A question for bakers

[cupcakequeen]

i didn't know where else to post this...but has anyone found a way to get hobart/mixer grease out of their chefs jackets? i've tried bleach, oxyclean and some other pre-treaters, but all of us in the bakery have the same marks on our shoulders from the stupid mixer.

is it something you eventually remember to be aware of and stop ruining all of your jackets? i just ruined 2 new ones!

[pastrymama]

Hi, You could try the hand cleaner that mechanics use. It comes in tubs and is sort of like the texture of shortening. You can buy it anywhere they have auto parts, even Walmart. Just rub a blob on the grease and work it in with a brush like a big toothbrush or the edge of a spoon until you see the grease beginning to move. Then wash in a washer with hot water and detergent. It should get most or all the grease out.

[MelissaH]

Don't know about Hobart grease in particular, but Simple Green does the trick for a lot of other stuff. For something really tough, we spray it on neat.

MelissaH

[chiantiglace]

I scrub it out with one of those green scrubbies and very hot water.

[phlawless]

I have found that saturating the spot with dish soap works really well...

[chefpeon]

That's why I wear old T-shirts to bake in. I never worry about getting spots out 'cause I'm just gonna get another one anyway.

I save the ol' chef jacket for meeting with clients......stays really clean that way!

[Wendy DeBord]

I've never come across this before. Where on the machine is the grease coming from?

[lauderdale75]

Have you tried spraying it with WD-40 as a pre-treatment for the wash. Spray a little on the stain, scrub lightly, and wash.

[andiesenji]

I use liquid dishwasher detergent scrubbed into the grease spot with a toothbrush or nail brush.

However the hand gunk used by mechanics may work as well.

You have to treat it prior to washing, whatever your do.

Another old remedy is saturating the spot with glycerine then forcing warm, not hot, water through from the back side of the cloth, blot dry and reapply the glycerine and repeat until the grease is mostly gone, then rub with strong bar soap (Fels Naptha, for instance) and wash as usual.

Glycerine has the peculiar ability to surround particles of grease and separate them from cloth and it is hydrophyllic so it combines with the water and carries the grease out.

[cupcakequeen]

I've never come across this before. Where on the machine is the grease coming from?

←

it comes from taking the hook off and brushing your shoulder/arm where it connects to the planetary device....lovely green and black stains!

thanks for everyone's input.

[chefcyn]

I had good success with pretreating my chef jackets with Mr. Clean, straight out of the bottle. It works pretty well on grill grease( you know, that black-brown gunk from leaning up against the grill while cleaning it!). It worked on keeping the jackets more white, too, than bleach which tended to make them yellowish eventually (the ones with some amount of polyester in the fabric)

And...throwing a half cup of plain old baking soda takes out that ever-present fried smell from jackets and pants, too. It even works on my husband's grungy outside work clothes after he's been burning brush and sweating all day! Yuck!

Edited August 23, 2005 by chefcyn (log)