Lye-ar, Lye-ar

Isn't that just the nicest, cleanest 14 year old stove you've ever seen? Wanna know my secret?

When the stove grates get too grimy to simply wipe clean, I put them into a garbage bag, spray them with Easy Off, tie the bag shut and let them sit over night. The next morning the grime literally wipes off with a cloth. No scrubbing or elbow grease required. My Aunt Kathy gave me this pointer when we first moved into our home. I had a cook-top before this gas range, and I had special cleaner for it. While the cook-top was much easier to keep clean, I prefer a gas range. Anyway, Kathy saw me scrubbing my stove grates with steel wool (which also works, but it's a true pain), and she recommended the Easy Off method. I've been using it ever since.

Now, you are probably wondering why this is blog-worthy. First of all, come on. I'm known as the "Queen of Clean," to some, so why would it surprise you that I am thrilled by something as simple as a clean stove top! Actually, though, that's not the main reason. I just cleaned my stove top this morning with my tried and true method, but it has been almost a year since my previous cleaning. A year! Me, go a year between cleanings??? I know. That's the truly absurd part.

Here's why: I used to take the grates outside, under our back porch to spray them, because Easy Off is extremely noxious. I would let them sit outside and then bring them back in to wipe and rinse. The last time I cleaned them, there must have been a hole in the bag I used, because I unknowingly dripped lye all through my house. It was several hours after I had cleaned them that Jacob asked me what the brown spots were on our newly re-done hardwood stairs. I looked over the railing at the spots, and my first thought was that he took chocolate milk to the game room and spilled it. He denied that, and when I looked more closely at the dots, which did not wipe off, I realized that the finish on the wood had been eaten away. I'm not kidding, it was on every single step, all 14 of them, and the landing. It dripped lye on the tile too, but it wasn't strong enough to do damage to the tile. The stairs, however, had to be completely sanded and refinished. The worst part of it was that I wasn't the one to refinish the steps. Greg had to do it. Somehow it's always ten times worse when you know someone else has to clean up your mess, in this case, literally. He handled it with extreme grace, though. He didn't even yell at me. Had the tables been turned, I guarantee I wouldn't have been so nice about it. (Love you, babe!)

Since then, I've been afraid to take the stove grates outside again. I don't want a repeat performance, and I'm sure Greg doesn't either. I have been asking Greg to take the grates to work and do it there, where it wouldn't matter if lye spilled, but he keeps forgetting. Plus, it's really not right for him to be cleaning our stove while at the plant. So last night, I decided to be brave and cautious and spray the grates in our kitchen. I placed them in the bag, inside the oven over night, and was extremely careful this morning when I removed them. Operation successful! (At least as far as I know, please!)

Now, I am starting off my weekend with a shiny, like new, stove top, and a worry free mind! Ah...the little things!