Degrease Your Kitchen With A Favorite Household Cleaner

If you look forward to getting into your kitchen and preparing lovingly home-cooked meals using your stovetop (versus your microwave), chances are you use oil or butter for a number of those dishes. Whether you're preparing a veggie stir-fry, searing a steak, or cooking a tarragon chicken breast to perfection, there's obvious oil spatter visible on the stovetop — so we clean up after cooking. On our countertops, we season food with oil, make salad dressings, and prepare cheese platters, all the usual uses of a kitchen space that require cleanup as well. 

But over time, a thin coating of oil not only gets on the stove and countertops but on the fan overhead, the floor, and even the light fixtures. This is why we've got to periodically degrease the kitchen and restore it to its sparkling version. The household cleaner we've found that works degreasing wonders — it's not just for glass anymore — is Windex. However, if you're on a whole-house cleaning binge, while it has many excellent off-label uses, never clean these 11 things with Windex, including stainless steel refrigerators.

Who knew there were so many versions of Windex? Well, it turns out they have an ammonia-free version, Windex Ammonia-Free Glass Cleaner, and this is the best type to use in your kitchen. To safely degrease your space, only use Windex that doesn't contain ammonia or vinegar. Further, when you use this product on surfaces used to prepare or cook food, you're strongly encouraged to take the extra step of rinsing the area with water to remove traces of the cleaner. You might do that using a different sponge or cloth.

Spray your stovetop, light fixtures, range hood, etc. with Windex and let it sit for a couple of minutes before wiping it down with either a clean-up-only sponge (not a sponge you use with dishes) or a microfiber cloth. While you can use it on countertops, here's another caution. While it needs to be ammonia and vinegar-free, also only use it if your natural stone surfaces have been finished with a sealant. You don't want chemicals absorbed onto a surface where you prep food. Additionally, marble as well as many other types of countertops and vinegar don't mix because this item can damage the finish. Ta-da, refreshed, degreased kitchen!