Tag Archives: cooktop tricks

5 Cooktop Best Practises

As a responsible homeowner, you want to keep your cooktops clean and well maintained, don’t you? The good news is that it’s possible to do it. All you need to do is to put into place these cooktop best practices:

Wipe the spills as soon as they happen

Spills might seem harmless to your cooktops, but they aren’t. According to appliance repair professionals, spills on your glass or ceramic cooktops are ugly to look at and hard to remove, especially when you let them dry on your surfaces.

Your cooktop controls are also affected and fail to respond as well as they should, especially when spilled with sugary liquids or grease.

Use the right cookware on your cooktop.

The cookware you use on your cooktop is of vital importance as it not only affects how well you cook, but also how long your cooktops last.

As a rule of thumb, don’t use cat iron cookware on a smooth top cooktop. This is because the cast iron cookware is most likely rough, and any movement of the top on the cooktop will leave scratches on the surfaces. You don’t want your cooktops to have any scratches, do you?

If you have an induction cooktop, don’t use any pan on it. Besides the fact that it doesn’t make sense to use a cheap pan on your expensive cooktop, remember that induction cooktops work extremely differently from ceramic cooktops.

They use a magnetic field under their surfaces to transfer heat directly to the pots and pans. As a result, they need special induction cookware with a ferrous base to transfer the heat as well as they should.

Use a fridge magnet to tell whether your cookware will work with your induction cooktop. If the cookware doesn’t stick on the magnet, get new units.

As you are choosing the right cookware for your home, remember to go with pans that sit flat on your cooktops as they provide even heat distribution. They also tend to be more stable on the cooktop.

This calls for you to avoid pans and skillets with rounded edge bottoms as they won’t provide you with an even heat distribution. The pans also tend to rock while on the cooktop; you don’t want this.

Clean the cooktops

You need to clean the cooktops to not only keep them looking good, but also remove any damaging materials that might be there.

While you might want your cooktops as clean as possible, be cautious about the materials you use. As a rule of thumb, don’t use harsh cleaners as they will damage your surfaces.

While a glass cleaner might seem like an obvious choice, don’t use it as it can leave streaks on your cooktop surface.

The right way to go about it is to use a dedicated ceramic cleaner and a microfiber cloth. These won’t cause any damage and will leave your cooktops looking as good as new.

When cleaning the surfaces, don’t forget the knobs. You should remove any dirt and scraps that might still be trapped under them.

Besides the cooktops, keep the bottoms of your pots and pans clean. This is because when the pots are dirty, they transfer grease and other forms of dirt on the cooktop, and you don’t want this. While you can remove the grease and other forms of dirt from the surfaces, they are usually hard to clean.

Don’t use your cooktop as a preparation space.

The smooth and tough nature of the cooktops can tempt you to use the cooktops as a food preparation surface, but don’t. The reason for this is that you can easily damage the cooktops.

To protect your surfaces, always use a chopping board.

Don’t stand on the cooktops.

The glass on your cooktops might appear tough and can stand your weight, but don’t stand on it. This is because it can easily shatter and break, especially when hot.

Don’t stand on the cooktops if you have to reach the top shelf. Instead, use a ladder.

Cooktop repair Northern VA also recommend against placing any heavy item on the smooth cooktops, even if you are doing it temporarily.

Cooktops Repair: 6 Ways You Might be Damaging Your Cooktops And What To Do About It

Did you know you could be hurting your cooktops without even realizing it? When you use the appliances the wrong way, they break down, and you have to hire expensive cooktops repair professionals. To help you out, here are some of the ways you might be hurting your cooktops and what you should do about it:

You ignore the manual.

Every appliance you buy comes with a manual that lets you know about the different parts of the appliance and how to use them properly. It’s a fact manuals are boring, but they are vital when it comes to keeping your appliance in top shape.

In addition to detailing the different parts, they also contain special tips on maintenance and correct cleaning and care of the appliance. To keep the appliance in top shape and avoid using it the wrong way, always take time to read them.

You can skip the boring part descriptions, but when it comes to care and maintenance tips, pay close attention to them.

You let the pot cook on its own

You will regularly hear people saying that a watched pot never boils, but when you ignore it, it tends to boil over. When boiling water or heating liquids, you can find it meaningless to wait until it boils, but stepping out of the kitchen can often be dangerous.

When you walk out of the kitchen, the liquids can boil over, and the spills and splashes get stuck on the cooktops. When you let the spills stay on the stovetop for a long time, they are not only unappealing, but they also cause damage to the appliance, which significantly reduces its life.

How can you avoid this? Simple. Never leave the kitchen regardless of what you are cooking. Always be in the kitchen when cooking. When the food starts boiling, reduce the fire, or remove it from the fire altogether. When spills happen, remove them immediately.

You ignore burner clogs.

When you light a burner and notice it not working, it means that it has clogged and you need to clean it. There are plenty of issues that come with clogged burners. When a burner clogs, it corrodes, which shortens the life of the appliance.

When you ignore the clog and don’t clean it early enough, the opening where the gas comes out decreases in size, which can potentially lead to inefficient gas burning and even hot spots in the pan.

When you continue ignoring the clogged burner, it will eventually stop functioning, and in no time, the entire appliance will break down.

To avoid this, you should give attention to the burners, and when you notice them not burning as well as you would want them to, clean the burners.

You ignore debris on the gas stovetop.

Most people that want a sleek modern look on their kitchen go for a glass stovetop. While the stovetop gives your kitchen an elegant appeal, if you let dirt build upon it, it not only provides the kitchen with a cheap look, but also significantly reduces its lifespan.

Nothing is exciting about a glass stovetop full of burn marks, steaks, and baked-on stains, so you should regularly clean the stovetop to remove any gunk that might be there.

You use a lot of water.

Cleaning the cooktop is vital for its life, but you shouldn’t use a lot of water when cleaning it. When you use a lot of water, you put your gas and electric cooktops at the risk of shorting out.

You might have the impression that there is no way gas will be affected by water, but you need to remember that the gas cooktop has electrical components too, such as the control board, high voltage wires, and electric switches.

Clean your cooktops but avoid using a lot of water as you will not only be putting the cooktops at risk, but also yourself.

You use the wrong cleaning products.

While some people use a lot of water on the cooktops, others use the wrong materials. For example, using a razor blade to remove any built-up gunk, cleaning the surfaces with a wire brush, or using chemical cleaners will damage the appliance, and it’s only a matter of time before you hire an appliance repair Alexandria professional to fix the unit.