Within the first few months of moving into a new dorm or apartment, your kitchen is as clean as it’ll ever be for the rest of the year. Sure, you can get by with wiping off the counter tops and the outside of the appliances, but after a while it can feel uncomfortable to cook in your own kitchen with that unidentified, sticky splotch on the stove top or even two-week old raw pasta stuck beneath the electric coils. But maybe you were unsuccessful at scrubbing out that splotch, or you didn’t even realize that you could remove the coils from your stove.
If you haven’t completely given up just yet, follow these easy steps on how to clean an electric coil stove stop. You’ll need less than 10 minutes of your day to make your stove almost as clean as it was before you attempted to be an adult.
Step 1: Gather Your Supplies
Make sure you have all of the following items: an electric coil stove top (not a gas stove), dish towels, dish soap, baking soda, and two small bowls of warm water. If possible, buy a little more baking soda than you’ll need, as it is great at keeping out odors in your fridge if you leave the open container on a top shelf.
Step 2: Remove the Coils
Remove all of the coils from the stovetop, but make sure that they are all cooled before doing so. Some brands require you to twist or squeeze them to get them off, while others come out without a hassle.
Next, set them aside on the counter top and mix a splash of dish soap into one of your bowls of warm water. Dip your dish towel into the liquid and start by cleaning off any residue on the coils. Make sure you do this away from the stove in order to prevent any water from getting into the burners.
Step 3: Scrub off Hard Stains
Hang in there now, because if you’ve made it to this point then you’re almost done. If you see that some of the residue is still left on the coils, take some baking soda and add it to the other bowl of water until it forms a pasty consistency when thoroughly mixed together. Place the paste on each remaining spot and let it sit for 15-20 minutes, then rinse off the coil burner while scrubbing off the baking soda and water paste with another dish towel.
Step 4: Finish Cleaning the Stove
Finish up all of your efforts by cleaning up the surrounding stove stop and sprinkling baking soda over any other tough spots. Then, scrub them off with a wet towel until they are gone and put your clean, dry electric coils back in place. This is truly the quickest and easiest way to clean your stove coils all while maintaining the illusion that you’ve mastered living on your own for when your parents come to visit you next.