Conference turris::cooks

       I recently moved into a new house and was confronted with a stove
       that the previous tenant had clearly never cleaned. The usual
       commercial cleaners removed nearly everything, but it still
       wasn't clean.

       In desparation I used the cleaner I use to clean my guns! worked
       like a dream. However I doubt your stove is quite in the state of
       the one I was dealing with... If it is, then in desparation go
       along to your friendly neighborhood gunsmith and buy a bottle of
       "bore cleaner" (any brand will do) and follow the directions with
       appropriate modification. - This stuff will remove blast embedded
       lead particles, so it isn't surprising it'll remove engrimed
       grease.

       /. Ian .\

    If all else fails buy new burner reflectors
    
    Steve

    I used to scour mine out with steel wool about once a year, which
    was not a fun job.  My housekeeper now cleans them every week in
    ammonia, and they stay clean that way - she uses a LOT of ammonia
    to clean things; I'm a sloppy cook (and she is on vacation for a
    couple of weeks right now - we're trying to not let things get into
    total disaster state; we took on a lot of extra volunteer work after
    we hired a housekeeper, so it is hard to find time to do it ourselves
    anymore - also, you can *get used to* clenliness!).

    
    
    
    	Re: .0
    
    	Why don't you buy replacement ones??  I used to cover mine
    	with tin foil and replace when dirty but that is kinda
    	tacky.  You can easily replace them and its not too
    	expensive.
    
    	I have a gas stove now and it is much easier to clean since
    	it is metal with paint on it (how do I describe this...).  
    	Anyhow, can't really scour that because it would scratch
    	but usually a sponge does the trick.  And its easier
    	to access.  You don't have to unplug the burner elements!
    
    	Karen

    I have a gas stove, but it has stainless steel reflector pans - they
    don't get scratched (at least, not by steel wool).   I tried to
    buy replacement ones (teflon), but although they were the right
    diameter, they did not fit properly and I ended up giving them away.
    Like most jobs of this sort, it really is easier to just keep them
    cleaned up every week rather than trying to remove a year's worth
    of gunk all at one time.  Ycch.

    I would not recommend scouring them with anything abrasive. I inherited
    a horrible mess with my gas stove, and I used a scouring pad to
    clean it.  Naturally being newly married I didn't know about scratching
    and removing the protective finish.  Now I have to scour it everytime
    something spills over, because the glaze is gone.  And since it's
    gas, anything spilled bakes on because the whole top is constantly
    warm from the pilot.  I'd be interested in the gun cleaner method,
    though.  Is it abrasive or caustic?  Maybe I can save myself some
    elbow grease...
    Sarah
    

       Gun bore cleaners are usually somewhat caustic, but definitately
       not abrasive (you provide the abrasive effect if necesary with a
       copper bristle brush). After all scratching the finish on a stove
       is unsightly, scratching the bore on a rifle is potentially
       lethal!). Just make sure you don;t leave them on too long...

       /. Ian .\

Spray the offending items with easy off oven cleaner (or equivalent) and set
aside for a few hours...voilla!  Rinse them clean.  You get better results
with the "heat and wait" type of oven cleaner (place sprayed items in oven
and heat).

The stainless pans on my gas stove get cleaned with either steel wool, or a 
trip thru the heavy duty cycle of the dishwasher.  For the white painted part 
of the stove I usually use Fantastik or some window cleaner.  The trick I 
found is to spray it on, clean the rest of the kitchen, then wipe off.  Also, 
Mr. Muscle or EZ-off work great on the painted part.  They strongly reccommend 
that you do not use them on the stainless stuff (like oven racks).  Using the 
steel wool on the stainless, and Mr. M on the paint, I was able to recover 
from the time I left a gallon of cider mulling on the burner and left for 
work.  The cider boiled over, caramelized and then carbonized on the burner, 
leaving everything covered with high gloss black crud.  

						     
							- JP

    You could try an SOS pad, otherwise, I'd say buy new ones and keep
    them covered with aluminum foil.
    
    

I've used E-Z-OFF on my oven racks for years and never had a problem...I've
heard you aren't supposed to use it on "self-cleaning" and "non-stick"
surfaces, but nothing about stainless steel or chromed steel.

    
    	You might try boiling them in a solution of baking soda. This
    is somewhat on the same lines of the gun cleaner and the oven cleaner
    in that you are using a caustic to remove the grime. The difference
    is that it's a mild one. Take a pot that can hold the catches, cover
    them with water, add about 1/3 cup baking soda, cover and simmer for an
    hour or so. After this some light scouring with a sponge/nylon scourer
    should do the job.
    
    
    						John
    

    I have the new solid cast iron burners on my stove.  There is a
    narrow chrome ring around the outside of the burner that I can't
    get clean (not even with a brillo pad).  I saw an add in a magazine
    that showed Soft Scrub used to clean it, bought some and still not
    shiney like new.
    
    Also, in the center of the solid burners there is a dark red circle
    and I can't figure out how to get that clean (the black ran into
    the red) either.
    
    My husband has guns, so maybe I'll try the bore stuff.

  We had a stove with the solid burners for 5 years, and it was just
  about impossible to clean. The rings burn stuff on very easily, and
  you have to clean them often to prevent stuff from getting permanently
  baked on. As you say, Soft-scrub doesn't do much good. We used steel
  wool and plenty of elbow grease, or those green scouring pads from
  Scotch. You might try Easy-off oven cleaner, but it's not too safe and
  could damage the burner. Or you could try one of the safe oven
  cleaners. But, basically, they're just not easy to keep clean.

  As for the red circle in the center of the burners, forget it. It's
  some kind of paint. It will eventually turn black from dirt and heat,
  and, later on, completely disappear.

  The best thing we found for keeping the solid burners looking decent
  was stove polish (for wood stoves). After you get everything as clean
  as you can, put some stove polish on the burners and then heat them up
  a bit. It not only makes them look nice, but they conduct heat to the
  pans a little better.

    Not wanting to start a new note, so...
    
    I just moved into an apartment with a nice butcher block
    counter.  Before I use it, I want to clean it.  
    
    The question is, what should the wood be cleaned with, for the
    initial cleaning and maintenance?
    
    Gary

  One technique I've heard from a butcher:

  Assuming you want to do a real once-a-year type of cleaning, you
  should first scrape off enough wood to reveal the raw wood underneath.
  There are wood scrapers for this purpose. I don't know where a butcher
  would shop, but you can get this sort of tool at a place like
  Woodcraft Supply in (I think) Woburn, MA. It's basically just a
  rectangle of stainless steel with one edge filed perfectly square and
  sharp. You might be able to use coarse grit sandpaper, too, but this
  would take a lot of sandpaper, because it fills pretty quickly with
  the grease-filled sawdust.

  They you sand it smooth (doesn't matter too much what grit, because
  you're going to be hacking on it pretty soon, but a medium or
  medium-fine would look decently smooth).

  Then you wash it with a mild solution of water and dish liquid (gets
  remaining grease and dirt out). Then you rinse it with a very mild
  bleach and water solution (disinfects). Then you rinse very well with
  clean water (to get rid of bleach smell). Then, after it's completely
  dry, you coat it with a light vegetable oil (protects wood against
  drying and water; I use safflower oil or similar).

  Personally, I don't use wooden butcher blocks for cutting, for
  sanitary reasons. They're hard to keep clean compared to a nylon
  cutting board which you just put in the dishwasher.