So my dishwasher decided to drop a plastic spoon out of the rack in the other dishwasher last night and it melted on the heater coil.  We tried a few things, but there's about an inch of nasty smelly plastic that is being stubborn and won't come off the coil.  Any suggestions on how to get it off?  Thanks.

There are many appliance info forums, that I use...I would not seek that info from here....

Can you share a link please?

Leave it on there?

Or intercept it while the coil is hot next time it's running a cycle?

Those are my only thoughts. I'm guessing brute force may break the coil...

Turn the dishwasher to the dry setting and give the coil a few seconds to begin to warm up.  Open the door and see if the spoon is still hard.  If so, close the door and continue for a few more seconds.  Stop when the spoon begins to soften and peel it off of the element.  Timing is everything, so you'll have to approach it slowly so as not to overshoot the temperature.

Use a heat gun to soften the plastic.  You can gently slide a razor lade along the heater element to loosen and remove any stuck-on material.

You may want some sort of backer to protect the washer interior (or not), depending upon what the walls are made from (metal or plastic).

Got it off using a bit of elbow grease and some heat.

First, to get the majority off we put ice cubes around the plastic on the coils and used a piece of hard wood to scrape it off.  Metal can apparently damage the coils beyond repair.  After the majority was off, we ran the washer a couple times melting the plastic then using a wet cloth with acetone and water to rub off the remaining goo.

It still smells horrible, though, so we are running it a couple more times with dishwasher cleaner and vinegar to clear that out.  

Moral of the story:  Secure your shit in a dishwasher.