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O.T.: Getting grease off of plastic appliances

gwilson

Diamond
Joined
Oct 1, 2006
Location
williamsburg va
We have a black plastic microwave over the kitchen stove. It has gotten grease stuck to it that does not want to come off. Anyone have experience with solvents that will not attack the plastic? I do not know what kind of plastic the microwave's case is made from,except it is not thermosetting.

Thanks in advance for any help.
 
WOW!! I want to hear the answer to this one!

I installed two Gaggenau electric ovens under the gas hobs (burner sets) in our kitchen. All was well until the wifey started to fry chicken with "grape seed oil" for some supposed health reasons. Now we have a nice sticky coating of polymerized oil all over the hood, wall behind the burners, and plastic front to the oven controls. I have tried lacquer thinner to remove it on the marble wall - with no luck.

Anxiously awaiting replies - A.T. (aka Sticky Fingers)
 
Bar Keepers Friend (most supermarkets) is more-or-less non-abrasive. Try it on a hidden area first! IMO, grape seed, aka rape seed, aka canola oil is one of the better ones for not causing a problem. I get the same thing with olive oil. BTW, the Bar Keepers Friend is about the best stainless steel cleaner you can get, if you have good SS cookware.
 
I've had good luck with a product called "Greased Lightning." Comes in a plastic spray bottle, should be on the shelf at the supermarket or hardware store.

I have to disagree with Conrad about using Bar Keeper's friend on plastic. It is great stuff, but it is pretty aggressive. If I were going to use a powdered product on plastic (and I wouldn't) I'd try Bon Ami, which is gentle enough not to scratch glass. Make a paste of the powder, wet the surface to be cleaned with water first, then apply the paste with a wet rag, very gently. But I'd test in an inconspicuous area.

Start with the Greased Lightning. Greased-Lightning® - Cleaning Tips
 
I use Microwave Oven Magic on my microwave. It does what it is supposed to. The same company, Magic American Chemical Corp., makes Cabinet Magic and other aerosol products and all are good.

I bought one can years ago and am still using it. I suppose I got it at the grocery store or K-Mart, etc. The can says stock no, MO27 and has an actual price tag $1.79, meaning it was bought a long time ago. I looked online and could not find it for sale anywhere now, but they still have the Cabinet Magic, Kitchen Magic, etc.

Larry
 
Awesome Orange is GREAT stuff,but my wife says it was ineffective here. I agree,Barkeeper's friend is not what I'd want to rub on the shiny plastic. I do use it on the stainless pots. It ought to be made more clear,though,that it contains oxalic acid,which is a poison. I make my wife wear nitrile gloves with it.

Awesome orange is magic for getting tomcat urine off paint. It is the best stuff I ever tried for that. And,it is $1.00.
 
FWIW, grape seed and rapeseed oil are two different items. The grape seed stuff is can tolerant higher heat than most oils, which makes it great for frying. The rapeseed, or canola is low in saturated fats and has omega-3 acids, which make it good for your heart. Doesn't taste so great tho, much prefer olive oil myself.
 
I just had a major cleanup on a rental unit that was contaminated with cooking grease on everything. I normally use simple green and a worn red scuffpad. It wasn't doing the job this time.

I bought Purple Power, I think, in the auto section of W-Mart.(there were two purple cleaners there, one in a white jug, one in a purple jug, this is the purple jug) Anyway about 6 bucks for a gallon. Same application, spray on full strenght, rub it in with a red scuff pad, and rinse with clean water.

Also tried Dawn, if it's good for Alaska, it ought to work, right? It did work, but made a lot of suds when trying to rinse. Very hard to rinse.

I also heard that dishwasher soap is a good cleaner, but didn't try that.
 
We've also found this brand of hand wipes to be absolutely amazing at removing stuck on crud that other cleaners won't touch. I don't know what's in them, but it's worth a try. I get them from MSC or my local auto parts house.

scrubs-in-a-bucket.jpg
 
Another vote for Purple Power. Recently tore out our old kitchen with a black microwave over a six burner gas cooktop. You guessed it, built up crud inside the cabinet and in other usually inaccessable areas. The oven worked well so wanted to donate it to a good cause but not in that condition. Took it apart and Purple Power had it cleaned up pronto. A gallon at Walmart was about $6. It works well on machines too.

It's strong enough to require gloves when using it. Cheap disposible latex gloves work well if one isn't allergic to latex.
 
I am going to guess that you cook with a lot of canola oil or canola based product. This stuff is nice and slick, but gets real gooey and just impossible to remove when it sits on a surface and ages I use canola as a cutting fluid for turning and drilling copper, but the machine gets all gooed up if I do not clean it up right, and have had this on my range knobs as well as my wife is a canola oil user to make her southern fried chicken

I used to suggest "baby oil' but was correctly corrected that it is mineral spirits, so I bought a quart of mineral spirits - cheaper than little 12 ounce baby oils..... This works on my machines and the knobs of my stove and even the front of the microwave when applied with a soft cloth. Have even cleaned off gunk from my gray door handles in the car with it.

My wife prefers the lavender baby oil though it is really mineral spirits, but she likes the smell, and when SWMBO is happy, so am I.
 
I sure HOPE he meant mineral oil! Rubbing your baby's bottom with mineral spirits cannot be a good thing :eek:

In my experience as a lifelong glutton and kitchen experimenter, every edible oil will bake onto surfaces and harden. I use mostly olive, grape and peanut oils. Grape is my favorite because it has a high smoking temperature, similar to peanut oil, so it's good for stir-frying. Peanut is also good but may develop a slight taste after a couple of months, fine for some recipes but not all. Grapeseed oil also has the good omega 3s in it--I add a tablespoonful to the dog's kibble every meal, does wonders for her dry skin too.

Worked my way through school as a cook in some expensive Wash. DC restaurants that scored perfectly on their health inspections. They did it through a combination of strong exhaust fans while cooking, and hours and hours of meticulous scrubbing by poorly-paid peons like me. That's not going to happen in my house. But I will say keeping the hood fan on while frying is somewhat effective. Helps if it has the kind of filters that can go into the dishwasher--lotta fires start in dirty hood fans.
 








 
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