How to Clean a Stainless Steel Stovetop Naturally

Let me show you how easy it is to clean the stainless steel stovetop of your stove all naturally and without any harsh or toxic cleaners!

In our natural home, I always try to clean things naturally as much as I can.  I have a very popular video in which I show you how I clean the cast iron grate of my gas stove all naturally. That worked really well for our old Bosch gas stove. 

There always is a lot of cooking and baking going on in our kitchen. Especially when we’re frying foods such as German schnitzels or salmon cakes, there is always some fat splattering no matter how careful I try to be. And with everyday cooking, there is always some spilling.  

Since getting our new gas stove, I have been perfecting my cleaning methods and items. If you are interested in seeing how I like our new Ilve stove, you can read the review here. 

For the purposes of this post, I have let my stovetop go a little bit longer between cleanings than I normally would.  I just wanted to show you that you CAN clean things without harsh chemicals.  However, I do recommend that you clean things more regularly, especially if there was some extra spilling or splattering of food or grease. This will really make your cleaning job easier!

This post contains affiliate links, which means I make a small commission at no extra cost to you.

Why clean a stovetop all naturally?

For my family, it is very important that cleaners are both effective and non-toxic.  I love cleaning my home all naturally, not just the stovetop.

Some conventional cleaners contain powerful chemicals that do a good job of cleaning. Unfortunately, most of them are very bad for your skin, your lungs, and the environment.  And they are expensive.

Therefore, I don’t mind using just a bit of elbow grease. 

For me, that is slow and simple living at its best!

What cleaners to use to clean your stainless steel stovetop naturally

For cleaning my stainless steel stovetop naturally, I simply use 5% white vinegar. You can find it in your grocery store, in hardware stores, at Costco, or online. I like buying it in bulk quantities since I use it for a lot of applications in our home. Its grease-cutting qualities make it perfect for cleaning a stovetop. Furthermore, it doesn’t leave streaks like water. 

If I need more scrubbing and cleaning power, I love using baking soda. It “dissolves organic compounds like dirt, grease, and other sticky ickies. In addition, the mineral structure of each baking soda particle provides a gentle abrasive to clean without leaving scratches behind it helps to loosen dirt and grime off my burner rings” (from Livescience). 

Other useful cleaning items

Even though I am not a big fan of them, for this purpose I do use a microfiber cloth. The issue with them is that they are made from petrochemicals. They also release microparticles into the water stream while you are using them or washing them.  

However, I am making a conscious choice as I am using them for cleaning my stovetop naturally. 

Another useful item is an old toothbrush. Dentists recommend replacing your toothbrush every three months which means that you will end up with quite a number of old toothbrushes. I always like to see if I can find another purpose for them before I give them to the landfill. More often, though, I like to use bamboo toothbrushes. While the bristles are still made from plastic and are not really recyclable, you can recycle the bamboo handle. 

My favorite cleaning item here is walnut scrubbers. I have used a few different ones in the past but I am really liking Public Goods’ walnut scrubbers. They do a good job without scratching and have been holding up better than other ones that I have tried.  If you’d like to try these walnut scrubbers out, be sure to use my code OURGABLEDHOMEPGA for a 15% discount on your first order and a trial membership. 

While it may be tempting to use more abrasive cleaners or scrubber sponges, I have found that they can be too abrasive. Sometimes, they can even dull the burner rings. Therefore, I don’t use any of those when I clean my stovetop naturally.

How to clean the stovetop naturally

Cleaning the cooktop

This depends a little bit on the stove in your home. However, there are certain principles that are always the same. 

Typically, there are some grates on top of your gas burners. You should remove these first. You can read this post if you’d like to learn how I clean the cast iron grates of our gas stove. 

Next, I remove the burner caps and rings. Maybe your stove only has burner caps. Our Ilve stove has rings, too. 

Because I find it so rewarding, I like to start by cleaning the stovetop. For that, I simply pour 1-2 tsp of white vinegar right onto the stainless steel stovetop. Using a microfiber cloth, I spread the vinegar over the dirty areas and give that a good cleaning. Sometimes, I might have to “scrub” a little harder if there is a lot of caked-on dirt. Stainless steel often has a brushed look. So I like to finish by moving my microfiber cloth in the direction of the brushing. 

That might be it for you. If you have burner rings, you will want to read the next step. 

Cleaning the burner rings (if you have them)

For this, I put the burner rings in my kitchen sink and rinse them under water. I do want them wet as much as possible. 

Next, I liberally sprinkle baking soda over the burner rings with an extra helping over the particularly dirty areas.  I like to leave them in my sink for at least 5 minutes or longer if they need more soaking. 

You can then use an old toothbrush or a walnut scrubber to clean the burner rings. I am not going to lie, sometimes this requires a little bit of elbow grease.  But I find that dirt and stains can be convinced to come off quite easily.  If not, you can always wet the rings, sprinkle baking soda on them, and let them soak again. 

Whenever you are happy with your results, rinse the burner rings again. Dry them thoroughly with a towel. Alternatively, you can put them on your gas stove, finish assembling your burners (putting burner caps, etc back on), and turn on your burners to let any water evaporate. 

Now, you can admire your freshly cleaned stovetop and enjoy the fact that you have not used any toxic chemicals or harsh cleaning items! 

Shop this post

Microfiber cloth

Walnut scrubbers (use OURGABLEDHOMEPGA for a 15% discount and a FREE trial membership)

Baking soda

5% White Vinegar

Other posts you might like

How to clean the cast iron grate of my gas stove all naturally

Ilve stove review

Kitchen sink cleaning

Kitchen review

Homemade dishwasher detergent

Homemade laundry detergent

How do you clean your stove? I’d love to hear all your best tips and recommendations from you below!

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