Cleaning up after a huge Fry-Up

Last night I made a stir-fry. It was really tasty. It made a bit of a mess of the stove top but I cleaned that up when I washed the dishes. It was this morning as the sun shone in and landed on the backsplash and the range hood above the stove top I realised what a mess I had made. The oil had splashed everywhere.

It was necessary to clean up then and there, because if I hadn’t it would become worse the next time I used the stove. Steam caused by further cooking would make the oil adhere stronger to everything.

I usually clean my backsplash and range hood with glass cleanser and a micro-fibre cloth, but this time something stronger was needed. Out came the trusty cream cleanser and with the scourer side of a damp sponge/scourer I set to. Actually it was harder than I expected.

Being a cleaner from way back I know most of the tricks for cleaning and the one I found most useful for this job was the resistance test. When something is clean the cloth or sponge being used to wipe across the article moves easily. When there is a build up of grease or dirt you can feel the resistance pulling against the cloth as you wipe.

Cleaning up the resulting damaging from the fry up had the resistance problem. The cream cleanser helped but it was necessary to clean over the offending areas a couple of times with the cream cleanser and scourer before that resistance was gone.

The more I looked the more I found. Not only was the backsplash covered with the oil but also the front of the cupboards above and below the stove top. All of them required a double going over with the cream cleanser and scourer. Once each area had been rinsed down to remove the cream cleanser I went over them again with the glass cleanser and micro-fibre cloth. When I had finished it looked wonderful.

I usually advise customers to put their range hood grills through a dishwashing cycle. Unfortunately ours is too big for the dish washer, but as my range hood is made with enamel and not stainless steel, which should never be cleaned with anything harsh*; by rubbing over the outside with the cream cleanser most of it was removed, if not all the oil that had splashed everywhere while cooking. But I hate to think how oily and dirty the filters are inside, but I didn’t go there this time. That will happen next week.

*The best way to clean oil from stainless steel is to wash it down with a cloth or sponge rinsed in very hot water and washing-up liquid. Once rinsed with hot clean water to remove the suds, dry the surface with a tea towel.