Friday Things #414
1. Dominic is a very serious Batman… And Isabelle has commandeered Joseph’s old Superman costume 😂
2. My babes 💙💖💙
3. This sweet girl wanted me to take a picture of her with her bunny 💞
4. Our kids are still little, but I really love this concept >> 12 Life Skills We Want For Our Children Before They Leave Home
5. When the kids don’t have school, I totally feel like I’m on vacation, too. I love the long, lazy days with no schedule. Anyone else?
6. Does anyone have advice on trying to clean up a stovetop? We have a gas range; there is a black porcelain type material around the burners and ever since we moved in here, I cannot get it clean to save my life. It’s like there’s a build-up, or maybe the finish has eroded? I’m not sure, but if anyone has suggestions I’d love to hear them! Aside from regular cleaners, I’ve also done a baking soda paste, and that did not work either.
7. I took the plunge and ordered the Olive & June manicure and pedicure sets. I have dreams of keeping my nails looking pretty… I’ll report back 😉
8. We finished Endeavor earlier this week (we LOVED it, highly recommend!) and went to watch Inspector Morse, but you need a special add-on BritBox subscription through Amazon Prime, so we skipped it for now. We started watching Unforgotten (Amazon Prime) and got totally sucked in on the murder mystery; really liking it so far!
9. Wishing you all a happy Easter or Passover weekend, or just a joyful and relaxing weekend in general ❤️️
10. TGIF! Have a snuggly weekend!
I had the same issue with our gas stovetop. A magic erase in hot water worked wonders for me!
Beautiful family. Love your children and the puppies. Read your post every week. I am 76 with grown grandchildren so I live vicariously through your colorful missives. Thank you for making my Friday more .
No suggestions on the stovetop since mine is electric. Would love to have gas but not available
in our area and husband does want a propane tank.
Have a happy Easter weekend.
I use Scotch-Brite Glass Cooktop Pads. It’s a scrubbing pad with a special surface on one side of the sponge. You have to use a little elbow grease but it works with just water. It works for me.
Try oven cleaner. My husband used this on our gas stovetop pans and pan rests. ( those racks you set your pans on). Take them out to the back deck on paper or cardboard to spray them. After a while you can never get them clean again. I also use bartenders friend powder.
Follow GoCleanCo on Instagram for all your cleaning needs. I found that account early in lockdown and I’m in forever love! She’s got it all figured out. My stove sparkles like new. Happy Easter!
I don’t have specific guidance for cleaning the stovetop, but in general, I recommend following the Go Clean instagram page. OMG I’ve become obsessed with cleaning all the things!!!! They definitely have a recommendation for this.
I use a multi prong approach. Start with Greased Lightning to get most of the grease off then oven cleaner. Then go after the most difficult spots with a razor blade in a holder but keep it level and do not gouge the finish. Also look for Weiman Stove Top Scrubbers. If all else fails a chef once told me they use lighter fluid to clean commercial stoves. While technically this would work as it is a solvent I’ve never had the nerve to try it. Though I will use Goo Gone occasionally.
To clean gas stovetop like yours, I use Weiman’s glass cooktop cleaner, rinse and wipe with a microfiber cloth.
I used to use a combo of dawn, baking soda, and vinegar water with an overnight sitting to clean my GE stovetop. Then I bought the Barkeepers Friends soft cleanser with the Crown Choice scourer cloth from Amazon. My stove was almost perfectly clean in 20 min. This was miraculous despite the burnt mess my husband made.
I was also tempted into ordering a set of black stove covers that included stove gap covers. I love these too! A pain to measure, cut, and puzzle out at first but am happily satisfied after 3 months usage. Every week I wash them by hand and reposition. Supposedly they’re dish washer safe too but haven’t tried yet. There is some overlapping to make it all cover the stove. After these get worn out, I may look into buying an oven liner and cut according to my stovetop. It’ll be more seamless and thoughtless to reposition.
Hope these suggestions help. Happy cooking!
I have the same type of stovetop and I am emailing from Ontario Canada. Here in Canada at home depot you can purchase a product called Weisman for Glass cook top stoves which is a heavy duty cleaner. It takes off the grime etc and I use it all the time. Hope it works.
Please let us know what suggestions you get about cleaning your stove. I have the same problem and was going to try baking soda paste but won’t bother with it now. Thanks!
Loved Inspector Morse. Also excellent is the Inspector Lynley series but I’m not sure where it is showing. Also Father Brown and Midsomer Murders. British crime is sooo good! Your kids are so cute! Happy Easter!
Happy Easter, Michelle & Fam! I love the pictures of your 3 kidlings and your 2 furbabies along with your delish recipes. We have 4 grown kidlings and are raising our 6 y.o. granddaughter so I appreciate the new advice and information you offer on the child-rearing front. Everything is SO different this time around – the world, social media, school subjects (we were 30 yrs. younger when our youngest child was 6) and the explosion of the internet; the world wide web can be both a friend and sometime foe. 😬
I don’t usually comment without something to contribute, so here goes. On your gas stovetop try a Pumie Scouring Stick https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01J060NHO/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_glc_fabc_3BXFD6S2RDY4V0WVYT6J?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1
You wet it, then scrub until you’ve made a paste and rinse the residue clean. It’s old-fashioned but if you’re willing to apply some hardy elbow grease, it works on so many surfaces. Thank you for sharing your life with us.😊 -Shirley Ujest (lol)
For cleaning your stove, try Norwex Degreaser or Cleaning Paste! I use the cleaning paste to clean everything from the bottoms of my pots and pans to the tile in my shower! I use the Degreaser to clean my Air Fryer and Oven and I imagine it would do well on the stove top too! Their products are all natural too, so no harmful chemicals! I’ve got a girl if you need a consultant! :D
I usually have to scrape it off with the flat side of a knife.
Adorable picture of Isabelle & Dominic in their costumes..also sweet pic of your furry babies with you. Duke reminds me of distinguished Einstein sometimes.
My stove has the same issue. I think the surface finish has worn down.
Happy Easter to all.
LOVE your Friday things. My favorite read of the week.
Try a combo of the bartenders keeper with a magic eraser.
Have you tried the L’BRI cleaner? It’s a citrus based cleaning concentrate. They unfortunately don’t have a sample of the cleaner but I would be happy to send you a sample of mine. I just used it to clean burnt on food on the bottom of my oven. lbri.com/tammyscharmer
another option is to apply cooking oil and turn the burner on low. Using a scraping tool.
Sometimes it is just stuck.
I too have struggled getting my stove top clean! I have a stainless steel range but I’ve tried everything and I can never get it clean enough! I did start putting on burner covers, I found it really helps with the grime and makes cleaning the next time easier.
Try this method, you will need the following:
Trash bag
Ammonia
It would best if this is done in your garage or outside.
Put stove parts in trash bag, pour in ammonia (parts do not need to be fully immersed), close bag and leave overnight. Be careful opening since the ammonia is very strong.
Happy Easter! Hope you have a beautiful day!
Have you tried the Mr. Clean Magic Erasers for cleaning the stove? I use the ones that are like sheets from a book of magic erasers folded over a dime to work around that ridge. I’ve also used ammonia, but it needs to be kept wet to work and depending where the gunk is stuck, sometime I cannot keep it wet.
Life skills before leaving home – yes to all of them! The most surprising thing to me was once my kids got set up in their own apartments after college, both were really good at meal planning and preparation and keeping everything clean. Traits that I never saw before they left home!
Hi, Michelle!
About your stove top….QVC has 2 products that I highly recommend; GP66 Miracle Cleaner & Bio Cleaner-the 1st is a spray, the 2nd is clay. They both really work for me! Good luck, and Happy Easter!
My stove is the same!!! I have even tried alcohol and more lubricating products and olive oil! Please post if someone has found the answer!!
The only thing I could think about for the stovetop is straight smelly ammonia. My stovetop is similar to yours (can’t believe it is really glass), and it is the only thing that works after the husband does his preparing of his mother’s pasta sauce. He is a bit of a slob, and baked on splatters are not a wonderful thing to encounter after the fact. I will normally pour some on and then walk away for the next half hour or so, then put on the industrial mask (Home Depot) and use a mesh scrubber. If it is really baked on, then it becomes a job for additional ammonia and a razor blade scraping. Considering the children and dogs, this might not work for you as the smell can be pretty overwhelming, but it has kept the cooktop in good condition for the past 15 years.
I have a gas stove with an open grate situation and the black top. I use Dawn dish soap, and a lot of it, along with some baking soda to clean my stovetop. There are areas right around the burners that I think the finish has worn off and it is not just dirty. But the Dawn and baking soda have worked really well for me. And I am a very messy cook!
Happy Easter ! I also look forward to summer break and the relaxed days. No set schedule. I also look forward to snow days… I’m worse than the kids checking the school closings. 😂
Beginning with the very first spill/burn on my brand new gas stovetop, I could not get it clean and 2 years later it’s been all downhill since then.
When I read your post asking readers for solutions, I jumped to the comment section looking for a solution, as I’ve tried them all……….Sadly, my new gas stovetop looks like it’s 50 years old.
I’m tempted to try a razor blade but afraid I’ll ruin it for good.
I really hope someone has a magic bullet for this problem.
I’m going to keep checkin back the comments section hoping someone has a solution.
Mean green, but its bad for the lungs.
Spray nine works good.
Only things I can think of.
The suggestions of Bar Keepers Friend may work also.
Have you tried Bar Keepers Friend? It’s the best product I’ve found to work on tough stains on the stove.
dawn powerwashspray is tge key!!! No fumes. Spray on and wait 5 minutes. You MAY need repeat depending on how bad it is. Rinse well.
We have even cleaned our oven with it. Lol. It takes out grease stain on clothing too. Lol. Happy easter🐰🐰🐰🐰
I’m curious about the stove top as well. We built our house in 2007 and the only choice was a GE Profile, which has the gas range and black glass/porcelain top. Since DAY 1 it has looked awful. Around the burners it almost looks bubbled and heat damaged. I have tried every cleaner and even a razor blade but nothing worked.
YES! Our house was built in 2008; we are not the original owners, but these are all the original appliances and they are GE Monogram. Mine has the bubbly look, too. I’ve tried the powdered barkeeper’s friend, but not the liquid, I’m going to try that and the Weiman if that doesn’t work. Fingers crossed!
Oh Michelle I wish I had a solution for the stove top !!! I actually have the same problem! I’ve used everything I got my hands on & so far nothing works ! Love the pictures of the children & the puppies ! Have a blessed Easter 🐣 Love to all ❤️
Try barkeepers friend for the cooktop!
Hi! Regarding your range top, have you tried Barkeeper’s Friend? Good luck!
@gocleango talks about how to clean every type of stove top, but usually easy off will clean it. For the metal that goes above each burner, sometimes a dishwasher tablet dissolved in water and then let the metal soak in it will work.
Gosh, I have the very same problem with the area around the burners on my gas stove top. It is especially bad around the two most used burners. I also have tried so many products with no luck. I am wondering if the problem is that the finish has been altered and cannot be returned to it’s original state. I hope some of the other readers have a tip or two.
Love your Friday posts and seeing ow your sweet kids are growing /changing every week.
Happy Easter!