How do I get cooking oil off of my wall?

May 21, 2013 8:30 PM

For the last three years, cooking oil splatters have generally built up on the wall behind our oven. I've tried getting the oil off with a number of different methods, but no dice. Any advice?

I've tried white vinegar, Fantastik, Lysol, dish soap, and magic erasers. Nothing seems to work. We're moving in six weeks or so, so I need to get this resolved. Any ideas?

posted by gchucky to Food & Drink (32 answers total)

Trisodium (non)phosphate, otherwise known as TSP. You can get it at hardware stores. It murders grease.
posted by scratch at 8:33 PM on May 21, 2013 [15 favorites]

What is the wall made of? If it's just wallboard, you could get a .5 gallon can matched from a chip at your local hardware store and paint over it.
posted by M.C. Lo-Carb! at 8:33 PM on May 21, 2013 [2 favorites]

goo gone might work. this (#4) suggests making a paste of cornstarch and water.
posted by koroshiya at 8:34 PM on May 21, 2013 [1 favorite]

You need an abrasive in there. Scrub on some baking soda and salt and use some elbow grease. Buff it off with vinegar.
posted by phunniemee at 8:35 PM on May 21, 2013 [4 favorites]

TSP or ammonia. Both are strong degreasers. TSP is what you use to remove grease from walls before painting. Please don't try to paint over grease.
posted by quince at 8:37 PM on May 21, 2013 [16 favorites]

Agree with phunniemee. Baking soda is usually the first thing I try on any type of stain.
posted by Bokmakierie at 8:38 PM on May 21, 2013

Dirtex
posted by Ideefixe at 8:46 PM on May 21, 2013

I use something abrasive (usually cleanser, but after reading this I'll probably try salt or baking soda) but I use a scrubby sponge that I dip repeatedly in very hot water. This sort of melts/softens the grease blobs and enables the scrubby spunge to peel it off, like you might with your fingernail. The cleanser helps, but mostly it's the heat and the elbow grease I think.

Be sure the wall/paint can take it though.
posted by loveyallaround at 8:53 PM on May 21, 2013

TSP is magic. Wear gloves.
posted by Blazecock Pileon at 8:57 PM on May 21, 2013 [1 favorite]

Sugar soap? (Don't know if that's a thing in the States, but it cleans ALL THE WALLS here.)
posted by Salamander at 9:01 PM on May 21, 2013 [5 favorites]

TSP + magic erasers + gloves was the magic recipe for me on my last move-out clean. We got our deposit back, so you know it worked!
posted by Space Kitty at 9:08 PM on May 21, 2013 [1 favorite]

Oxi-Clean and hot water. Dissolve the Oxi-clean in the water or it'll be a PITA to rinse off.
posted by bink at 10:35 PM on May 21, 2013

TSP. There's nothing else that compares for taking grease off walls. Be careful to get real TSP and not TSP substitutes. You can get TSP at any paint store or hardware store. A box will cost you less than five bucks.

You must wear gloves. TSP is incredibly drying and your fingernails will snap off if you don't carefully protect your hands.
posted by 26.2 at 10:38 PM on May 21, 2013 [1 favorite]

Nthing trying TSP before anything else, and hell YEAH, wear gloves.
posted by maudlin at 10:50 PM on May 21, 2013 [2 favorites]

I've successfully removed grease, co-mingled with dust and nicotine from kitchen walls with sugar soap. Recommended.
posted by BAKERSFIELD! at 12:51 AM on May 22, 2013

For UK MeFites, Sugar Soap is Trisodium Phosphate. And it works brilliantly.
posted by essexjan at 1:33 AM on May 22, 2013 [1 favorite]

What is the wall made of? If it's just wallboard, you could get a .5 gallon can matched from a chip at your local hardware store and paint over it.

Yikes. Definitely don't do this - it will be a failure almost impressive in its totality.

I think you get the message, but TSP/Sugar soap.
posted by smoke at 1:43 AM on May 22, 2013 [1 favorite]

Wear gloves and safety glasses TSP is pretty brutally basic.

If that doesn't work, try WD-40.
posted by Kid Charlemagne at 1:53 AM on May 22, 2013

Greased Lightning. Also works great for cleaning hood filters.
posted by txtwinkletoes at 6:54 AM on May 22, 2013

A friend in a similar situation swears Kirkland Signature Disinfecting Wipes got rid of grease that had resisted everything else. (She discovered this by accident while cleaning her house after everyone had been sick; use anti-bacterial stuff wisely.)
posted by The corpse in the library at 7:14 AM on May 22, 2013

I assume it is a painted wall. My permanent solution would be to employ a splasback. I would either use large porcelain tyles or a sheet of stainless steel.
posted by BenPens at 7:30 AM on May 22, 2013

paint over it.

Don't do this. Paint will not adhere to oil splatters. If the paint doesn't simply slide off the wall before drying, it will blister and peel off almost immediately afterwards.

Ask me how I know this.
posted by ook at 7:31 AM on May 22, 2013 [5 favorites]

We used 409 with good success. Some day I'll live somewhere with a good range hood and remember to use splatter screens.
posted by advicepig at 8:07 AM on May 22, 2013

TSP, ammonia or barring that, Scrubbing Bubbles. Yes by all means, wear gloves and protect your eyes. Do not mix ammonia with any compounds containing bleach.
posted by Lynsey at 10:02 AM on May 22, 2013

I'm also recommending oven cleaner - that stuff is magic. Open all your windows, spray it on, leave it for 15-20 minutes and your kitchen walls will be brand new.

(It's also done amazing things to range drip pans, which are my nemesis.)
posted by Tequila Mockingbird at 11:16 AM on May 22, 2013

Oven cleaner on painted walls? That sounds -- melty.
posted by maudlin at 11:21 AM on May 22, 2013

Baking Soda is the best trick in the world for going after stains. I use it on practically everything, and as I'm married to a foodie that quite literally means EVERYTHING. It's great for polishing chrome, getting rid of hair dye streaks in the bathroom, cleans Formica counter tops, etc. etc.
posted by endotoxin at 11:57 AM on May 22, 2013

Simple Green will get the grease off.

I used it to clean the grease from the motor in a range hood and it made what is probably the original motor (house was build in 1964) look new. The only thing it didn't do was make the motor run less LOUDLY.
posted by backwords at 11:59 AM on May 22, 2013

In my experience, baking soda is really pretty amazing for the kind of semi-hardened sticky grease that is common around ranges. Probably couldn't hurt to start out trying that, since it's a) nontoxic and b) likely something you already have around the house. Just make a thickish paste and rub it into the surface with a damp cloth.
posted by Kat Allison at 12:44 PM on May 22, 2013

For general cleaning like this (IE: not a paint prep) I like to squirt a little Dawn dishwashing soap in with the hot water TSP mix. The saponify properties of TSP works well with the surfactant properties of Dawn. Turns the grease to soap and then washes it away.
posted by Mitheral at 5:55 PM on May 22, 2013

Response by poster: Seems like TSP is the way to go. Our walls are painted, though, and I'm not going to repaint them before we leave. Will TSP strip away the paint too?
posted by gchucky at 7:10 PM on May 22, 2013

TSP can dull glossy paint and make latex paint sort of rough but it doesn't strip paint like a remover would.
posted by Mitheral at 9:32 PM on May 22, 2013