If I had to choose a favorite feature of my stove, it would definitely be the cast iron griddle that’s built into the center of it. It turns out that little griddle is very useful for a lot of different things, but I would be lying if I said I didn’t use it primarily to cook bacon. :-) (My youngest son loves bacon for breakfast, and I love BLTs for lunch, so you can imagine how much bacon we cook up on that griddle!)
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Related: 2 Weird Methods You Need To Try If You Love Crispy Bacon
While it’s nice to have an easy and convenient way to cook up bacon on my stovetop, it doesn’t make it any less MESSY. There’s one big drawback to cooking bacon on my griddle, and that’s the greasy mess it leaves behind! I originally struggled to clean up bacon grease off my stovetop, but I knew there had to be a better way. I needed something specifically formulated to deal with a really greasy mess! And after some good old fashioned internet sleuthing, I came across just the thing: a homemade citrus degreaser!
This simple formula couldn’t be easier to put together, and it works wonderfully. The main grease-fighting ingredient is lemon essential oil. Lemons have a compound called limonene that cuts right through grease, as well as helping to clean and disinfect. When combined with a little baking soda and castile soap for added cleaning power, the lemon oil turns into a great degreasing spray, and the perfect cleaner for any kind of greasy mess! Here’s how you can make it at home.
Homemade Citrus Degreaser Spray
Ingredients:
- 2 cups warm water
- 2 Tbsp baking soda
- 2 tsp castile soap
- 20 drops lemon essential oil
Directions:
Mix all of the ingredients together in a spray bottle.
Spray mixture on greasy messes and wipe with a damp towel (microfiber works wonderfully!) Once the surface is clean, shine it up with a dry microfiber cloth.
I’ve been super pleased with how this cleaner works on my stove top. My husband has also used it to get a greasy spot out of the upholstery in his truck!
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An added bonus of using citrus in your homemade cleaner? It makes everything smell clean too! :-)
Could you use orange essential oil instead of lemon?
Would this work for a general all-purpose cleaner to replace my 409?
Will this work as a pre-wash spray on greasy spots on laundry? Thanks for all of your wonderful recipes! I really appreciate your site.
I suppose it could, but I wouldn’t want to spray lemon oil on clothes unless I was washing them right after. I would try this instead: http://bit.ly/2QEX4c3 :-)
Can this be used on stainless steel stove tops?
Yes!
That last photo with the pretty towel – where did you get that? I saw it once, several years ago but was unable to find the source and it is still a ig eye catcher and beautiful and I would love to get one for my daughter. Love the recipe since I have smoke/grease stains on my ceiling way up high (14′) and when I had my cataracts removed, saw it – was amazed at the dirt just in that area due to the grease from cooking. I think your recipe would be great to try on a long handled… Read more »
I found it at World Market a couple years ago :-)
Would this also be good to clean granite countertops?
The lemon could cause pitting. Personally I don’t use any citrus blends on granite
No, but here’s a link to a granite cleaner: http://jillee.co/2yjeFwo :-)
We don’t have castile soap in Australia. What can I use instead please
Any natural oil-based soap will work! If you can’t find one of those, then a dishwashing liquid will do the trick. :-)
Where can I find those too-cute-to-use towels?
Can you use this to clean hardwood furniture & wood kitchen cabinets?
Yes! :-)
Thank you for the reply!
How do you prevent the baking soda from forming a hard clump in the bottle? I recently made a toilet cleaning solution and the baking soda clogged up the sprayer and was a hard clump.
I mix the baking soda in batches and shake vigorously in between each addition
You can warm up the water in the microwave, and mix in the baking soda. Stir it well, and the baking soda should dissolve completely! Then you can add the rest of the ingredients :-)