Cleaning a Smooth Top Stove

I have one and love it but there are many people who don't and the complaints are numerous.
The main complaint is cleaning it without leaving it streaky or cloudy.

I use the white cream paste to clean it, Weiman Glass Cook Top Cleaner.
There are other brands out there also.

At first, when I was using it, I put too much on and it took forever for it to completely dry then wipe off the thick layer. After wiping it, I had piles of that chalk stuff to get rid of. The cleaning process took me 30 minutes to an hour.

Now, I just apply a quick thin W shape, smear it over the top, wait for it to dry, then buff off with a soft cloth. A thinner even coat dries quicker then is easier to wipe off and the result is still the same, shiny reflective top, looks like new.

Now, my husband, spills stuff and leaves it to burn on the stove top while still cooking. According to the directions, you can carefully scrap with a razor the burnt gunk off. I recently showed my husband an easier way to get rid of the cooked on gunk -- use the Mr. Clean Magic Eraser! Yes, it does take off the cooked on gunk and leaves the eraser looking a bit burnt from the clean up but what an easy solution.

Just a few more notes -- when we bought our stove (Maytag with the 4 burners and the warming burner) we were told that you needed to use stainless flat surface pots and pans so that the food would cook evenly. As a Christmas gift my husband got me All-Clad, (because they had more open stock items and came with a few bonus items) which you need to heat the pan up first before adding food (says so in the All Clad use directions). They are nice but they are an extremely heavy gauge and I have a hard time holding the thin handle if there is food in the pan. Emeril Lagasse pots and pans are lighter gauge and more affordable and are made by All-Clad also.

Because of the heavy weight of the All-Clad -- I got a few Belgique pans from Macy's that were on the mark down (reasonable prices on sets). They are not as heavy, have thicker handles, and have no writing indentations on the bottom which would interfere with the heat distribution in the pan. I love the pasta drain pot (cover has small holes and large holes and locks into place) and the extra deep sauce pan the best. Now they make them with the copper bottoms and this was another issue with the smooth top stove, do not use copper bottom pots. Circulon and Anolon were also not recommended, they are best used on a gas stove.

A good set of pots and pans will set you back some money, but in the long run, they will last.
If the cost is overwhelming, try saving consistently $10-20 a month till you have enough to buy them.