You’re cleaning your glass-top stove all wrong—here’s how

If you’ve ever owned a glass-top stove, you know that appearances can be deceiving. Upscale and sleek in design, they look super easy to wipe off and keep looking shiny and new. You’ve probably learned that over time, caked-on food can build up and leave an obvious-looking mess.

So how exactly do you achieve a clean stove top without scratching it and/or wasting hours of your time?

As the former owner of a successful cleaning company, I can assure you that the task doesn’t have to be difficult. As long as you follow a few simple steps, you can keep your stovetop looking new. You just need a few common household cleaning products.

Here are step-by-step instructions for how to clean a glass stove top.

Materials needed

• White vinegar
• Spray bottle
• Baking soda
• Towel (preferably an old one)
• Microfiber cloth
• Single-edge razor blade
• Bar Keepers Friend Multipurpose Cooktop Cleaner (optional)

How to clean a glass stove top

Step 1: Let the surface of the stovetop cool

Not only is touching a hot cooktop generally a bad idea, but spraying any type of cleaner onto the glass while it’s still hot can actually burn pits into the surface. This is something you definitely want to avoid going about stove cleaning.

Let the surface fully cool before you get to work. While you're waiting, take an opportunity to check your stove’s user manual. If you don’t have it, you can usually find them pretty easily online.

If the manual provides specific steps for cleaning the surface, you’ll want to default to following those instructions first. (That includes any list of things that you should not use to clean the glass stovetop.)

Step 2: Spray the surface with vinegar

Using a spray bottle, evenly spray white vinegar across the glass cooktop. The acidity in the vinegar helps cut through any grease sitting around. And it does so without needing to use a harmful chemical product that could damage the glass top.

Step 3: Sprinkle the surface with baking soda

Have you ever seen what happens when you mix baking soda and vinegar together? If you have, then you know it creates a powerful bubbling effect. Because of this, we recommend sprinkling baking soda directly onto the sprayed vinegar, concentrating on the areas with the most buildup.

The bubbling action helps penetrate and lift caked-on food from the surface.

Step 4: Cover the stove with a towel

Soak a towel in hot water and lay it across the entire surface of your stove. Then leave it for the next 10 or 15 minutes, so that everything you’ve done so far can work its magic.

If you have children, you’ll want to keep an extra eye on them so that they don’t accidentally turn the stove on with the towel still laying on top. Obviously, that’s a fire hazard we want to avoid.

Step 5: Wipe the glass-top surface down

You’re almost done! Remove the towel, give everything another spray of vinegar, and begin wiping the glass top off with a microfiber cloth. A microfiber cloth works better than regular towels or paper towels, which can leave streaks and fuzz across your freshly cleaned surface.

You’ll definitely want to avoid using abrasive sponges or brushes. These can leave lots of tiny surface scratches and give the glass-top stove an overall hazy appearance.

Step 6: Use a razor blade to remove any remaining residue

Hopefully by now your glass-top stove is looking shiny as new—but if not, don’t panic!

Any remaining residue can be removed by spraying it with vinegar and then gently scraping the surface with a razor blade.

Holding the blade at a 45 degree angle, be careful to keep it even. Applying too much pressure to the blade corner or scraping with the blade straight up and down can leave deep scratches on the glass that can be difficult to remove.

Step 7: Practice quick clean-up moving forward

Now you've finished your deep scrub, and your kitchen is looking brand new. But the work isn't over. If you're wondering how to clean a glass stove top—and keep it clean—the key is regular upkeep.

Remembering to remove any spills or drips right after cooking can help you to avoid burnt build-up. Spraying the entire glass top with vinegar and wiping it down with a microfiber cloth in between deep cleans can keep it looking brand-new.

If you’re feeling like maybe you need something a bit stronger (like glass cleaner), make sure that you use a product specifically designed for cleaning glass-top stoves. Just avoid any ammonia-based glass cleaner (like Windex) which can dull the glass surface and leave streaks. And steer clear of any abrasive products that can scratch the surface.