How To Clean Stove Drip Pans

Wouldn’t it be nice if there was a self-clean button to magically remove the grime from your stove’s drip pans? Unfortunately, this feature doesn’t exist (at least not yet), meaning you’ll have to put a little bit of elbow grease into cleaning them. Whether you own a gas or electric stove, the drip pans will almost certainly develop a layer of stubborn, hard-to-clean grime. With a little bit of work, though, you can revitalize them back to their shiny, pristine condition.

Remove Your Drip Pans

Don’t make the mistake of trying to clean your drip pans while they are still attached to the stove. This is not only more difficult, but it can also be dangerous. Although rare, shocks may occur when an electrical stove comes into contact with water.

The exact method of removal varies depending on the oven’s model. Try removing the stove’s eyes first by pulling them out horizontally. Once the eyes are removed, the drip pans should lift straight up with ease. Repeat this process until you’ve removed all of the drip pans on your stove.

Soak Your Drip Pans

There are several different ways to clean drip pans, some of which includes the use of bleach, vinegar, and/or dish soap. However, I recommend cleaning your drip pans by soaking them in filtered white apple cider vinegar (AVC). Due to its highly acidic properties (roughly 2.4 pH level), it’s able to eat away stubborn grim and food debris. And unlike bleach, you don’t have to worry about exposing your family to potentially toxic chemicals.

Soaking your drip pans in vinegar may or may not be enough to clean them. If there’s still noticeable grime left, try scrubbing them with an old toothbrush and baking soda. Mix the baking soda in a small amount of warm water to create a thick paste-like substance, and use this paste to scrub off any remaining debris. The vinegar should have loosened up the debris, allowing you to scrub it clean with ease.

Of course, these are just a few possible ways to clean drip pans. Some people prefer the use of chlorine bleach, whereas others use plain old dish soap. But vinegar is unique in the sense that it possesses antibacterial, anti-fungal and anti-septic properties, and it doesn’t contain toxic chemicals. So the next time you need to clean your stove’s drip pans, try soaking them in vinegar and scrubbing them baking soda.