Cleaning expert shares how to cut tough stove-top grease with 'simple' ingredients: 'Comes right off!'

Stovetop grease can be one of the trickiest things to remove, but one woman is sharing how to easily cut through the mess with "simple" ingredients. 

The scoop

TikToker Neat Caroline (@neat.caroline) explains in a video how to get rid of any buildup on stainless steel stovetops by using baking soda, water, and vinegar. 

@neat.caroline How to clean a greasy stove! #bakingsoda #vinegar #hometips #fyp #oven #cleanoven #ovengrease #armandhammer ♬ original sound - Neat Caroline

After pointing out that it's important to remove stovetop grates for better access, she created a paste by mixing together equal amounts of baking soda and water.

Then she applied the paste to the greasy spots and left it on for 15 minutes. When she returned, she simply scoured the surface with "the rough side of the sponge."

"If you have more stubborn grease, grab some vinegar — and it will foam up a little bit. Let this sit for about 15 minutes. And now we are going to scrub the remaining bits with that sponge," she adds, pointing out that the grease "comes right off!"

How it's helping

While it can be tempting to buy specialty stainless steel cleaners, some top-notch brands aren't so wallet-friendly or easy to find. 

🗣️ Which of these factors would most effectively motivate you to buy an induction stove?

🔘 Healthier indoor air 🏠

🔘 Superior cooking results 🍳

🔘 Helping the planet 🌎

🔘 I wouldn't buy an induction stove 🚫

🗳️ Click your choice to see results and speak your mind

Baking soda and vinegar, meanwhile, may already be in your home. If they aren't, they are readily available at most pharmacies and grocery stores — and can be bought cheaply in bulk.

Another reason to be thankful for this advice? These common ingredients will help your money go far, as they can be used in a variety of eco-friendly cleaning mixtures for different purposes, including cookware, dishware, and the bathtub.  

Finally, baking soda and vinegar don't have the toxic chemicals found in most stainless steel cleaners, meaning no worries about kids or pets accidentally ingesting the product or concerns about it harming wildlife after disposal. 

What everyone's saying

The organizing and cleaning expert has a number of popular videos demonstrating the virtues of baking soda and vinegar, and other TikTokers seem to agree.

"Yes omg my mom tells me to use vinegar for everything," one person wrote on a vinegar-centric TikTok.

"We also put in the bottom of the cat litter box to reduce odors!" another said on a TikTok devoted to baking soda.

"I just got a lifetime supply of it at Costco! Using it everywhere," another commenter wrote.

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