Cooking surfaces get a lot of wear and tear, and stovetops are no exception. No matter how much you try to contain your cooking mess, your surfaces are bound to get dirty eventually. And when they do, you need to know how to clean them. While many people know how to wipe down electric stovetops, gas stovetops present more of a challenge. Keep reading to learn 3 simple tips for cleaning a gas stovetop.

Use a Cleaning Paste

Grease buildup is common on cooking surfaces, especially on gas stoves since they’re consistently hot. The best solution for getting rid of this grease buildup—whether it’s on your cooking grates, burners, or the stovetop itself—is to create a cleaning paste made of vinegar and baking soda. All you need is a 1:2 solution of white vinegar to baking soda and you’re ready to start scrubbing. Just remember to use a non-abrasive scrubbing device so you don’t accidentally take off any paint or enamel in the process.

Dismantle the Stovetop

When planning any project, it helps to break the job down. To make cleaning your stovetop easier, you can actually dismantle the stovetop into more manageable pieces that you can clean one at a time. You can make the job even easier by removing the grates and burner caps and cleaning them in the sink. While you focus on cleaning the grates and burner caps, someone else—or later you—can clean the burner heads and other stovetop surfaces. This can also give you the opportunity to get the cleaning paste—mentioned above—into all the nooks and crannies of the stovetop, which will help keep your stovetop clean longer.

Create a Cleaning Schedule

Our last tip for simplifying the task of cleaning your gas stovetop is to create a cleaning schedule. The hardest part about cleaning a stovetop is scrubbing off dirt and grime buildup. Creating a cleaning schedule that encourages you to regularly clean all the parts previously mentioned will help to prevent that dirt and grime from having the time to build up. By sticking to a regular cleaning schedule, your cleaning goes much smoother and faster. A good rule of thumb for a stovetop cleaning schedule is to wipe down the stove’s surface after every use and do a deep clean of the grates and burner caps every six weeks.

To recap, our three simple tips for cleaning a gas stovetop are: use a 1:2 solution of white vinegar and baking soda cleaning paste, dismantle the stovetop into manageable pieces, and create a cleaning schedule. Cleaning a gas stovetop can feel intimidating, but if you have the right supplies, know how to dismantle your stovetop, and stick to a productive cleaning schedule, you can turn stovetop cleaning into an easy process. And if you’ve cleaned the same stovetop enough and want a new gas range cooktop, Robam has a selection that you’re sure to love.