Degrease sticky kitchen cupboards
The tacky film above a hob is airborne cooking fat that has gone sticky. It needs an alkali and a few minutes, not pressure.
- Difficulty
- Easy
- Time
- 40 minutes
Warning
- Harmful / irritantBecause this uses Soda crystals
Every time something fries, a fine mist of oil settles on the cupboard doors and the tops of the units. Over months it oxidises into a varnish-like film that a damp cloth slides over without touching.
Steps
Step 1 of 5
Mix a tablespoon of soda crystals into a litre of hot water. Wear gloves — this is strong enough to dry your hands out over a long job.
Step 2 of 5
Wet the surface generously with a cloth and leave it. The alkali needs to sit on the fat and break it down.
Step 3 of 5
Wait 5 minutes
Five minutes. Do the next door while the first one soaks.
Step 4 of 5
Wipe with a clean cloth, working in one direction. Anything still tacky gets a second application rather than more force.
Step 5 of 5
Go over it with clean water and dry it. Soda left on a surface dries to a faint white bloom.
Caution
Test on painted, lacquered and unsealed wooden doors first, somewhere that does not show. Soda can lift a weak paint finish, and on unsealed wood it raises the grain.
Safe on / Never use on
Safe on
- Plastic
- Painted metal
- Sealed wood