What is this weird stuff?

[carrotsandtomatoes]

So my son moved into a new flat a couple of days ago. It was lovely and clean. He hasn’t used the kitchen yet but it looked spotless. He turned the heating on last night and today and when he went into the kitchen this evening when he got in from work he found this weird residue all along the back splash and also in a few areas on the skirting and inside the oven there is a tiny bit.

it’s completely dried but obviously was a liquid when it went on.

it wasn’t there when he moved in and the only thing he has done is turn the heating on.

What is it and how did it just appear?

More pics. It’s all over the kitchen

It might be efflorescence, which is something to do with moisture and salts evaporating.

Some sort of cleaning product which hasn't been rinsed away properly.

But why would it suddenly appear after two days of not being visible?

I did ask him if the countertops were damp or had any condensation on them before he turned the heating on and he says not. He put his microwave, air fryer, kettle etc out in the counter and thinks he would have noticed if there was lots of condensation on there

It looks like grease mixed with a cleaning product that wasn't wiped properly.

I am prepared to bet my last 50p that the residue is Cif that hasn't been rinsed thoroughly....ask him to run his finger through it, bet it smells lemony!

He said it smells of absolutely nothing!
My question really is why/how did it appear after 2 days of him living there?

it wasn’t there when he moved in or the next day. Then he figured out the heating. Turned it on and the next day this stuff is everywhere in the kitchen.

my dh was there when he moved in and he confirms it wasn’t there then.

not even sure the heating is connected to the substance but yes the only think he has done since moving in.

I second the idea that it is some sort of domestic product for cleaning or freshening or preventing something. The pattern of it looks like it could have come out of an aerosol can and it appears to have been deliberately sprayed along certain areas. (Not sure about inside the oven though).

Perhaps the heating is linked to it's appearance because the air has dehumidified and the reduction in moisture has caused this latent stuff to materialise. I realise this is totally unscientific!

Could be that the air is dryer now that the heating has been on for a while, so the crystals formed. I bet that if he wipes with a cloth and hot water then dries them thoroughly with a dry tea towel, they won't come back.

I agree he should do this. If it comes back he needs to let the landlord know if he's renting.

Yes this is what he’s done. We very much assume it’s a cleaning or some other spray but we are puzzled as to how it only became visible after a couple of days.
also who sprays that much product and then leaves it?

For what it's worth, I think that putting the heating on was the trigger. Until then in this cold weather there may have been a thin layer of water plus the product on the surfaces that was not visible until the water dried and the product was more concentrated. Has it come back or is it OK now?

That’s pretty much what I suggested to him. No it hasn’t come back. But it still puzzles me as The spray pattern looks like someone sprayed liberally then just walked away without actually doing anything with it. No wiping etc. did they just forget? You can see it is the pattern of a direct spray

They could have forgotten if it was pretty much invisible.

I have some spray stuff that you don’t wipe away, we got it during the pandemic. It’s Dettol All in One Disinfectant Spray. I wonder if the heat has made it show up like that. (Screenshots included from Sainsbury’s website)

Interesting

That was my first thought- I bet ypthats the reason. The occupier probably thought they were leaving it fresh and hygienic!
Or, they may have sprayed carpet freshener spray by mistake. I have done this before- the canister looks just like an air freshener spray.