Dear Home Ec 101,
I was making grilled cheese sandwiches. I lifted the skillet to slide a sandwich onto the plate, and it got too close to the bread. And to the bread’s plastic bag. Of course I didn’t notice that until I tried to lift the skillet again and found that it was a little resistant to be removed. The skillet isn’t stuck to my flat-top stove, but a nice smattering of melted plastic is stuck to my smooth top range. Is there any way to remove it without a legion of harsh chemicals?
My stove and I look forward to your solution!
Signed,
Melted in Melbourne
Heather says:
Have you ever noticed how there sometimes seems to be a trend in topics on Home Ec 101? I don’t plan these things, this is just how the reader questions arrive, apparently we’re in the middle of clean or fix my flat top stove season.
Melted plastic on a smooth top range is a pretty common problem and has a very easy solution.
You just need to let your stove cool completely, grab an ice cube, and a scraper. Today you have your choice of using a nylon scraper (like you get to clean stoneware from THAT company) or even a credit card. If you have a razor scraper handy, that is extremely useful for these situations.
Just place the ice cube on the melted plastic and then scrape, thankfully this is an easy fix.
The next time you turn your stove on, be sure to run the exhaust fan or have the window open, just in case there is any leftover residue (there shouldn’t be, but it never hurts to be a little cautious).
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Good luck!
Send your questions to helpme@home-ec101.com
Thank you! I’ll give that a try today. I mean, I <i>would</i> give it a try, if such a thing ever were to happen to me. 🙂
Make sure it’s an expired credit card, as damage may occur to the magnetic strip. I’ve used old shopper loyalty cards as scrapers, too — the thicker the card, the better it works as a scraper.