Nearly a year and a half ago, reader Tammy Swart (see her blog about becoming a cruiser) told me about a great degreaser called Krud Kutter. It was in the comments on an article I had posted about cleaning that gunky area between the side of the stove and the cupboard.
Some time ago, I bought a bottle of Krud Kutter to try and forgot to write a follow up on how I liked it. Oops!
The answer is simple: I LOVE IT!!
Two reasons:
- It is simply the best cleaner I’ve used for greasy gunk around the stove and oven, as well as those areas that just seem to always collect dirt, such as around door handles, latches, power switches and so on.
- It’s non-toxic and biodegradable, with no petroleum solvents, bleach or ammonia (it was only after writing about using ammonia for laundry that a reader told me that it’s very toxic to fish, causing severe problems with their gills).
One note of importance on a boat: the directions specifically say not to use it on varnish (or on leather).
It comes in several different sizes but the quart spray bottle seems the most convenient. That’s what I have. And while the directions say you can dilute it for all but the toughest jobs, I take the easy way out and just spray it on full strength. For textured materials, I use a small scrub brush (a nail brush or, for really tight areas, a tooth brush) to get in down into the crevices where grease likes to hide, then wipe it off with a rag.
I’ve used “Awesome” for the last 10 years or so, but I have to admit that I have a new favorite. Awesome is great and I still recommend it if you can’t get KK, but Krud Kutter is even better. It got a few places clean that the Awesome hadn’t (and nothing else had, either).
I haven’t had a need to try it on any exotic stains yet, but it says it will clean grease and oil, tar, crayon, and even mildew stains. Even better, it should not stain or remove color from surfaces (always test first in a hidden spot!).
Tammy said that she’d gotten it at an Ace Hardware, but the one near me didn’t carry it nor did anywhere else in town that I looked. So it was off to Amazon:
- Krud Kutter 32-ounce spray bottle on Amazon— they have several different sizes and a variety of products including “red dirt stain remover” and a special mold and mildew remover, amongst others you can search for.
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Jan Alexander says
Not to be used on varnish…bummer. What to use, then, for the varnished fiddles and locker doors that are subject to greasy stove spatter?
Jan Irons says
Hi Jan – while Carolyn’s out sailing, I can tell you what I use on the varnished louvered locker doors above my stove — diluted Murphys Oil Cleaner – same thing I use on all the other louvered doors and staved teak paneling. Here’s a post I did on cleaning our interior teak: http://commutercruiser.com/teak-teak-teak-inside-this-time/ I’m sure Carolyn will have more input when she returns.
Jan Alexander says
Thanks Jan. I do use Murphys with some limited success. I’ll have to see about lemon oil.
Margot Partridge says
Have you used Krud Klutter on interior teak. We have a mold haze on our interior teak. I oil this teak with teak oil annually. We are presently cruising south on the ICW. We closed up the boat in St Augustine for about two weeks. The surfaces had been wiped down with beach and water before we left. It came right back in our absence.
Carolyn Shearlock says
Krud Cutter isn’t designed to remove mold. There’s a product called Concrobium — get it on Amazon http://amzn.to/1UPPFkF or buy at Home Depot in the PAINT (not cleaning) department — that’s designed to kill mold. I’ve used it on fabric and interior teak and other surfaces with no problems. You can also use white vinegar. Bleach does not kill or prevent mold and mildew I’ve learned, unfortunately. Vinegar does, although not as effectively as Concrobium. Tea tree oil also supposedly works but I’ve had little luck with it.
Jo Barnes says
I did try this and did not find it that effective. I used up the bottle and decided not to purchase another.
The Boat Galley says
Sorry about that . . . it’s my go-to cleaner for just about everything. What do you prefer?
Jo Barnes says
I like Serious Marine Clean by Shurhold or Simple Green depending on the situation
Donna Lynn says
Is it safe to use as a bildge cleaner?
The Boat Galley says
The company says that it is totally safe in the water.
Anne Driver says
Tammy Swart! You’re famous!
Tammy Swart says
Haha! Love to spread good tips and tricks!
KL says
You can also use Krud Kutter to remove latex paint…used it on kitchen cabinets in our land home and it’s amazing!
Aline says
Works a charm on the bottom of the dinghy (great for soft bottom, especially) – no scraping
Fred Brillo says
If you shop at any of the Dollar Stores, might I suggest you try LA’s Awesome Degreaser. At $1.00 a bottle it cant be beat and it works great.
Carolyn Shearlock says
I also use Awesome — I find it’s better on a few things (permanent marker, for example) and Krud Kutter is better on others.
Dennis Tye says
I needed something to get the “sticky” layer off my foulweather coat. I soaked it in KK for a day. Totally desolved the sticky layer, but left the coat without any waterproofing.
That stuff is great. And being biodegradable is a plus.
Dennis/MoonPearl
Jerry M says
Not nautical, but I use KK in the pressure washer to clean the vinyl siding on our house. Works great, but it also cleaned the black off several of our window screens, leaving silver swoops. Now I have to either replace the screens or go back and completely clean the black off.
Julia says
Word from the wise. I used this on our stern cause we get black scum from our generator and it discoloured our red boat name and home port badly. Went pink. When I told the letter manufacturers they said definitely don’t use Krud Kutter. Only use Dawn dish soap. Which also made me wonder if that’s why the inside foam on our cockpit cushions is now disintegrating and turning to sand. Dawn is now my go to for most projects, unless its just not enough.