I had lost hope with my electric cooking plates. The white circles where completely hidden under a layer of diamond-grade burn residue that no amount of scrubbing with chemicals could even begin to remove. I found this 3€ scrapping tool and it’s amazing !!! Sorry, but I don’t have the before picture, believe me after 6 years of usage, it was bad.
I don’t necessarily clean after every use, but I do clean before the next use. I don’t turn the stove on if it’s dirty, that will bake the mess in. I might dirty all four burners and then decide “can’t cook, stoves dirty,” until I’m up for wiping it down with a wet paper towel. I think of it as a dish, I might not clean it right away, but I’m certainly not going to eat off it again before cleaning it.
Plus it’ll burn and stink, instead of smelling your good home cooking.