Cleaning my Stovetop … the natural way

I have a confession to made – I enjoy cooking but I hate the clean up.  No matter how simple a recipe the dishes seems to multiply and the kitchen becomes a disaster.  Maybe this is a talent I have and nobody else has that problem, but it is annoying.  This is what my stove looked like for a week or three – oops. When we had our mothers over for Mothers Day lunch, I put the box the croissants came in over the burner that way they couldn’t see it.  Didn’t work … but I tried. 

Caked on nastiness is all I can think of to describe what is there.  Those grates (or whatever they are called) have always been just plain gross.  I’ve tried many different thinks to get them clean – bleach, ammonia, 409, comet, soaking then scrubbing – nothing seemed to work. 

I decided to make the switch to natural cleaners (can’t stand the smell of other cleaners) and ordered a Get Clean Kit.  This stove would be the ultimate test … 

I mixed up some degreaser from the Basic H and let it sit for about 5 minutes.

Wiped it off with a sponge and this is what it looked like – much better!

But, there was still some built on grime so I brought out the Scour Off and a scrubbing brush. 

Even in this bad lighting it looks good!  It looked so good that I pulled out an old toothbrush and used the Scour Off to get the nooks and crannies. 

Doesn’t it look great?

Meanwhile, I filled the sink with water and a drop or two of Basic H and let the grates sit while I was cleaning.  Then I scrubbed them and they look like new!

The best part … my mom was over for dinner a week or so after and she asked me when we got a new stove!!

Now that I have something that works so well and smells so good (seriously the Scour Off smells like cherry candy) I will not be putting off cleaning for weeks at a time.

Here they are – my cleaning champions!  Basic H and Scour Off – love them both!

Do you have any cleaning secrets?  I’d LOVE to hear them!