This Is The Easiest Way To Clean Up Oil Splatters In Your Kitchen

Everything around my stove is in pretty rough shape after all the cooking I’ve done recently. All the surfaces of my stove and range hood are covered in a greasy layer of accumulated oil splatters. I would normally dread cleaning up all that oil, if it weren’t for the handy tip that I’ll be sharing with you today!

Whether it’s due to several days of intensive cooking, or if you just haven’t cleaned your kitchen in a while, you may have areas in your kitchen that are similarly oil-splattered. But there’s good news for all of us on that front: cleaning that grimy layer is much easier than you’d think! And all you need to clean it up is a bit more oil. :-)

Now I know what you’re thinking… “Jillee, you expect me to put MORE oil on this oily mess?” And I know, it does sound crazy! But this trick is based on an old rule you probably learned in chemistry, that “like dissolves like.” Non-polar compounds will only dissolve in other non-polar compounds, and the same goes for polar compounds. (Since water is polar and oil is non-polar, this principle helps explain why oil and water don’t mix.)

Based on this information, it actually does make sense that oil could help clean oily messes. And it totally works! In the past, I used to use a 1:1 mixture of water and ammonia to clean up the oily messes in my kitchen. But as you know, ammonia smells horrible even when it’s diluted, and the fumes can irritate your skin, eyes, and lungs. The ammonia solution would get the job done, but it turned into one of those chores that I kept putting off.

But now that I know this little chemistry trick, I no longer dread cleaning up those oily messes around my kitchen! Especially since it is an easy, gentle, and chemical-free process. Here’s how it’s done! :-)

How To Fight Oil With Oil

You’ll need:

Mineral oil or vegetable oil (see below)
Clean cloths or paper towels

A Note About Oils

Mineral oil is a good choice, because it doesn’t go rancid like standard cooking oils do. If you can’t find mineral oil, you can use a standard cooking oil for this task, but it could go rancid over time. But if you’re cleaning the area regularly, the oil probably won’t have time to go rancid, so just use your best judgment! :-)

Directions:

Put a couple of drops of your oil of choice onto a clean cloth or paper towel. Wipe the oily mess, and watch the gunk slide right off!

When you’re done cleaning, take a clean cloth or paper towel, and buff the surface lightly so that only a very thin layer of the cleaning oil remains. (This layer will make future messes much easier to clean, and it leaves kitchen appliances looking nice and shiny!)