A mechanism for effectively removing unwanted material stuck on a hot plate for holding an IC (Integrated Circuit) wafer at an operating temperature during fabrication of the IC wafer. A cleaning head includes a rough surface, facing a bottom of the cleaning head, for scraping against the unwanted material on the hot plate to remove the unwanted material from the hot plate. Additionally, the cleaning head includes a vacuum port, disposed near the rough surface and facing the bottom of the cleaning head, for sucking away the loose unwanted material scraped from the hot plate by the rough surface. Furthermore, a handle is coupled to the cleaning head, and an operator manipulates the handle to cause movement of the cleaning head with respect to the hot plate. In a general aspect of the present invention, the cleaning head is made of material having a melting temperature higher than the operating temperature of the hot plate such that the cleaning head is used to remove the unwanted material from the hot plate while the hot plate is at the operating temperature. Thus, because the hot plate is cleaned without first cooling down the hot plate, down time for cleaning the hot plate is minimized during fabrication of integrated circuits on the IC wafers.