Problem

The burners on your gas stove top and oven racks are caked with burned-on gunk that won’t scrub off.

Attack Plan

Get yourself a bottle of ammonia, rubber gloves, paper towels, a bucket, and some plastic zipper bags large enough to hold individual burners and racks.

If you haven’t used ammonia before, it STINKS. Worse than vinegar. We strongly recommend doing this outside or, at least, in a well-ventilated area! The ammonia fumes can be harmful!

Put each burner or rack in its own bag.

Pour about 1/4 cup ammonia into each bag. You don’t need much as it’s not the liquid that’s doing the work here, it’s the fumes. The burner or rack does not need to be submerged in ammonia.

Zip up the bag and set it outside overnight.

The next day and still outside, put on your rubber gloves. Turn your face away from the bag as you open it. You don’t want to get blasted in the face with concentrated ammonia fumes!

Remove the burner or rack from the bag and dump the ammonia into your bucket.

Wipe down the burner or rack with paper towels. The gunk should come right off. If you have a few cooked-on layers, you may need to repeat this process to get it all off.

Side Notes

  • Do NOT mix bleach with the ammonia. It creates a very toxic gas. Now is not the time for Mr. Wizard experiments. Just use plain ammonia for this task.
  • Dispose of the used ammonia properly. Here are three ways: How to Dispose of Ammonia