Friday, February 14, 2014

Cleaning Stove Burners With Ammonia

Oh y'all...I debated whether or not to do this post because my "before" pics were just so gross, but I decided to show y'all anyway. :) My stove burners had gotten really bad. They're hard to clean and stuff just seemed to stick on them and I couldn't ever get them clean enough. I'd tried everything under the sun and nothing worked. I'd scrub for what seemed like hours with no real results. I even contemplated getting new burners, but the last time I checked, they were around $45 each. I did not want to spend that kind of money.

So, a few weeks ago I was having lunch with a friend and I was complaining about how dirty my burners were. She said very casually "Have you tried the ammonia trick?" I was like "What ammonia trick? There's a trick I don't know about?" She was surprised I hadn't heard about it. 

Basically, you place your burners in a gallon ziplock bag and pour about a 1/4 cup of ammonia in the bag and seal it shut. Then place the bag outside (in case there's a leak) for up to 24 hours. My burners were really bad, so we left them outside for the whole 24 hours. Then you just wipe them clean and the gunk comes right off! Oh, and please remember to NEVER use ammonia around bleach! 

Below is a pic of my burners before we cleaned them. From a distance they don't look too bad, but up close is a different story.


Eewwww! I know! Pretty bad, huh?



Last one, I promise.


So, like I said, we just placed each burner in a gallon ziplock bag and poured a 1/4 cup of ammonia in there and sealed the bag. We put them inside this rubbermaid container in the backyard for 24 hours. 


Don't put in more than a 1/4 cup of ammonia. The goal isn't to submerge them in it. It's actually just the fumes from the ammonia that do the work for you. 


Here are some after pics. After we took them out of the bags, we rinsed them off and most of the gunk just wiped off with our fingers. My hubby did use an SOS pad on one of the burners, but he said he didn't really need to do that and he hardly used any elbow grease at all. Oh, and just so you know, he tried cleaning them with an SOS pad years ago, and it didn't work at all. It's those fumes from the ammonia that work the magic. 

Edited to add: Remember to open the bags while still outside and also do the initial rinse outside. We didn't bring the burners inside until we had rinsed them off outdoors first. The ammonia can have very strong fumes. 


Just look at how much better they are! Almost like brand new!


After we got all the gunk off, we cleaned them with Dawn dish soap, rinsed them, and put them back on the stove after they dried. 



Isn't that amazing??? I can't believe it actually worked! I also can't believe I hadn't heard of this trick before. :) Like I said, I hated to "air my dirty laundry" so to speak, but I just couldn't keep this to myself. Ha!

Thanks for stopping by!

~Lisa

I'm joining these parties: By Stephanie LynnDwellings The Heart of Your HomeMaria Elena's DecorSavvy Southern StyleWe Are That FamilyImparting GraceI Heart NaptimeA Stroll Thru LifeCommon GroundI Should Be Mopping The FloorIt's OverflowingCupcakes and Crinoline



18 comments:

  1. Lisa, this is pretty amazing! I'm so glad to know it works.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Holy Moly, they look like new!!!! That is very impressive!
    I better go check mine out to see what condition they're in! I haven't payed much attention to the gunk that can accumulate on those babies!!
    And $45 or each burner? I wouldn't have payed that either!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Well I'm so glad that you shared this because I have the same problem with mine. I've never heard of this method before. Looks like I'm off to buy some ammonia now. Thanks for the tutorial!

    ReplyDelete
  4. I had heard of this somewhere, but never saw any evidence like this. Amazing! I wish there was a photo of the range with them back on. :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It was pretty amazing alright! I couldn't believe how clean it got them. I'll definitely use this method again when they need it. :) Thanks for stopping by, Mary!

      Delete
  5. I use this trick, too, Lisa. I even use it on the oven racks when they get yucky. You just need to put those in a garbage bag and tie it up good and tight. I would also warn everyone to open those bags outside and do your initial rinse, because ammonia is just so overwhelmingly powerful to do inside. Even just that small amount cannot be good to breath!

    ReplyDelete
  6. This is just great, Lisa. Your burners look like new. I am definitely trying this on my stove at the lake. My stove here has one huge piece.

    XO,
    Jane

    ReplyDelete
  7. They look wonderful! What a great tip. Lisa!

    ReplyDelete
  8. ummm....wow...it's like a magic trick! I never really use ammonia for anything, so thanks for the tips!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Would you believe I've never even bought ammonia before? Ha! I've never used it for anything until I heard about it for cleaning the burners. So glad it did a good job because I did not want to buy new burners. :)

      Delete
  9. I used to use this trick years ago! I had forgotten! thanks for the reminder....
    Nancy
    wildoakdesigns.blogspot.com

    ReplyDelete
  10. I've been wanting to try this, so it's nice to see someone else give it a go first! Would love for you to share at Fridays Unfolded!

    Alison
    Nancherrow

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I'm so glad my friend told me about this method of cleaning them! I was pleasantly surprised at how well it did. :)

      Delete
  11. We will be installing a gas rangetop in our new kitchen so I'm thrilled to know this tip!
    Thanks so much for sharing at the party...You're being featured this week at AMAZE ME MONDAY, so hop back over!
    Blessings,
    Cindy

    ReplyDelete
  12. I missed this before. I have done something similar but I used Easy Off Oven cleaner sealed in a black garbage bag and left out in the sun for the "heat". I don't know that it did as good of a job as the ammonia did though. I will remember this for the future. xo Diana

    ReplyDelete
  13. This is a great tip! I pinned it to my "Cleaning" board. Thank you for sharing this--I think I've read this tip before, but I like your step-by-step instructions and all the photo evidence!

    I'm also glad you make it clear that it's the FUMES from the ammonia that do the work and that you should never mix ammonia with bleach. If fumes are this powerful, we need to be really, really careful with ammonia, right? You did a good job of explaining that!

    ReplyDelete
  14. them thousands of dollars in living expenses, and as they share their knowledge with others, the savings keeps growing. residential cleaning

    ReplyDelete

I love hearing from all of you! I try to respond to all comments and questions via email as quickly as possible. If you are a no-reply comment blogger (no email address) I will respond in the comments section, so be sure to check back for a response. :)

Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...