How do you remove old hard grease splatters from kitchen cabinets. They are maple hardwood.
Thank you,
Debbie from South Amboy, NJ
Good old fashioned lemon oil. It takes soap scum off the toughest shower door, but is gentle enough for the most expensive wood work. (09/22/2006)
My husband always uses denatured alcohol to clean wood with build up of dirt,grease etc. Here is an excerpt from an article on restoring old furniture. Be careful don't ruin the finish.
"If detergent cleaning doesn't work, use a solvent (depending on the type of finish) to clean the wood. Solvent cleaning is the last resort to consider because it may damage the finish. Use mineral spirits or turpentine on any finish; use denatured alcohol on varnish or lacquer. Do not use alcohol on shellac or on a shellac/lacquer mixture. Working in a well-ventilated area (outdoors is best)apply the solvent with a rough cloth, such as burlap or an old towel. Then wipe the wood clean with another cloth. Finally, apply a commercial cleaner/conditioner, and buff the wood lightly." (09/24/2006)
By Timmie
I cleaned my good 15 year old pine cabinets with 409, which also took off the finish. That was fine with me. I urethaned them with satin finish and they have lasted me for 30 years. Then I moved. At first I was unhappy about the finish removal, but on better thought and with my mother's input, we decided it was best in the long run. It certainly was! Good luck (09/30/2006)
I'm looking for something to clean up my dark wood kitchen cabinets. They have drops of paint on them from where the ceiling was repainted. When I put a cleaner on them they are sticky and my rag seems to get stuck and makes it hard to clean the cabinets. Any suggestions (10/28/2006)
By stacy
I tried most of the reader suggestions (except for the ones that will remove the finish) and the best by far was the spray bottle version of Murphy's Oil Soap. (11/12/2006)
By Pris
My cabinets are at least 25 years old I have been reading several of the responses about cleaning built up grease. Do any of these suggestions work on cabinets that old with that much built up.
(03/09/2007)
By Margaret
Margaret, my kitchen cabinets are 50 years old! I recently decided to paint them and used Greased Lightning on them. Oh my, the gunk that came off of those cabinets! I can't tell you though, really, if it harmed the finish of the cabinets; being 50 year old stained plywood doors they didn't have much of a "finish" to start with! You could try the Greased Lightning and maybe even one of the Mr. Clean Magic Erasers on an inconspicuous spot on your cabinetry to see how it works for you. (03/09/2007)
By Paula
I was very surprised to find out how quick and easy it was to cut through grease build up on appliances such as stove tops, vent-a-hood, refrigerators, and wooden kitchen cabinets and vinyl flooring by using Spray N Wash straight from the can. I sprayed it on and let it set a few seconds then took a damp sponge and the surfaces were squeaky clean. Inexpensive product and not harsh on the surfaces. Give it a try - you won't even have to use much elbow grease to remove the grease build up with spray n wash. (03/16/2008)
By Lisa
I have tried cleaning my beautiful dark Cherry Kitchen cabinets of fingerprints and grease. So far I have found nothing that works. I have used numerous products and nothing has worked. I know there has to be something that cleans them. Can someone help me, please? I don't want to use dish soap and any old spray as it dries out the wood. I need something that CLEANS, and still leaves the luster with no dryness afterwards. Thank you so much for any help. (06/19/2008)
By Annie
The answer is to try to keep the grease from building up on your kitchen cabinets after you have cleaned them with the ideas you have received. An outside vent prevents the grease from building up on your cabinets. If you do not have one, it is worth having one installed, and use it when cooking! (07/22/2008)
By Sue
Ok, here goes.
I read all the suggestions and I thank you folks for taking the time to post them. Then I tried my own formula. I had tried the special sprays, bleach, lemon, vinegar and the degreasers, without much luck.
I have old badly painted white wooden cabinets that were caked with cooking grease/oils. I asked myself, "What do I have that cuts grease?" Well, my eyes landed on the Dawn on my sink. Well, that's what I use for my dishes so why not give it a try. So, I got some microfiber cloths, a scrubby sponge, and the Dawn.
I set up a basin of vinegar water to rinse with, because I knew it would cut the soap. I put some Dawn on the sponge full strength, worked it into a foam and applied, it doesn't run this way either. I used the back of the sponge to work the lather around, rubbing when needed.
I let it sit for a minute then I rinsed with a microfiber cloth with the vinegar water, rubbing when needed. Do a final rinse to clean the vinegar away. Worked better than anything that I have seen. It takes some time, but, no chemical fumes. I plan on washing down the cabinets at least once a week with a good cleaning once a month. Hopefully this will prevent that build up again. Hope this helps. (07/22/2008)
By joann2008
You might want to try a magic eraser by Mr. Clean . These take the grease off of everything with plain water. (07/22/2008)
By cathy
Did anyone find out if Goo Gone takes the finish off? I have a new kitchen (about 6 years) and even though I have a microwave/fan, it just isn't strong enough to vent properly. Anyway, even though I don't fry much, the cabinets above and to the side of my stove have grease that I haven't had any success removing. I've tried Murphy's Oil Soap and it did absolutely nothing. I'm afraid that anything harsh will take off the finish. I see lots of suggestions, but only a few mention about what it might do to the finish. Any other suggestions? (08/12/2008)
By Madeline from Fresh Meadows
Mix 3 tablespoons turpentine to 2 cups very hot water (you must wear gloves). It is important to keep the solution very hot. I tried one of those dry erasers and it took took the natural shine of my cherry cabinets off. (09/28/2008)
By Dee
I needed a way to remove the grease build up from the tops of my cabinet doors, and also from the grooves around the trim. I used Shout gel with the scrubber top and it did a wonderful job. I rubbed it on the problem areas, waited a few minutes, then wiped with a damp cloth. (10/21/2008)
By Lisa
I have a kitchen full of lovely cherry cabinets, now 8 years old. I've had good luck using what the builder strongly recommended, Guardsman Furniture Polish Cream. I dilute it, 4 parts water to 1 part Guardsman, and put it in a spray bottle. I spray a microfiber dishcloth (way cheap at Walmart) with this solution and clean away. No need to polish after it dries.
My cabinets have a decorative bead surrounding the insert and the spray will get stuck in those grooves if I spray the wood directly. So I spray the cloth instead. I only work on cabinets were I can see the dirt well. As the light moves around my kitchen, I pick another one to clean. The cabinets below the counters take the most abuse and need cleaning more often than those above.
The microfiber cloth alone works well for a quick dusting.
(11/15/2008)
By Mary Lowder
In response to cleaning stainless steel: this may sound unusual, but Pledge yes regular Pledge in the yellow can works terrific. When I had my kitchen done, I bought all the expensive wipes and creams and polishes for stainless steel only to find that they all left a streaky mess. Use a microfiber cloth and either spray the appliance or cloth and just wipe. I find it works great on my stove top as well. Try it, you'll be amazed and no streaks. (02/04/2009)
By Debbie P. LI
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