemical that will damage your stove. While you should never use bleach on any stove, it will show much more prominently on one with a black finish. You’re better off using a non-abrasive cleaner like ammonia or vinegar.

How do you keep a black stove shiny?

For your stove to be shiny, you first need to make sure that you keep it clean. Cleaning your stove every week should keep it in good condition.

After each clean, wipe the stovetop with a towel dipped in some vinegar for a bright shine. If you’d like, you can make a DIY cleaner with one part vinegar and one part water which makes for a fantastic stove polisher.

You can also try a stainless steel cleaner, like this one from Amazon. Simply apply the cleaner and wipe with a microfiber cloth to give your stovetop a smooth finish.

What is the best cleaner for black appliances?

The color of your appliances is not as important as the type of material. Stainless steel is the most common. For this, you can try a stove polish paste or a cleaner that doubles as a polish, among other products.

Good luck cleaning your stove! It will look like new in no time. Hopefully you found an answer to your question about cleaning your black stovetop in this article.

If you’re on a cleaning spree, check out more of our “how to clean” articles below.

How to Clean A Stove Top

How to Clean Grease off Your Microwave Over the Stove

How to Clean the Inside of a Stove

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