How To Make Natural Kitchen Degreaser

Making your own cleaning products comes with many advantages. It is affordable, easy, and you have complete control over the ingredients you use. Commercial cleaning products, on the other hand, cost more and they are often filled with harmful chemicals. That’s specifically the case for commercial degreasers that contain ingredients you shouldn’t want around the areas where you prep your food. That’s why we are going to teach you how to make a natural kitchen degreaser.

Making this degreaser is a one-step process that takes just a minute or two. And the great news is that it works just as good as a commercial one. It will cut through grease and grime while sanitizing the kitchen surfaces at the same time.

Stick with us if you want to learn how to make this effective, affordable, and toxin-free kitchen degreaser.

What You Need

There are detail instructions & some other great info incoming, but here's a quick rundown of everything you need to get started:

Essential oils (we recommend this lemon one)
Castille soap
White vinegar
Baking soda
Something to store it in (we recommend these)

What Can I Use Instead Of A Commercial Degreaser?

Let’s face it, cooking is a messy job. The oil you use while cooking can cling to surfaces and, despite your best effort to swipe everything with a sponge, the grease still turns to grime. Moreover, there are kitchen areas that are not cleaned as often as others, such as the range hood and the oven. Over time, the grime and grease become stubborn and cannot be removed with a simple cleaner. Enters the kitchen degreaser. However, commercial degreasers shouldn’t be your first option, as they are pricey and include toxic chemicals. So making a natural degreaser is the way to go. What do you need for this DIY project?

White Vinegar

Vinegar is a great natural cleaner. You can use it as it is to clean your windows and mirrors but you can also incorporate it into a degreaser. It works great for cleaning but also for sanitizing so it’s just perfect for kitchen surfaces and kitchenware.

Castile Soap

While removing oil and dirt with natural products can be a hassle sometimes, Castile soap makes everything easy. Why? Because it acts as a surfactant so oils can be simply lifted and rinsed away.

Baking Soda

If you don’t have Castile soap on hand, you can always rely on baking soda. However, don’t mix it with the rest of the ingredients as recommended in our recipe. When mixed with vinegar, baking soda starts to fizz. That chemical reaction is what removes grease and grime. So just sprinkle some baking soda on the surface then spray the vinegar-essential oil mixture.

Essential Oils

Essential oils will add a nice natural scent to your homemade degreaser. Also, if you use lemon essential oil, you will add powerful anti-fungal, antibacterial, and antiviral properties to your degreaser. This will make your homemade degreaser not only great for removing grease and grime but also perfect for combating germs and mold.

You can use other oils if you like, too. Here are some other options.

Making a Natural Degreaser with Vinegar, Castile Soap, And Citrus

This natural homemade degreaser is made with safe ingredients that can remove stubborn grime, grease, and food residue from different kitchen surfaces and kitchenware. For convenience, use a spray bottle to mix the ingredients.

Kitchen Degreaser Recipe

1 cup white vinegar
¼ teaspoon Castile soap
5-6 drops of lemon essential oil

Combine all the ingredients in a spray bottle and shake vigorously to mix.

Use the natural degreaser on any surface that is in need of some degreasing action. Make sure you shake the spray bottle well before every use. The Castile soap and lemon essential oil take care of the grease and food residue while the white vinegar will clean and disinfect the surface.

Using the Homemade Degreaser

Whenever your oven, stove, and any other kitchen surface needs degreasing, you can put your homemade degreaser to work. Before use, shake the spray bottle to recombine the ingredients and follow the directions below.

Clean The Stove

To clean the stovetop with the DIY degreaser, turn it off first and allow it to cool completely. With tongs or a spatula, remove any food residue you can. Then, spray the stove surface with the degreaser and let sit for approximately 10 minutes. Wipe the surface clean with a sponge. If you still see build-up residue, spray more degreaser on those areas and move the sponge in circular motions over the spots to loosen the grime. Rinse with a damp clean sponge then dry with paper towels to prevent streaks.

Clean The Oven Door

After the oven has cooled off completely, you can spray the homemade degreaser inside the oven, outside the oven, and on the oven door. Pay close attention to the inside of the oven door since fumes that emanate during oven use tend to settle in this area, making it harder to clean. Let the degreaser dwell for 15 to 30 minutes. Wipe it clean with a microfiber cloth and dry it with paper towels or let it air dry.

Clean The Countertops

First, clean the countertop surface of any clutter and remove any light food residue and dust with a soft-bristle brush. Spray the countertops with the homemade degreaser and let it sit for up to 10 minutes, just as you would if you were to clean the stove. Then rinse and dry as recommended above.

Clean The Range Hood:

Turn off the light and shut off the fan before spraying the surface with the degreaser. Then spray both the interior and the exterior of the range hood. Make sure you avoid spraying the fan or the light assembly, as you can damage the components. Allow 10-15 minutes dwell time and then wipe the sprayed areas with a microfiber cloth. Air dry or use paper towels.

Clean Pots And Utensils

Before you use the degreaser, discard any large food chunks from your pots, pans, and utensils with a spatula. Then spray them with the homemade degreaser. Let the degreaser sit for at least 15 minutes before cleaning with a sponge saturated with hot water. You can let the spray sit overnight for stubborn grime. When you’re done cleaning, rinse the items under warm water and air dry them on a dish rack or with dish towels.