Oil oil oil oil

[Suzanne F]

HELP!!!!

While making a very large batch of salad dressing in the KitchenAid, I knocked over a quart measuring cup of (soybean) oil. Oil on the counter. Oil dripping down the front of the cabinets. Oil dripping down the inside and outside of the cabinet doors. And a puddle of oil collecting on the floor.

I have wiped up as much as I could with terrycloth towels, but I still have an oil slick between the counter and the stove. Not exactly where I would like to slip.

Does anyone have a suggestion for cleaning up this Soybean Valdez?

[fifi]

eGADS...

I am thinking aloud here. Dawn is about the most efficient oil neutralizer that I know of. After you have mopped up all you can, squirt some Dawn on the area and spread it around, with a scrub brush maybe? Wipe that up and rinse, rinse, rinse.

[slkinsey]

Bummer! I was just at a dinner where a like amount of just-rendered duck fat went onto the floor.

I recommend spraying the area thoroughly with a grease cutter like Windex and wiping up, then if there is still a slippery place, mop (or sponge) with a strong Lestoil solution.

[Dave the Cook]

I just throw down more sawdust.

[Carolyn Tillie]

Start with kitty litter -- seriously! The kind that clumps.

THEN move on to stuff like Windex for a final clean.

[Dave the Cook]

Just out of curiosity, Suzanne, what's your floor made of? Some cleaning agents might not be too friendly to certain materials.

[GG Mora]

My sympathies. I dropped a liter-sized glass bottle of olive oil once and it exploded into a shower of grease and glass shards all over my pantry shelves.

Try Goo Gone Citrus Spray – or any of the citrus cleaner products. They're excellent grease-cutters. Spray down the oil slick, let sit for a few moments, then go after it with a rag or sponge and a bucket of hot water.

I buy the shit by the gallon from Home Despot (Zep brand) and decant it into a sprayer bottle for all my grease cutting needs. Doesn't work on sleazy individuals, though.

[phaelon56]

Hardwood floors with poly finish can be successsfully buffed out and recoated every few years if and ONLY if they are never cleaned with anything other than plain water and a few drops of dishwashing detergent.

I have not yet used it but folks in this forum have been raving about Dawn Power Dissolver. Check the label to see if it's safe for your floor.

Doesn't sound that bad to me 'cause I'm the fool who mistakenly left a Raspberry Yoplait yogurt in the pocket of my leather jacket along with my uncovered cellphone and then jammed the jacket into an overhead bin on an airplane. Now THAT was a cleanup job (amazingly - the phone still works).

[Mottmott]

And the jacket?

[dano1]

i guess a coupla lbs of iodized salt and calling the dishwasher over won't work....jk.

At home? what kind of flooring? As said kitty liter works great-in the garage, under the car and so on. Follow w/degreaser.

At least it wasn't the fryer......

hth, danny

[bloviatrix]

I buy the shit by the gallon from Home Despot (Zep brand) and decant it into a sprayer bottle for all my grease cutting needs. Doesn't work on sleazy individuals, though.

You have my sympathies as well. I broke a bottle of toasted sesame oil a few years back in my pantry and the clean-up was a bitch. After wiping whatever we could up, we used soap to break-up the grease. But like everyone else, make sure your floor can handle it.

[FistFullaRoux]

If it is a wood floor, you are looking at a good bit of elbow grease to get rid of it. You will just have to keep diluting it with a dishwashing detergent solution until it's gone.

If you are talking your garden variety linoleum or vinyl flooring, 409 or an equivelant will work. Multiple applications still needed.

You may want to consider the salt or baking soda route next time before trying to mop it up. Let the powdery stuff soak up the majority of the spill before smearing it around.

For shiny, expensive floors, contact the manufacturer for advice. Or do a web search for your particular flooring.

[Rachel Perlow]

It's been a few hours... How ya doin' Suzanne?

[Mudpuppie]

Oy! I feel your pain.

Simple Green is a good degreaser. There's a citrus-based one in a squirt bottle that works well too.

I agree with Fifi that Dawn would cut the grease, but rinsing it might lead to a neverending battle against suds.

[Jeffy Boy]

Oil all over the floor. Ummm..... Did this make anyone else think "Orgy"?

[Suzanne F]

Oil all over the floor. Ummm..... Did this make anyone else think "Orgy"?

Jeffy -- and all: the floor is something like quarry tile, so an orgy is out. Now, if this happened in the summertime when the floor is warmer . . .

So here's the update: I wiped up as much as I could. Left the kitchen (and apartment) to deliver the dressing that was the cause of it all, along with the salad and garnishes it was to go with. Came home, wiped up more. Declared the kitchen closed for the night. We went out to eat. Came home, finished a project. Ignored kitchen floor.

I will deal with it in the morning. Thanks for all the suggestions, I'll probably just go with whatever cleaners I have in the house. Lessee, I've got a small bottle of Goo Gone liquid, lotsa Murphy Oil Soap, lotsa Glass Plus, and some Lysol All-Purpose Cleaner. I'll go back over your suggestions and pick the one I have the most of.

Sigh.

[Mudpuppie]

If it's quarry tile, the oil might just soak in. Bingo. Problem solved.

[fifi]

If you have some rolls of paper towels, sacrifice them and put them down on the spill area and let them do their capillary action thing overnight. That is an approach used often on industrial spills (with something somewhat like a roll of paper towels) and it slurps up an amazing amount of oil if given some time. You lay down several sheets of toweling over the whole area then lay the rolls on their sides a few inches apart and step on them to get more contact area. That is how those log things work that you might see at the base of coolers and such in grocery stores.

[Suzanne F]

If you have some rolls of paper towels, sacrifice them and put them down on the spill area and let them do their capillary action thing overnight.

Well, that's the problem: I'm almost out, and could not bring myself to by the zillion-pack of Bounty at Costco (which I visited before the accident anyway, so how could I have known . . . ? )

Morning update: the floor seems not much the worse for its moisturizing treatment, although it was still "glowing." So I mopped with a solution of the Lysol A-P cleaner, sponging up whatever floated to the surface, mopping again and sponging off again. It's mostly dry now, and looks degreased.

Thank you all for your suggestions and concern. Since this is the second time in a few months I've pulled a stunt like this, I will definitely look into keeping on hand some of the products mentioned.

Edited February 3, 2004 by Suzanne F (log)

[phaelon56]

And the jacket?

Doesn't sound that bad to me 'cause I'm the fool who mistakenly left a Raspberry Yoplait yogurt in the pocket of my leather jacket along with my uncovered cellphone and then jammed the jacket into an overhead bin on an airplane. Now THAT was a cleanup job (amazingly - the phone still works).

The jacket, amazingly enough, after extensive and careful blotting inside the pocket with paper towels and water, seems to be okay. I have worn it in some moderately warm weather and have not yet encountered any skunky funky spoiled dairy smell. Now the 16 oz whole milk latte that I spilled on the carpeted floor of my Toyota years ago.... different story. Never did entirely eliminate that odor.

[slkinsey]

Okay... Owen? Who the hell carries around yogurt in his pocket?

[GG Mora]

Okay... Owen? Who the hell carries around yogurt in his pocket?

REALLY. And Yoplait, no less.

[snowangel]

And the jacket?

Doesn't sound that bad to me 'cause I'm the fool who mistakenly left a Raspberry Yoplait yogurt in the pocket of my leather jacket along with my uncovered cellphone and then jammed the jacket into an overhead bin on an airplane. Now THAT was a cleanup job (amazingly - the phone still works).

The jacket, amazingly enough, after extensive and careful blotting inside the pocket with paper towels and water, seems to be okay. I have worn it in some moderately warm weather and have not yet encountered any skunky funky spoiled dairy smell. Now the 16 oz whole milk latte that I spilled on the carpeted floor of my Toyota years ago.... different story. Never did entirely eliminate that odor.

Try a vehicle sitting in the sun for 8 hours, said vehicle having three bags of trash, largely consisting of fish guts and dirty diapers. Only for the strong of stomach.

We drove around in that vehicle for an entire winter (in Minnesota, no less) with windows open.

But, that's a whole 'nother story.

[winesonoma]

.

Try a vehicle sitting in the sun for 8 hours, said vehicle having three bags of trash, largely consisting of fish guts and dirty diapers. Only for the strong of stomach.

We drove around in that vehicle for an entire winter (in Minnesota, no less) with windows open.

But, that's a whole 'nother story.