The Little-Known Cleaning Benefit Of Vegetable Oil That's Safe And Effective

Dirty hands happen. When baking or cleaning in the kitchen, you are bound to get a little greasy. If you find soap isn't getting the job done and it's difficult to remove the grease from your palms and fingers, there's another option. You might be surprised to learn that while vegetable oil is great for frying and mission-critical when making those death by chocolate muffins everyone can't get enough of, it can also help you remove grease from your hands. 

Vegetable oil is a solvent that breaks down and dissolves the pesky, greasy grime that just won't come off your hands. This is largely due to the principle of like dissolves like, which states non-polar solvents, i.e. the oil, dissolve non-polar solutes, i.e. the grease. How does it work? Rub a little — not a lot — of vegetable oil all over your hands. As you work the oil across your knuckles and the front and back of your hands, you will be able to see the dirt loosen up and bind to the oil.

You will want to do this over the sink so you don't get oil all over your countertops. Once you've worked all of the dirt off your hands, take a little soap and water to remove any oily residue from your hands. That said, if you have any type of allergy related to vegetable oil, do not try this hack. 

This might have you wondering if other oils work the same way. The answer is yes. Any neutral cooking oil — canola, avocado, corn, grapeseed, peanut, safflower, sunflower — should work to remove grease if you've already used the last few drops of vegetable oil to make a Spanish fried egg with chorizo and potatoes.  Even olive oil can help remove grease from your hands. Use the exact same technique that you would use with vegetable oil, and your hands will be spick and span.