How to Clean a Glass Stove Top Without Scratching It

Step by step

1. 1

   Turn everything off and let it cool

   Make sure every burner is off and the glass is cool to the touch. GE and Weiman both say to start on a cool surface. Whirlpool says scraping goes best while the glass is still warm but not hot, with an oven mitt on. If you are not sure, wait until it is cool.

2. 2

   Rub in a few drops of cooktop cream

   Shake the bottle well. Weiman’s label says to test it on a small, hidden area first. Then squeeze a few dime-size drops onto the burnt spots, as Whirlpool directs, and rub them in with a cooktop scrubbing pad or a paper towel.

3. 3

   Scrape what is stuck

   Hold the razor scraper at about a 45 degree angle to the glass, the way GE and Whirlpool both describe. GE says to keep a little cream on the spot as you scrape. Use only a scraper made for glass cooktops.

1. 4

   Go over it again

   Rub on a little more cream and work the spot with the pad. Whirlpool says to repeat the cream, scrape and polish steps as many times as it takes for stubborn or burned-on stains.

2. 5

   Let it dry to a haze, then buff

   Let the cream dry to a white haze, which is Whirlpool’s cue to move on. Then buff with a clean, dry cloth or paper towel until the haze is gone. GE suggests polishing the whole surface this way once the spots are clean, for extra protection.

   What it looks like when it worked: a clear, glossy cooktop with no white haze left on it.

3. 6

   Check for leftover cream before you cook

   Run your fingers over the glass. GE says not to heat the cooktop until all of the cream is wiped off.

When it will not work, and what to do instead

Some marks are not dirt at all. Here is how to tell what you are looking at.

• Gray or silver lines where a pot slid. Those are metal marks, not scratches. GE says sliding pots and pans leaves them, and that cooktop cream, a cleaning pad or the razor scraper takes them off. Lift your pans from now on instead of sliding them.
• A dark mark after a pot boiled dry. GE says a pot with a thin layer of aluminum or copper on the bottom can leave a black mark if it boils dry. Clean it off right away, before you heat that burner again, or the mark can become permanent.
• Small pits or dents in the glass. Cleaning cannot fix that. GE says pitted glass has to be replaced.
• Baking soda, scouring powder or glass spray. It makes sense to reach for what is under the sink. But Whirlpool says not to use abrasive powder cleansers, steel wool, chlorine bleach, rust remover or ammonia. GE says other cleaners can damage the cooktop, so stick with a cream made for glass cooktops.

Why it works

A glass cooktop looks tough, but the wrong scrubber can leave marks you see every time the light hits it. That is why Whirlpool keeps steel wool and gritty powders off its glass, and why the makers point you to a cream made for the job.

Cooktop cream loosens what is burnt on without scratching, as Weiman puts it. The thin layer you buff off at the end is part of the job, too. Weiman says its cream cleans, shines and protects in one step, and GE calls that final polish extra protection.

The razor scraper works because it slides flat along the glass and gets under the crust, so you never have to scrub hard.

Sugar is the one to watch, because GE warns it can do permanent damage. That is why it gets moved while the glass is hot, with a mitt on, and everything else waits until the glass is cool.

Every one of us has turned around for one minute and come back to a pot boiling over onto a nice cooktop. It feels like the whole thing is ruined.