Like New 20 Years Later
I’ve been re-organizing and purging things in our kitchen to reduce the unneeded clutter. Looking at our 20 year old stove, I thought it may be time for a new one. the front panel control with the knobs and clock had yellowed and no matter what I tried, it wouldn’t come clean. I thought the paint had worn off until I did a little investigation. The yellowed panel was grease build up! After I came to this conclusion I could clean this and not need a know stove, I made it look like new 20 years later!
Ceramic Stove Top Cleaner
This is a blog I wrote earlier about my homemade ceramic stove top cleaner and it’s so easy to make an yuck top look like new! I like to use household products as often as I can for cleaning.
http://themarthareview.com/homemade-ceramic-stove-top-cleaner/
Cleaning the Stove Control Panel
Now 20 years of build up took some time to work on. I used the same homemade cleaner as I did for the ceramic top and scrubbed and scrubbed. It removed part of the guck but I couldn’t get it all removed. I then realized I needed to get on the heavy duty cleaner that hubby uses to clean the lawn and garden equipment, Simple Green. I removed the knobs, sprayed half of the panel at a time and let it sit for a few minutes to loosen the grease then used a scrubby pad to work on the stubborn parts.
After wiping it down with a wet paper towel, the control panel looked like new! I thought we would need a new stove but after a little Simple Green and some elbow grease, our stove is like new 20 years later!
We were looking to purchase a new washer and dryer a few years ago to replace our almost 20 year old pair. It would have cost about $1000.00 but I used the same homemade cleaner on our old washer and dryer a few years ago and made it look like new! I also added vinegar to a half full tub of water and did a rinse of half tub of water with lemon juice, making it smell like new also. So now we have a new looking and smelling washing and dryer and still have our $1000.00!
That’s wonderful, Martha! I’m so impressed that you were able to do that with two appliances.
I enjoy trying to find ways to fix rather than purchase new Jeanine. My home “brew” is easy to make and useful for so many cleaning projects.
Good job on the appliances. I need to buy a new stove since the oven quit and we can’t get the replacement part. The fact the stove is over forty years old might have something to do with the lack of parts. Also had to buy a new washer and dryer recently, but found a used set. I’ll be using your cleaning solution on them as soon as they get hooked up. Thanks.
I’d say 40 years might have something to do with lack of parts also Nita! My washer had the “wet sneaker” smell until I ran a half tub of water with a cup of vinegar through. Then I did the same but used lemon juice. It was like brand new! Also I lifted the entire top and was grossed out by all the build up of “crud” under it! Just add a little baking soda and water and it came off! Hope it works for you and thanks for visiting.
Nice work! We gutted our kitchen last summer and needed a new stove. No matter how much I cleaned it, it was still broken. LOL!
Sounds like you had a major undertaking Elisa! I’m trying to de-clutter 50 years of “stuff”!
I pass up Simple Green in stores, I need to try this soon. I would love to clean my grill.
My hubby has used Simple Green forever for cleaning the vehicles, Harleys and lawn equipment plus when pressure washing our house. Once I started using it inside, I love it! Let me know what you think of it Barbara.