Daniela asked, “How do I clean up all this olive oil from my kitchen floor? Literally half of the kitchen is smothered in oil.”
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As the saying goes, “oil and water don’t mix.” So when the bottle of cooking oil spills all over the kitchen floor, reaching for the mop probably isn’t the best idea. If there is any broken glass in the spill, cleaning can seem even more impossible. However, the steps below will help you easily clean up the oil, as well as the broken glass.
Cleaning the Cooking Oil Spill
You Will Need:
- Shoes
- Ice cube tongs
- Gardening gloves
- Newspaper
- An absorbent material, such as:
- Kitty litter
- Corn starch
- Baking soda
- Salt
- Wood shavings
- Sand
- Bread
- Paper towels
- Spatula
- Dustpan
- Dish liquid
- Mop
- Lint roller
Steps to Clean the Spill:
- If there is any broken glass in the oil spill (if the bottle shattered), first put on shoes that have rubber soles or are washable. Then, use ice cube tongs¹ or garden gloves to pick up the larger pieces of glass. (Do NOT use oven mitts.) Wrap the glass in newspaper to avoid tearing the trash bag.²
- Cover the oil with an absorbent material, such as kitty litter³, corn starch⁴, baking soda⁵, salt⁶, wood shavings³, or sand³.
- Let the absorbent material soak up the oil for about 10-15 minutes.⁶
- Use paper towels or a spatula to scoop the material into a dustpan.
- Repeat steps 2-4 until most of the oil is removed.
- Wipe the floor with slices of bread or paper towels to remove the remaining oil residue.
- Use a grease-fighting dish liquid and warm water to mop the floor.⁷
- If there was any glass in the spill, wait for the floor to dry, then run a lint roller or thick tape over the area to pick up any shards.⁸
- Thoroughly wash the spatula, dustpan and mop with dish liquid and warm water.
Additional Tips and Advice
- Dip a cloth in soapy water and wipe the outside of the oil container after each use to remove any oil residue. This will prevent the container from being slippery when you pick it up in the future.
- If you use a cloth towel to clean up the spill, wash it in hot water with your usual laundry detergent. Let the towel air dry after the wash. If there are any oil stains on the towel, use the information in the article How To Remove Oil Stains from Cotton.
- For more information on cleaning up broken glass, see the article How to Clean Up Broken Glass.
Sources
- Handy Household Hints from Heloise by Heloise
- 10,001 Hints & Tips for the Home by Reader’s Digest
- Haley’s Hints by Graham & Rosemary Haley
- Joey Green’s Cleaning Magic
- Practical Household Uses of Bicarbonate of Soda by Margaret Briggs
- Salt by Christine Halvorson
- Natural Stain Removal Secrets by Deborah L. Martin
- 869 New Uses for Old things by Reader’s Digest
Thank you! You saved me a lot of hassle.
Thank you, thank you. We just had a massive cooking oil spill and this guide was a time & hassle saver!
Thank you!
Never realized how useful bread is as a sponge before today.