Keeping your glass-ceramic hob shiny clean can be a challenge, with all the cooking and spills it endures every day. While nothing looks better than a sparkling clean hob, it can seem like a never-ending challenge to keep it that way. The good news is, with the right mindset and materials, you can make quick work of this task.
To make cleaning your hob easier, get in the habit of wiping up spills and messes as soon as they occur. Even something as simple as making a quick pass over the glass surface as it cools after cooking will make your job easier later.
If a pot boils over, even if it only contains water, wipe the mess up as soon as possible. These spills are tough to clean because the heat from the hob will leave a “burnt on” mark. Wipe up as much as possible, but know that you will need to come back and do a more thorough job later.
Routine Cleaning
Once your ceramic hob is cool, you are ready to do a thorough cleaning. The first step is to wipe down the entire hob surface. You want to get up as much as possible with a damp cloth or sponge before you put down any cleaner.
Use a scraper made for cleaning ceramic and induction hobs to scrape off any burned-on food debris. These scrapers are made specifically for ceramic glass and are safe to use as long as you follow directions. The straight edge of the scraper is typically a razor, so you want to be careful when cleaning. Hold the scraper at a 30-degree angle and go over any areas where debris has accumulated.
After spot treating the parts of the ceramic hob that needed special attention, take a second to wipe down the surface again. You want the area to be as clean as possible before using the cleaning liquid or cream. If there are loose food particles, you will smear them across the ceramic hob glass, leaving streaks behind.
Use a generous amount of ceramic hob cleaner so that you have an even application across the entire surface of the hob. A product such as Bosch’s Original Cooker Glass & Ceramic Hob Cleaner Kit is designed for this type of cleaning and will leave you with a smooth, streak-free finish.
Let the cleaner soak for a few minutes so that it can soften any remaining debris. When you are ready to wipe down the cooktop, use a microfiber cloth. Continually refold your cloth every few strokes to ensure you aren’t wiping dirty cleaner back across the clean areas of your cooktop.
You may have some stubborn areas around the burners. Give them a little extra attention by scrubbing with a balled-up piece of newsprint. Once you are happy with the way your cooktop looks, give it one final pass with a clean section of your microfiber cloth.
It isn’t necessary to go through this entire process every time you use your stove. If you make it a habit to avoid grease splatters as much as possible by using a grease shield on your pans and wiping the cooktop down with a clean, damp cloth each time you use it, you can get by with a longer wait between full washing sessions.
Don’t go so long between deep cleaning sessions that you end up with accumulated burned-on food debris.
Related Article: How to Clean a Dirt Gas Hob
Stubborn Stains
If you have stubborn spots that refuse to budge, there are some tricks you can use to get that like-new shine. Burned on food can be a challenge, particularly if it has been there a while. Spraying vinegar on the hob glass, following up with a sprinkle of baking soda to use as an abrasive, is a good way to spot clean those stubborn areas around your favourite burner.
If that fails, steam cleaners can clean stubborn with causing damage. Intense heat from the steam will help break up and lift away burnt-on foods, without harming the glass – since the glass is built for high heat.
There are a few things that can create a disaster on your ceramic hob. If you are caramelizing sugar and it boils over or drips onto the hob, it can be nearly impossible to remove once it cools. Cleaning up the mess from a melted plastic spatula or spoon is another challenge.
Both of these messes are easiest to wash while still warm. Use your scraper to remove as much of the mess as possible. After getting the majority of the debris off your hob, do a full cleaning. If you didn’t notice the mess originally, turning the burner on low to slightly heat the sugar mixture or plastic will allow you to scrape the excess away.
