If you don’t have a specialist ceramic hob cleaner, use one household staple as an alternative (Image: Ellen Jenne)
Having an induction hob feels like the ultimate luxury in your , especially when you’re renting in London.
Not only is its appearance slightly more chic, they feel slightly safer than a gas cooker or one made from solid metal.
Induction hobs work by passing an electric current through copper coils to create a magnetic field that heats a magnetized pan placed on top, so once you take off your pan, it begins to cool down.
But beware, they’re still too hot to touch.
However, one thing which is the bane of my life when it comes to the kitchen, is just how unsightly an induction hob becomes after cooking.
One colleague recommended a window cleaner (Image: Ellen Jenne)
You can see every splatter, splash, and seemingly burned into the shiny glass ceramic top.
Ceramic hob cleaners can be a pricey purchase, so I attempt to placate the problem as much as possible without having to fork out for a specialist product. To get around it, one colleague suggested opting for and a microfibre cloth instead.
They praised it for getting out tough stains. However, they didn’t quite indicate just how much elbow grease would be required.
Fortunately I had some Windolene knocking around my cupboards already, so I put it to the test. Spraying the Windolene liberally on the hob, I tried my first attempt with some kitchen roll.
The window cleaner worked well, tearing through superficial stains almost immediately. However, the tougher marks, which I could feel around the hob’s rings, still remained.
So I switched from kitchen roll to a damp sponge. I sprayed another layer of the Windolene and scrubbed like mad, beginning to make a slight dent, but it needs a lot of work.
I don’t think a cloth or sponge is enough to really do the job fully. You really have to focus on the problem area and really put some welly into it.
Don’t miss… [MOULD] [STAINS] [CONDENSATION]
You’ll probably need to do a few layers of the spray (Image: Ellen Jenne)
This was the finished result (Image: Ellen Jenne)
Focusing on one area really helped and gradually the muck started to dissipate. However, the elbow grease and time required is more than you’d give for a quick clean.
I’m happy with the result, as my hob looks like it’s actually been given a thorough clean, but there are still a few marks that failed to vanish.
If you urgently need a decent hob cleaner or window cleaner, which you may already have in your cleaning collection, it’s a good alternative. It’s also a good way to conserve your cleaning products.
You’re more likely to use a fair amount of product if you’re pouring or squirting hob cleaner over the appliance. But with a spray-based cleaner, you’re using a fraction of the product.
Would I use it again? Most likely. But do I think it can do a proper deep cleaning? Probably not.