Stovetop stains, grungy ovens, dusty refrigerator coils, and petrified dryer lint (oh, the horror): Yes, you can conquer them all.

Cooktops and Ovens

Burnt-on splatters are a major reason stoves are so “troubling and daunting,” as one reader put it. So soak before you scrub. Remove cooktop grills and saturate stains with an all-purpose cleaning solution (such as Simple Green or Mr. Clean). Give the solution about 10 minutes to do its job, then wipe clean. When you scour the oven, you’ll need a powerful, highly alkaline oven cleaner, which may contain lye, so be cautious. (Try a fume-free product, like Easy-Off.) Caveat: Oven cleaners are not safe for use in a self-cleaning; they can damage the interior.

Refrigerators

Food debris beneath the bins bugs you big time. Pull them out and use a food-friendly spray cleaner (like those made by Home Thymes), which won’t contaminate fruits and vegetables. If you really want to do the refrigerator a favor, dust the condenser coils with a coil brush or your vacuum cleaner’s crevice tool. (The coils are located on the back of the refrigerator, usually at the bottom.) Appliance wheels, available at hardware stores, help move the refrigerator away from the wall.

Clothes Dryers

“Is that a fire hazard?” a reader asked, referring to the dust clouds that gather inside the dryer duct and in back of the dryer. “Lint is highly flammable,” confirms Captain Jim Doucette of the Sacramento Fire Department, in California. Once a year, check to see if air is coming out of the duct outside your house. If you can’t feel air, snake a lint-removal brush up the duct or call a professional to do a deep cleaning. Also, vacuum behind the dryer at least once a year.

More Tips

Any filter in the house should be cleaned at least once a year. Range-hood filters can be degreased in a sink filled with hot water and detergent.

No need to buy sprays and wipes made especially for stainless steel. Spritz with window cleaner and polish with a worn T-shirt.

Put those irritating fake credit cards that come in the junk mail to good use: Scrape along the edges of the stove’s knobs to get rid of accumulated grease.