Cleaning a REALLY dirty kitchen

FizzWhizz

Any top advice for cleaning a kitchen which is inches deep in years-old grease?

I'm a professional scrubber, but everything I have tried hasn't made the slightest difference. Neat Flash, neat Fairy, Elbow Grease, Cilit Bang, steam cleaner, you name it. The cloth or sponge will honestly stick to the work surface when I try to clean.

Any bright ideas? I am stumped and I would love to solve the conundrum because the customer in question is a lovely lady who has been in ill health and has clearly been overwhelmed by housework for quite some time. She deserves a clean kitchen.

PS I will be suggesting that she retires the chip pan so she doesn't end up back to square one…

Thanks!

grunnie

Bicarb of soda, fairy liquid and then spray on vinegar. Leave it for an hour or so and put on the marigolds and scrub. Worked on a few student flats my sons were in.

AlwaysAllie

Are the surfaces durable enough that you can scrape before you clean?

Can you tackle a small area at a time and leave something to 'work' for a while/overnight?

A house we moved into had patterned tiles behind the hob only we didn't know they were patterned until we started cleaning - that was a scraping job first but easy enough on tiles .....you may not be able to.

Good luck!!

AA

monnagran

Don Aslett advocated three steps in cleaning.

ELIMINATE by dusting, wiping or sweeping all the loose stuff away. In your case it would be scraping.

SATURATE with cleaning liquid of choice and leaving to soak in.

ABSORB by wiping with dry cloths or towels.

I think you might have to repeat these several times to make any impression.

Failing that, I suggest a flamethrower.

pollyanna_26

Good luck with this ! You'll need strong arms and that old elbow grease you can't buy .
For decades I have cleaned the eco way but some years ago one of my daughters moved into yet another rental property courtesy of her company . On moving day I was enchanted by the biggest kitchen I've ever seen in my life with many , many cupboards and unending work surface , double doors to a wooden verandah overlooking the river and a Munro in view through the large over sink window .
A picnic lunch later reality struck . It was beyond filthy . I was sending none stop bad karma to the previous tenant and the owner .
We went to the little village which had a tiny coop . A small pack of flash and some jcloths were all they had and vastly overpriced . We took them back to at least do something about the worksurfaces .
Your chip pan made me laugh . The entire room was like the outside and in parts inside of a much used electric fryer that had never been cleaned . A horribly yellow / orange thick coating like a nasty varnish .
We headed to glasgow a number of smaller shops first and then Lakeland in Buchanan Galleries . DD much annoyed by the outlay fumed . I found the best thing was hot water in a spray bottle and non scratch stainless steel scourers for the first attack . Then cif cream (the plain white one ) bar keepers friend powder and lots of elbow grease . There is an eco product which I can't recall the name of which worked a treat on the wooden floor . I scrubbed other floors with ecover floor soap . I'd reached the point where I was past caring if I damaged the floors or not .
The worst part was the tops of all those wall cupboards laminated with the grease I was standing on worktops and as I'm tall I was bending my head to one side with the mountain in view . I hated it for years after but have since forgiven it
Wishing you well . Put the fear of god or whatever in about fryers . Quite rightly the old type are death trap and the electric ones need to be cleaned and maintained .
polly

PasturesNew

If she uses the chip pan a lot there'll be a lot of airborne fat laying everywhere and coating everything, upon which dirt/dust settled, before the next fry up time .... repeat, repeat.

You could try out some oven cleaner type solutions, whether that's a spray or something you make yourself.... oven cleaning removes grease that's been sitting/baking, so that might work.

Apollonia

I would try sugar soap - you can buy it as a powder or a liquid. It's available in DIY shops because it is mostly used before painting or papering walls. It removes grease, dirt and nicotine stains.

It's also much cheaper than normal kitchen cleaners and sprays.

Slinky

I bought an old cooker off a workmate, I realised it wasn't exactly clean, but hadn't appreciated just how filthy it was until we loaded into the back of my car to bring home. It just stank of grease. The only way to shift it was Brillo pads. Fortunately it was an old fashioned beast with enamelled surfaces and could take the scrubbing I gave it. A couple of weeks later said work colleague came round for a nosy at my new house. It was almost embarassing when she came in the kitchen and saw it gleaming. I hadn't said a word to her about how dirty it was.

Good old fashioned cleaning materials and elbow grease worked far better than squirty sprays etc.

tulip12

Soda crystals work very well to cut through grease. I wouldn't be with out them. 89p from HB. Hope that helps

charlies-aunt

Strong solution of washing soda is a good degreaser but I would try the scraper in conjunction with a hairdryer set on high heat to soften the thick coating first.


Is it possible to take any cabinet doors off or dismantle the cooker? if so put them outside in the sun inside a bin bag, add a large cupful of neat ammonia, tie the top and let it sit there all day - the grease will dissolve and can be hosed off. Just have to be careful as the fumes are nasty but it works amazing well on very baked on grease

thorsoak

Have you thought about using a steamer? Not sure whether it would lessen the work or not!