Cleaning greasy painted wooden kitchen cupboards

[soupfiend]

We dont have an extractor fan in our kitchen and the cupboard above the hob where an extractor should go, is very sticky and greasy, you cant see it as such, its a cream painted cupboard but you can feel it and see it in a certain light if you stand at an angle. Its not coloured grease as such

I have to say I have never cleaned the front of this because I didnt know what to do it with, its painted wood.

The other cupboards in the kitchen I have wiped down from time to time, so they dont feel greasy or sticky, but I only do it now and then with a antibacterial wipe, and Im probably not really meant to use those either

What can I clean this grease off with, without ruining the paint or coating of the cupboard?

Hot soapy water ,just normal washing up liquid.

I use a white vinegar/bicarb/lemon/water mix in a plant spray bottle, i think you can google the exact proportions.

Same

flash do a bicarb spray which is great for this. Or just well diluted bicarb does the same.

Ive tried that on small parts, it doesnt shif it, I would have to really scrub with an abrasive surface which would then ruin the paint. Perhaps I need to re try.

I didnt know about the bicarb spray so I'll try this

It smells amazing but can be tricky to find, I think I found it in waitrose last time, home bargains and range sometimes have it.

My old kitchen cupboards and blinds were wood and the extractor broke so they were so greasy...I used washing up liquid and warm water but I had to use a scourer...I also used cream cleaner which worked well. However my cupboards weren't painted. Unfortunately I think a scourer and an abrasive cleaner may well scratch the paint

Sugar soap from a DIY store. It’s what decorators use to prepare surfaces.

Agree definitely sugar soap.

Wont sugar soap remove the paint, we have sugar soap

No, it's for cleaning prior to repainting.

Elbow grease spray - it's a degreaser, the only thing that gets my cooker hood clean.
https://www.tesco.com/groceries/en-GB/products/294530429

Or you could try a strong solution of soda crystals in hot water.

I saw the elbow grease spray and nearly bought it but it says not for wood

If it's greasy the washing up liquid needs to physically bond with the grease in order to remove it. So you probably need a lot more washing up liquid than you think. I would use neat washing up liquid and really massage it on with a cloth (one of those microfibre ones would be good for this) and then once the washing up liquid has emulsified the fat then you'll be able to wash it away with hot water.

Sugar soap from a diy store. You can buy it in a spray bottle just like kitchen cleaner.

Sugar soap. It won't strip paint, just the dirt, grease etc so perfect for what you need. You can make it quite dilute if you need to.

Sugar soap, or a solution of biological washing powder or liquid.

You could try a dishwasher tablet dissolved in hot water?

Wouldn't that mean unpainted wood? I've used it on paintwork in my kitchen with no problems.

The problem I have, is that when the kitchen was fitted, around 12 years ago (never cleaned these particular cupboards!), the instructions for cleaning said hot soapy water with a soft cloth

The problem is a soft cloth doesnt really get rid of spots of grease, you have to scrub, but I cant scrub becuase of the paint

Same with a painted toilet seat we have, not supposed to use products or anything other than a soft cloth

So I just tried with a soft cloth and neat washing up liquid, it does make the surface non sticky (non greasy), so it is now clean (on the bit I did) but then Im still left with little spots of grease, they're not visible to anyone else, but I can see them. The only way of getting rid of them is to use the rough side of a washing up sponge and Im reluctant to do that because of the paint

Seriously, just try a quick squirt of elbow grease, wipe it down and it will be fine. Far less potential for damage than scrubbing away at it with a scouring sponge. It doesn't contain anything corrosive and won't take the paint off, unlike scrubbing at it!

You need one of these

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Stanley-593Oc-Window-Scraper-590/dp/B0001IWDBK/ref=sr_1_10?crid=D8XBSQFPZKQ7&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.jKh4WNwlgyCrirA4iJNqzQ8oZyjPuFsakSS4De1Tul1kA1TidGiHqn10UmaPTF0ehbTXtuTOZs0vCvFyh5EFQnIBB3qFrrar5uHR4GTVRo2ZM8VKs-3OsOGCUQDKT2zwxJuakhG0BLdG57PiscDnRej3zyU2qCuyNniko2ODT4M1Kvf_8LACqMEhONjwH81lbzS2CbH62xi03M2Im8L1ANqLcSuz_5a4CaaW3ZGjF7k.RY0ihtJHkxydDnTGW4QLol82gGc2GX7VdLOkEsswL9Q&dib_tag=se&keywords=single+blade+scraper&qid=1727593203&s=diy&sprefix=single+blade+scraper%2Cdiy%2C82&sr=1-10

Go easy and you wont gouge the wood

Why don’t you have an extractor fan? This problem isn’t going to go away.

The kitchen isnt on an outside wall, so it has a carbon filter thing but we are not in the habit of using it, mainly because I dont view it as very effective, its noisy also