Degreaser: Your Best-Fit Cleaner

Degreaser: Your Best-Fit Cleaner

A degreaser is typically an alkaline (high-pH) cleaner, often with solvents and surfactants, built to break up cooked-on oils that ordinary dish soap only smears. It fits range hoods, grill grates, oven exteriors, stovetop splatter, garage floors and greasy tool surfaces. Most are sold as concentrates, so the dilution matters: start with the weakest ratio your label lists, and use much weaker mixes for light, everyday grease. Stronger is not automatically better, and concentrate strengths vary widely by brand, so we do not give a universal ratio here.

Apply the diluted mix, let it sit for the time on the label so it can loosen the grease, agitate with a non-scratch scrub pad, and wipe up with a damp cloth. Then rinse the area with plain water, since degreaser residue left on food-contact surfaces or floors can be slippery or irritating. On a range hood filter or grill, a soak in warm degreaser solution can save a lot of scrubbing. Always work in a ventilated space, and wear gloves, because alkaline cleaners can dry or irritate skin and eyes.

Where not to use it: keep strongly alkaline degreasers off aluminum. A trade article from Process Technology explains that high-pH cleaners with free caustic quickly strip aluminum's protective oxide and etch it, leaving a dark, discolored surface, worse with heat, longer contact and stronger mixes. Not every degreaser contains caustic, so read the label, but if aluminum is not listed as safe, assume it is not. Also test before using on unsealed or waxed wood, natural stone, and painted or laminate surfaces, and avoid anything the label excludes. Rinse thoroughly on food-contact surfaces, and do not use a degreaser as a disinfectant; it removes grease, not necessarily germs.

To mix it safely, add concentrate to water rather than the reverse, use a labeled bottle, and follow the label ratio. Never combine degreasers with bleach, ammonia, acids such as vinegar, or other cleaners, because some combinations release toxic gases; Washington State's Department of Health and the Missouri Poison Center describe chlorine gas from bleach plus acids and chloramine gas from bleach plus ammonia. Do not mix two different brands together, and never use a degreaser in an enclosed space without airflow. If a mix goes wrong, move to fresh air right away, open windows, and call Poison Help at 1-800-222-1222 (America's Poison Centers, US). Call 911 for trouble breathing, chest pain, or collapse. Store the concentrate in its original container, tightly closed, away from children and pets.

Source: Process Technology, Can Aqueous Alkaline Cleaner Be Used on Aluminum?; Missouri Poison Center, Some Things Just Don't Mix; Washington State Department of Health, Dangers of Mixing Bleach with Cleaners. Note: concentrate ratios vary widely by brand and product version, so the label on your bottle always wins.

General household-cleaning guidance, not medical or professional advice. The label on your product always wins; never mix cleaning products. For a poisoning emergency call Poison Help at 1-800-222-1222 (US), or 911 if someone has trouble breathing.

How Degreaser compares

* Illustrative starting amounts and notes, rounded -- use the calculators below for your exact numbers, and always check your product label.