How to Remove Melted Plastic from a Hob

Melted plastic on a hob usually looks like a gloopy, gunky mess. It’s not a good look and it smells rancid!

But removing melted plastic from a hob isn’t actually as hard a task as you might imagine! Follow the steps below to have a hob free from melted plastic.

Steps to Take Before You Begin

• Switch the hob off.
• Make sure the hob has cooled down before you continue to work with it.
• Open a window – The smell of burning plastic is usually pretty pungent!
• Try and peel off any plastic that can come off easily.
• Work with care.

Once you’ve completed the steps above you can move on to removing the melted plastic from your hob. Remember to take care when doing this, you are working with a cooker after all.

 

Removing Melted Plastic from A Glass Hob

A glass hob is a very stylish accessory to have in a kitchen; they’re super easy to use, not to mention how simple they are to keep clean. Yet, when it comes to removing melted plastic off them you’ve got to be extra careful!

Keep on reading to find out how you remove melted plastic off a glass hob safely.

Steps to take:

1. Ensure that the glass hob is off and is cold.
2. Try to peel away as much of the plastic as you can – don’t worry if you can’t peel anything off the hob.
3. Boil the kettle and empty about 200 ml of boiling hot water into a jug.
4. Gently pour the hot water onto the melted plastic – hot water can sometimes loosen up melted plastic.
5. Start scraping away at the plastic with a plastic scraper.
6. Your problem may have disappeared by this point, if not, continue.
7. Make a bicarbonate of soda paste (1 tablespoon of bicarb and a few drops of water, the paste should not be runny). 
8. Adjust the above to accommodate the size of your problem.
9. Spread this paste over the plastic mess.
10. Squirt white vinegar onto the bicarb paste – cover the whole area.
11. Wait a few minutes.
12. Use a cloth/scrubber to wipe away the paste and to remove the plastic.
13. Repeat Step 10 if need be – apply more vinegar.
14. Wipe away the melted plastic.
15. You may need to use a plastic scraper to remove harder plastic sections.
16. Clean the hob before you use it again.

You could also try

If you’re not seeing the desired results with the method above you can swap and change some of the ingredients for the following:

WD-40 or olive oil

Apply either WD-40 or olive oil to the plastic on your hob. Wait 5 minutes, then use a scraper to remove the melted plastic from the hob. Repeat if need be and remember to clean your hob afterwards.

Nail polish remover

If you need something a little stronger you can use acetone, also known as nail varnish remover.

All you need to do is pop some acetone on some cotton wool and then press the wet cotton wool over the melted plastic. Wait 5 minutes and then scrape away at the plastic with a plastic scraper. Remember to clean your hob before using it again.  

Ice

If you have bigger chunks of melted plastic on your hob you may like to try the ice method.

All you need to do here is apply a whole load of ice to the melted plastic area, wait a while, then the plastic will come loose and break off. It’s important to point out that this doesn’t always work, so you might be better off trying the other methods listed above first. 

More options

Use a razor blade to scrape away the melted plastic off the hob, instead of using a plastic scraper. This is not always ideal and it can be very tricky, so if you choose to use this method, do take care. Remember that this tool may leave scratches on the surface of your hob too. 

Using a non-scratch scrubbing pad to remove the melted plastic is always the better option. This will stop your glass hob from becoming scratched and damaged.

 

Removing Melted Plastic from a Gas Hob

A gas hob is a tad different from a glass hob, so you need to use a slightly different method to remove melted plastic from it.

Steps to take:

1. Make sure that the hob is off and is cold.
2. Open a window.
3. Use a blunt knife/butter knife to scrape away the melted plastic – try and act fast!
4. Pop the burner on low for a few seconds – a very low heat will re-melt the plastic!
5. Switch off the burner.
6. Scrape away the plastic.
7. Repeat this process until you are satisfied.
8. Ignite the burner one again – choose the hottest setting as this will remove any remaining plastic.
9. Clean the hob as you would normally.

 

Preventing Future Problems

Leaving plastic on a hob is obviously a really annoying thing to do, so here are a few tips to limit this from happening in the future:

• Don’t put anything on the hob, even if you know it’s off for definite – this will stop you from building up bad habits!
• Use your cooker hood – pull the glass part down to protect you and your goods from the hobs.
• Keep plastics away from the cooker at all times.
• Relocate plastic goods to other counters – for example, don’t keep your bread next to your hob, move it somewhere less risky.
• Pop plastic goods into containers made from materials that cannot melt as easily – for example, keep bread in a bread bin.
• Don’t allow kids to play around the hobs.
• Clean up as you cook – so you limit the risk of forgetting a utensil or lid on the hob.
• Be more careful!