Prologue
I made a video several years ago about cleaning grease and tobacco off a kitchen ceiling. The video demonstrated my process of cleaning a kitchen ceiling. It was not a tutorial about how to clean grease off your kitchen ceiling. But little did I know that the only thing that viewers of that video wanted to know was what cleaner I used in the video. I made no mention in the video of the cleaner I used partly because it is a commercial cleaning product that I knew the average consumer wouldn’t have access to. So why bother mentioning it?
Well, that video just infuriated people, and they left hateful comments because they wanted to know what I used. So I made a new video about how to clean grease off your kitchen ceiling and in this video, I explained exactly what I used. And do you know what happened? People started complaining that they couldn’t find anywhere to buy the cleaner I used. 🤦♂️ Exactly what I knew would happen but my conscience is clear because I gave the people exactly what they wanted.
Of course, there’s more than one way to clean grease off your kitchen ceiling. And even though I offered suggestions in that second video of other products to use people still want to use the one they can’t have because, well, it’s the best. And so here in this post, I will explain exactly what I use to clean grease off your kitchen ceiling and other products that you can use as well as why they work. I will also walk you through my process that will clean grease as well as tobacco and anyother grime from a kitchen ceiling.
So What Should I Use?
- Simple Green
- Formula 409
- that Purple Degreaser they sell at the big orange store
- anything that says “degreaser” on the label
All of these and more will work to clean grease off your kitchen ceiling. Some will work more quickly than others but they all will eventually soak into the grease and allow you to wipe it off. Patience is the most important qualification in a good cleaner. Of course, we know you don’t have any of that because once you saw that list of chemicals you clicked right off and never even made it to this sentence. And that’s your misfortune because I left out the single best product I have ever come across to clean grease off your kitchen ceiling. But I’ll get to that later.
Let The Chemical Do The Work
Chemicals?! 😱 But I don’t want to use chemicals in my home! I have children and pets and a zero carbon footprint and I only use safe, non-toxic, environmentally friendly cleaning products in my home. That’s all well and good and I sincerely encourage you to continue in that practice. But I will say two things about green cleaners.
The first thing I have to say is that manufacturers of “green” cleaning products are responsible to NOBODY when it comes to labeling their products with words like “natural” and “non-toxic”. There is no regulation regarding “green” cleaners. A manufacturer can put just about whatever they want in a bottle and call it whatever they want. So you shouldn’t feel as comfortable with your “green” cleaners as you do.
But You Still Don’t Want To Use Chemicals To Clean Grease Off Your Kitchen Ceiling
I understand. And so the second thing I have to say about green cleaners is that while legitimately green cleaning products have their place they are not suitable for every job. Most of that sticky mess up there is oil from cooking things in your kitchen. Most of the “green” cleaners you have under your sink are for routine, general maintenance sort of cleaning. They can’t cut through the years of accumulation of thick, oil-based muck. You need something that the grease will absorb; something that will get inside like a Trojan Horse to emulsify the grease from the inside out allowing you to easily rinse it away.
One of the fundamentals of cleaning is that “Like cleans like” meaning that if you have a water-based mess to clean up you need to use a water-based cleaner. Likewise, if you are trying to clean up an oil-based mess like, oh, I don’t know, a greasy kitchen ceiling you need an oil-based cleaner.
Most degreasers (like the aforementioned) are made with solvents called glycol ethers. D-limonene is another common solvent. It’s the active ingredient in “green” degreasers. Since it comes from oranges it sounds very safe and non-toxic but it’s not as safe and non-toxic as it sounds. Products with either of those ingredients will work very well to clean grease off your kitchen ceiling.
The way I see it is this: the grime on your kitchen ceiling probably isn’t any more safe and non-toxic than the cleaners needed to clean it. So you might as well just peel the band-aid and use a product that will get the job done as quickly as possible.
And besides, if you wear PPE and use these chemicals the way they were intended they are perfectly safe.
But Then There’s Always My Way…
Of course, if you want to get really aggressive with the grease you could use the best product I have ever come across to clean grease off your kitchen ceiling: Husky 901 Industrial Cleaner/Degreaser. It’s a glycol ether degreaser with an extra, special ingredient that sets it apart from any other glycol ether degreaser. It’s chock full of potassium hydroxide and that turns an ordinary degreaser into a highly alkaline grease destroying machine. The high alkalinity makes quick work of dissolving grease. Through a process called saponification, it actually turns the grease into soap which further aids in the cleaning! How cool is that!
You’ll be hard-pressed to find any place to buy Husky 901 though. It’s a commercial cleaning product and it’s only available from commercial, janitorial distributors. I only mention it because everyone always wants to know what I use to clean greasy kitchen ceilings. It’s not my fault it’s not available to the general public.
But like I said, home stores, grocery stores, and any other store where you buy your cleaning products will sell a degreaser that will work to clean grease off your kitchen ceiling. And now that I’ve told you what to use I’ll tell you how to use it.
How To Clean Grease Off Your Kitchen Ceiling
- Protect Your Cabinets
The very first thing you’re going to want to do is to mask off anything that you don’t want to get cleaner/grease on. Like your expensive Brazilian mahogany cabinets made from the souls of old-growth trees clearcut from an Amazon rain forest, that stood for longer than you can trace your family tree, just to satisfy your need to feel a little bit better than your neighbor.
Also either move or cover up your Kitchen-Aid, Ninja, Vitamix, and any other appliances that you don’t want to be baptized by ceiling schmoo. Now would be a good time to just take that Show Time Rotisserie out to the trash. Yes, the trash. When was the last time you used it? That’s right never. It’s time to toss it. No, you can’t get anything for it. Everybody bought one, nobody wants the one they bought. There’s no secondary market for these things. Ron saw you coming just accept it and toss that thing. - Hose Down The Ceiling
This is kind of a tricky thing. You want to soak the grease in cleaner but gravity is going to fight you every step of the way. Some of the cleaners I mentioned before are going to need to be reapplied before they totally emuslify the grease. The better ones, especially Husky 901 (which you won’t be able to find anywhere) will work fast enough to beat the forces of gravity.
The important thing is to make sure the ceiling stays wet so that the cleaner can fully emulsify the grease. And the best way to do that is to just work in small sections.
- RInse The Ceiling
This step can be done in multiple ways. You’ll most likely only have towels and water available to rinse the greasy cleaner from the ceiling.
Get your towel wet and wipe the ceiling one small section at a time.
Rinse your towel thoroughly and often.
Keep repeating this process over the whole ceiling. - (Optional) Extract Ceiling
If you have access to an extractor you could use it as I did here. This ceiling was being painted after I finished cleaning it and so it needed to be rinsed completely free of any residual grease or cleaner. As such, I decided that rinsing the ceiling with an extractor would be the best solution.
- Dry The Ceiling.
Drying the ceiling will ensure that there are no spots, residues or streaks left after the cleaning.
That’s How To Clean Grease Off Your Kitchen Ceiling
That’s all there is to it. Now you know how to clean grease off your kitchen ceiling. If you are prepping to paint, repeat the process using Tri-Sodium Phosphate instead of a degreaser. TSP will degloss the paint allowing fresh paint to stick to it. Otherwise, your ceiling should be clean and ready to start building a fresh new layer of grease.
Check out this video I made about how to clean grease off your kitchen ceiling.