Сeramic stove top cleaner

Why glass-ceramic electric cooktops are good and how to take care of them

Glass-ceramic cooktops are taking an increasing share of the electric cooktop market. In this article, we will look into a few of the main advantages of such a coating and discuss how to clean it.

Advantages of glass-ceramic electric stoves

The cost of electric stoves with glass-ceramic coating significantly exceeds the cost of classic models with enamel, at least, in the budget segment. What is the rationale for this difference? Here are a few key differences:

• Design. Among glass-ceramic stoves there is no variety of colors, shapes and types of coatings, but there is no such need. A glossy black rectangle fits perfectly into any interior and always looks stylish.
• Easy to clean. The surface does not have any relief. The entire hob is on a single plane, which makes it easy to clean.
• Functionality. Glass-ceramic electric cooktops can have functions such as changing the radius of the panel or combining the panels with each other. This allows you to expand the list of utensils used, which means you can cook more efficiently.
• Does not ‘age’. Unlike enamel or stainless steel, glass ceramic does not chip or crack with prolonged and regular use.

However, this glossy, homogeneous coating has one significant disadvantage: any dirt in the form of white spots, clouds, ‘petrol stains’ or burnt food is perfectly visible on it. Therefore, glass-ceramic requires special care. This is how to do it.

How to clean a glass ceramic hob surface

Despite its durability and scratch resistance, cleaning this coating with an abrasive is strongly discouraged. Let’s look at a few effective methods that will allow you to get rid of most stains.

Homemade

To clean the stove, you can use several remedies that are available in almost every home: baking soda, vinegar and citric acid. They can deal with minor soot, but their main use is to remove white and multicolored stains, which gradually appear and are extremely difficult to remove.

In the first method, we take a few spoonfuls of baking soda. Put them in a glass and gradually add water until the baking soda dissolves and a thick mixture is obtained. Then we apply it to the surface of the stove and leave it for 3-5 minutes. With the soft side of the sponge, gently rub the whole mixture for 1-2 minutes.

It is the alkaline properties of the soda that are important here, not its abrasive particles, so make sure that the soda is completely dissolved before applying it. If there is little or no effect, try preparing the same mixture, but instead of water add citric acid.

The second method requires table vinegar and any absorbent material like cotton disks, napkins, paper towels or rags. Soak them in vinegar and apply them to the stain. To prevent the vinegar from evaporating and spreading the smell throughout the kitchen, cover everything with food film and leave it like this for 10 minutes. Then remove everything first with a damp cloth and then with a dry one.

Store-bought

Among specialized chemistry for cleaning glass-ceramic surfaces, there is too much variation in effectiveness at a rather high cost of such products. Purchased products are better to use for removing fouling. Here we need two tools: an ordinary detergent (or foam for cleaning glass ceramic surfaces) and a metal scraper.

Detergent or foam should be applied to the burnt area and wait for it to soak in. You can preheat the hob a little, but not too much. After 7-10 minutes, scrape the entire surface with a scraper. Multi-layer sealing may not soak even a few hours after application, so if you can’t remove it with a scraper at once, you can repeat the procedure.

The blade of the scraper should be at the optimum angle and fits evenly on the surface of the hob, so if you use it carefully, you will not scratch anything.

Important: We have tested all of the above methods personally and no scratches or opacities have appeared on the surface of the stove.

However, we know of negative experiences of other users when markings could be erased from the glass-ceramic surfaces, clouds were caused by undissolved baking soda, and white spots appeared from vinegar. To avoid such cases, test the method on a small area of the stove beforehand. If everything goes perfectly, you can move on to the full cleaning.