The simplest solution for unblocking a drain is to pour boiling water into the clogged drain. Boiling water helps to dissolve and loosen blockages, particularly when they have been caused by a buildup of grease.
With an increased amount of solvents, hot water can dissolve more material than cold water. This is why hot water is the first choice for cleaning hard-to-wash stains such as dirt, grease, and oil. Besides that, hot water transfers heat when it comes in contact with anything.
White vinegar can remove grease. Wet a rag or sponge with vinegar and saturate the greasy area. Then, wipe it up. It should cut the grease almost immediately but it's important to only use it on glass, metal and other non-porous surfaces.
Temperatures in excess of 140° F will dissolve grease, but the grease can re- congeal or solidify in the sanitary sewer collection system as the water cools.
Vinegar is an effective all-purpose household cleaner. The acetic acid in vinegar is relatively mild, so it won't damage your metal surfaces. It's also nonabrasive. But it will still cut through grease and grime, dissolving it from the surface rather than just smearing it around as you wipe.
What Is the Best Solvent to Dissolve Grease? Alcohol is the best solvent to dissolve grease. For instance, isopropyl alcohol will quickly break down grease and grime in your home.
Oil and grease do not respond well to cleaning with water alone or even water and soap. Instead, dissolve the oil or grease with a solvent and blot. Mineral spirits is a clear water white solvent sold in hardware and paint stores, often as paint thinner for oil-based paints.
Fact: Hot Water Cuts Grease
These bonds can be easily broken with heat. The melting point for bacon fat is around 35 degrees, and dairy fat is not much higher. This is cool enough to keep your hands in. When the fat is exposed to warm water, it melts, floats, and washes away.
Liquid water is held together by hydrogen bonds. (Liquid water has fewer hydrogen bonds than ice.) Oils and fats not have any polar part and so for them to dissolve in water they would have to break some of water s hydrogen bonds. Water will not do this so the oil is forced to stay separate from the water.
What's worse, fats are less dense than water and hydrophobic (meaning grease and water don't mix). Between floating to the top of any liquid and refusing to dissolve, fats effectually do everything they can to fight being flushed down the drain.
Vinegar's acidity helps cut through grease easily. Spray some vinegar and water mix onto a splattered stovetop, let it sit for 10 minutes, and then scrub down with soapy water. It should wipe right off. If not, leave it to sit a bit longer.
“When fat, oil, and grease meet the cold water, it quickly solidifies, [and] the principles of water and gravity take over and wash it away,” James says. While it's better to use cold water than hot water, plumbers never recommend sending any type of grease down the drain if you can avoid it.
In general, hot water is more effective for removing oily or greasy stains as it helps to dissolve and lift the oils. However, hot water can also set protein-based stains like blood or sweat, making them harder to remove.
Baking soda is alkaline, and oven grease made of food particles is typically acidic. Baking soda neutralizes acids and breaks down the grease, allowing you to wipe it up without a lot of elbow grease. It's also a mild abrasive, so it works well at removing dried, stuck-on foods.
Water-soluble grease analogs
Carboxymethyl cellulose, or CMC, is one popular material used to create a water-based analog of greases.
Boiling water is the quickest (and cheapest!) possible fix. Simply pour a pot or kettle full of boiling water down the drain, slow enough that you don't splash yourself. The added heat should loosen the grease, making it easier to remove or sometimes flushing it entirely.
The molecules in the dishwashing liquid remove dirt, plaque, germs and grease from dishes so that they can be rinsed down the drain. After rinsing the liquid with water, the dishes are clean and reusable. Water (which dissolves many food molecules by itself) and stirring or rubbing are essential for an optimal result.
Once your pan has cooled, simply cover the bottom with a hefty layer of salt, add a bit of water, and shake. Household Hacker says the mixture will lift off all that burnt food and grease, and in 10 minutes you'll be able to easily wipe off the unwanted gunk.
WD-40 is a lubricant dissolved in a solvent. While it can break down grease and oil to a certain degree, it also adds back some. This might be desirable if you are cleaning a hinge, conveyor, or corrosive-prone part, but not if you need it truly clean.
Mix 1 cup of vinegar with four cups of water in a bowl, then decant the mixture into a spray bottle. To use, spray the solution on your surface and let it sit for 10 minutes before wiping off. This option works best for grease or stains that are fresh.
Sand, sawdust and baking soda are all potential options that will soak in the spilled grease. Cat litter is a popular absorbent used in the restaurant industry that has been found to be greatly effective in soaking up the mess. Wood shavings, sand or sawdust will work too.
Hexane – This oil dissolving solvent is known for its ability to effectively break up cooking oils. For this reason there are many cleaning and degreasing agents that contain hexane as an oil dissolving additive.
Use a 50:50 mix of boiling hot water and white vinegar. The hot water will melt the fat; the vinegar removes it from the lining of the pipes, and the flow of the water will carry it away down the pipe, so follow up with more hot water in a few minutes.
Use absorbent waste to soak it up
These are some materials you can use to absorb grease and oil: Flour. Cat litter. Sawdust.