Stuck in a sticky spot with cooking oil all over your kitchen floor?
Sigh! We agree, there’s probably no situation worse!
You think you’d save time by scrubbing the floor with the nearest kitchen towel, but would you really?
After several minutes of scrubbing the floor, you’ll still end up with an oily floor and a very greasy kitchen towel.
So, ditch the towel and the unnecessary labor. Here’s the quick solution for getting all the grease off your floor without breaking a sweat.
Watch Out For Glass Parts And Shards
If you dropped the bottle of cooking oil on the floor, you will have to be careful about picking up the broken pieces of glass first.
Always wear gardening gloves and thick rubber slippers/shoes before picking up glass pieces. You can use kitchen tongs to pick up the bigger pieces. Pick up the leftover shards by gently rubbing a wet paper towel or a piece of bread over the floor.
If it wasn’t the oil bottle and you spilled hot cooking oil from the pot or the ladle, just wait a while before cleaning until the oil cools down.
Start With Soaking Up The Oil
This is the most important tip that could make all the difference in cleaning an oil spill.
Get an old rag or kitchen towel and gently press it over the oily mess: no scrubbing, no rubbing, no wiping!
Just allow the cloth to absorb as much oil as possible.
Remember, the cloth will have to be washed separately in hot water.
You could also use some other disposable material having a high absorbing capacity. You can use paper towels too, but they tend to be flimsy and you might need a lot of them depending on the extent of the oil spill.
You could consider storing some industrial-quality oil absorbent pads at home. These pads have a dimpled pattern and can quickly soak up oil or insoluble liquid. It’s a handy tool for cleaning cooking oil, motor oil, or oil paint spills.
Once the cloth or pad has absorbed all the oil, remove it, and move to the next step.
Clearing Off The Residue Oil
The residue oil on the floor can be tough to get rid of and leave difficult stains. So now you’ll have to apply simple science to get it off completely.
The trick is to sprinkle a generous amount of cornstarch, flour, or salt over the leftover oil stains. Let it sit for some time to absorb the oil, then scoop it off using a spoon or spatula.
If you still see oily patches, you can go over the stains again.
Washing The Oil Stains
Now you can wash the floor with soap and water. You can also use a special kitchen degreaser at this stage. The kitchen degreaser breaks the oil into smaller blotches and makes cleaning easier.
After thoroughly scrubbing the floor, run the vacuum cleaner all over the floor just to ensure no glass shards were left out.
Now check the floor with your hand. If you still find it greasy, you may have to give the floor some deep cleaning.
Deep Cleaning The Floor
Under most circumstances, you’ll not have to go this far. But if you’re dissatisfied with how clean your floor feels, you can always go that extra mile.
For deep cleaning the floor, warm some water in a pan and add caustic soda. Fill up a spray bottle and squirt the mixture on the floor. Rinse the floor thoroughly.
Key Takeaways
Oil spills can happen a lot more often than you expect, especially when you have active children running about the kitchen. Rather than giving into frustration, be prepared and face the situation calmly.
Here’s a quick round-up of the cleaning tips for you:
- Never attempt to scrub the floor straight away.
- Use absorbent material like rags, cloth, or paper towels on the oil spill.
- Sprinkle flour, cornstarch, or salt on the leftover oil.
- Wash the floor with detergent and water and rinse.
- If required, deep clean the surface.