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Is there any way to clean/re-finish this?
- Thread starter sdilley14
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Glass tops are hard to keep clean. Put a generous dose of cooktop cleaning cream on it and let it soak for an hour or so. A little elbow grease with a scrub pad and I'd say you could get 90-99% off. Glass tops can scratch so stay away from steel wool or other really hard scrub pads. My stove has a few scratches and "swirls" from 9 years of scrubbing, but they are not really noticeable and don't affect the functionality.
Can't believe someone would show a house and not get that cleaned up.
Can't believe someone would show a house and not get that cleaned up.
Go to a home improvement store and buy some cream for cleaning glass top stoves. It's very mildly abrasive, but it works great for messes like this. They also sell scrub pads made specially for use on glass tops. Do NOT use a regular dish/pot scrubber. Between the cream and the scrub pad it should clean right up.
Weiman or Bar Keeper's Friend. The latter is amazing for our stove/oven thingy. It's some prosumer range/whatever by Viking I picked up during our remodel back in 2009. Cleans the stainless steel without scratching it. BKF is pretty handy stuff in general. I prefer the liquid product though. Though I prefer Weiman spray cleaner for other stainless steel products like the fridge, wine fridge or the water cooler.
You could also use citric acid powder. It's available in stores that have a decent herb and spices section. .5-1 tsp to a liter of water makes a decent cleaner for stainless steel or glass with deposits on it. I use the same formulation for our regular and electric kettle to get rid of calcium deposits. There is no after-smell and no taste if you wash it out well with hot water a couple of times. Compare that to vinegar, which would also work in your case.
Edit: For BKF, make sure you get the right formulation. Some aren't meant for glass tops and others are. Also works fantastic on your gas grill outside.
You could also use citric acid powder. It's available in stores that have a decent herb and spices section. .5-1 tsp to a liter of water makes a decent cleaner for stainless steel or glass with deposits on it. I use the same formulation for our regular and electric kettle to get rid of calcium deposits. There is no after-smell and no taste if you wash it out well with hot water a couple of times. Compare that to vinegar, which would also work in your case.
Edit: For BKF, make sure you get the right formulation. Some aren't meant for glass tops and others are. Also works fantastic on your gas grill outside.
My wife soaks ours with water for a few hours before putting on the cream. Seems to work wonders. But never use an abrasive cleaning sponges. Had ours a good 8 years and there are no scratches on it yet.
Just cold. Over a few hours it helps. You still need to use the cream to get rid of the toughest stains though.
Interesting. I'll give it a try the next time something boils over. It's a pain in the butt to remove the extra cleaning cream/powder after you're done. I take it you use less product this way?
Yes. Just the bare minimum. Otherwise as you say, your trying to remove that creamy residue for ages.
Excellent. I've had great luck removing oily residues using a mixture of 90% rubbing alcohol, a teaspoon or less of Dawn Platinum and nearly hot water. Actually, I'd say Dawn standard would be strong enough let alone the platinum which is highly concentrated. A quarter teaspoon eats away the fats and burned on bits from a roasting dish easily. It's not wonder they use Dawn for roadside oil spills.
It looks like burnt on crud. Usually it will come of with glass cooktop cleaner, as others have mentioned, the Weiman brand usually works fine. If none of the aforementioned techniques work, you can very, very, very, very, very carefully take a razor blade to it and scrape the junk off. You must be very^5 careful not to scratch the glass.
It may take some work if the previous owners just kept cooking over it. My parents own a couple summer rental houses In Rhode Island. In my younger years it was my job to make sure they were cleaned up between renters. Every so often I'd come across a mess like that. People who have never owned a glass cooktop don't know how to take care of them. ~8 years ago these people destroyed a brand new $1000 GE glass cooktop (separate from the oven) trying to clean melted/burnt on sugar with steel wool, a metal putty knife, and God knows what else.
Alternatively:
1. Use it as a negotiating point.
2. Remove old stove
3. Replace a nice gas Viking gas range.
It may take some work if the previous owners just kept cooking over it. My parents own a couple summer rental houses In Rhode Island. In my younger years it was my job to make sure they were cleaned up between renters. Every so often I'd come across a mess like that. People who have never owned a glass cooktop don't know how to take care of them. ~8 years ago these people destroyed a brand new $1000 GE glass cooktop (separate from the oven) trying to clean melted/burnt on sugar with steel wool, a metal putty knife, and God knows what else.
Alternatively:
1. Use it as a negotiating point.
2. Remove old stove
3. Replace a nice gas Viking gas range.
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I like the negotiating point idea, using it frequently for every house I've purchased. If the glass cleaning cream doesnot work, I wonder if a product like Lime Away might work?
The heck with the stovetop. I think the most interesting thing is the refrigerator that extends beyond its enclosure, nearly blocking the door, and jammed with photos in the few inches that it sticks out.
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I used steel wool to clean mine, along with some muscle power. Top looks similar to yours, and it didn't leave any scratches. Do try a little area before you attack it fully of course. Maybe use something suggested above at the same time, or just use it for the worst parts.
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People that do that to glass stove tops deserve to have there hands whacked.
I usually go at it with 3 things:
1. Bar Keepers friend applied liberally and create a paste, let it soak for a little while.
2. Scrub it with a copper chore boy.
3. Take a flat razor to it scrape of any of the hard to get stuff.
Then just wet sponge and dry it
I usually go at it with 3 things:
1. Bar Keepers friend applied liberally and create a paste, let it soak for a little while.
2. Scrub it with a copper chore boy.
3. Take a flat razor to it scrape of any of the hard to get stuff.
Then just wet sponge and dry it
Yeah, it looks like they didn't buy a counter depth refrigerator. They usually cost more and have less depth space obviously, but look better (consequently they usually have a wider design). In this case, from a practical standpoint, a counter depth might be a better option as it is slightly blocking the door.
I think the most interesting factor is the lack of hardware on the cabinets. I guess that gives you the opportunity to use whatever you want. Also, is it just me or is the cabinetry/wood enclosing the side of the refrigerator discolored?
