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shiver_mn

glass top stoves and odor issues

shiver
16 years ago

I've had a glass top stove for about 5 years now, and I have to say I hate it. It's easy to clean but it absorbs disgusting odors that are impossible to remove. I've tried everything----magic sponge, baking soda pastes, every cleaner on the market, and still the top smells horrible---people actually stop and notice it. The smell isn't from the inside of the oven (it's a self cleaning model), and I've already cleaned the sides of the appliance and behind it. It seems to be only the glass top that's the problem. Am I crazy, or has anyone else noticed this kind of thing? What do you do about it?

Comments (17)

  • ebear1271
    16 years ago

    Unless I'm mistaken in the type of stove top you have, how can the glass retain odors? Isn't in nonporous? I have a glass top also and wonder if your rubber edge is "gunked" up? When I clean the edge I'm usually surprised at how dirty it is. Try spraying the whole thing with a 50/50 mix of white vinegar and then sprinkle on some baking soda. Let it sit for a while then use your scraper to get it off and then rinse to get all the baking soda off. Vinegar kills odors and baking soda will absorb them. Beyond that, have you checked under the stove?

  • shiver
    Original Author
    16 years ago

    I thought glass was non-porous too, but I researched it yesterday and found out glass is indeed *quite* porous---I mean, who knew? Ugh.

    Yep, I've cleaned under, behind, and on the sides of the appliance, plus all gaskets/rubber. I swear the thing sparkles like a diamond but still reeks to high heaven. I've used baking soda before which I made into a paste (with water), but I've not tried it with vinegar. I'll give that a try later today.

    I can't believe I'm the only one with this problem....

  • debo_2006
    16 years ago

    That sure is an odd problem you have with your glass top. I've had my smoothtop range for almost 8 months (short compared to you) and I haven't experienced anything like this, nor has anyone else that I know of. I will be curious to know what the cause is though, once you find out. What brand is your range?

  • shiver
    Original Author
    16 years ago

    My range is a kenmore...

    Well ebear, the baking soda and vinegar trick worked like a charm! I put a ton of the soda on and added straight vinegar, then let it sit about 4 hours. I re-wet it with vinegar again and wiped it off---now no smell (yea!). It'll be interesting to see if the stink demon rears it's head again after a few days. As you all know it takes a fair amount of work to keep a house clean, and nothing ruins it more than a strong stench.

    Thanks for the help! :)

  • ebear1271
    16 years ago

    I'm so glad it worked for you! That's how I clean my stove-top every time, although I don't let it sit quite that long. I have a spray bottle with a 50/50 mix of vinegar and water and a sugar shaker (with the large holes) that I got at the $1 store and keep filled with baking soda.
    I would be really interested to know why it's retaining odors. I've had mine for ten years and I've never heard of this problem. Do you cook exotic foods or a lot of fish?

  • shiver
    Original Author
    16 years ago

    I don't cook exotic foods----generally speaking, us Midwestern Americans usually eat more bland foods than other parts of the country. I do eat a great deal of fish, but it's either baked or grilled, and never cooked on the stovetop.

    For the first several years I had my stove I cleaned it with a wax-like cleaner (think wax on a car that you have to buff off). I wonder if odors didn't get imbedded in the protective wax coating? Whatever happened, baking soda and vinegar is the way I'm going to do it from now on. I can't imagine I'd have to do the 4 hour soak for routine cleaning!

    Thanks again for you help ebear---your suggestion was cheap, earth-friendly, and effective! :)

  • jcdoespoker11_gmail_com
    12 years ago

    Ive said the same thing about my glass table in the living room....My boyfriend thinks im crazy but there is an odor.. kinda like a mildewy something or other. I was just searching to prove to him, im right and came acrossed your issue.

  • mereblue
    8 years ago
    Shiver, I too have a glass top stove and have had problems with it smelling bad. It kinda smells like a wet dog...it's disgusting. I could not figure out it was so I did a search on the Internet and was directed to your comment. I don't know what's causing it....but you're not alone.
  • Voice of Reason
    8 years ago

    I have the glass top smell as well. EGGS are the culprit...actually the protein in the egg. Its the same thing that "eggy" dishes smell like if you leave them in the dishwasher to long before turning it on. I have tried everything and nothing seems to rid of it. trying to clean it and scrub it actually seems to stir the raunch up even more. Although hard, try to break your eggs into the frying pan over a bowl on the counter, not the frying pan... cover your eggs or use a huge pan so not as much splatter gets on the stove top.

    Basically what we need to find out is what breaks down Protein after it is altered from heat. Once protein is heated is molecular structure is altered...

    I'm going to research!

  • Voice of Reason
    8 years ago

    sodium borohydride and alcohol. The first is crazy expensive! So I thought alcohol would be worth a try. Rubbing may be best but I don't have any right now so I tried Jamaican Run... put a liberal amount on, sloshed it around after a wait and seems to help..

  • stir_fryi SE Mich
    8 years ago

    Well the glass top on my kitchen table gets stinky so I can see how the stovetop can. Make sure you don't wipe it down with a smelly rag.

  • nikkitytom
    8 years ago

    I tried everything known to mankind to get rid of the nasty smell. What was puzzllng was that it wasn't constant. Sometimes I'd have it for days and then it would disappear. Then a few days ago by sheer accident I discovered what causes the problem. It's EGG whites. Even a tiny splash from a bowl while making scrambled eggs immediately produces the odor. And nothing but time gets rid of it. Nothing. I've covered the entire stove top with a mix of vinegar and baking soda to no avail. Only time makes it dissipate.

    EGGS are the problem. Now maybe some chemist can explain why I can't. : )

  • Voice of Reason
    7 years ago

    If you read my post from earlier you'll see that sodium borohydride works, but it's just crazy expensive.

  • Wolfgang Schmittenhammer
    7 years ago

    Yes it IS eggs. Wife and I cook a lot of eggs. If you get the tiniest amount of uncooked egg white on the top it produces either some kind of amine or hydrogen sulfide. I figured the top must be a bit porous because you can scrub and scrub and it still remains. We need a chemist to comment on this. Eggs contain sulfur and there has to be some sort of reaction between the egg and whatever the top is made of.

  • aniap0920
    4 years ago

    Yes the egg smell is true. I can’t stand it. It’s a second glass too we have, this one is 2 months old and same issue. When cooking eggs, even when they don’t splash (outs never do) the glass stinks terribly. Is it from the hot steam?
    I do get it off by scrubbing it with veleda sponge and stove glass top cleaner. However, it’s so annoying!

  • janiefix
    last year

    If you only knew how happy I was to see these posts!! Wet dog smell.....and it's so bad sometimes but we thought it was coming from our stove vent. Then I bent down and smelled the glass.....there it was! We eat eggs all the time so that would explain my dishwasher smell maybe? Hot water and heat from the unit??? (I put a cup of white vinegar in a cup during the cycle). My dishrags smell. But my bathing wash cloths smell too???? I don't wash together. Perplexed. We moved to this state 2 years ago and initially I was getting on the kids for wallering with the neighbor's dogs.

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