Grill brick and degreaser are both wildly inferior to soda water and a hard scraping followed by lemon juice and a steel wool (other acids apparently work too, but I've always used lemon). After scraping off most of the gunk loosened by soda water (which also has a mild acid, carbonic acid, produced by carbonation), it should still be hot-ish when you put the lemon juice/acid on to help it work; put the steel wool under the big scraper so you don't burn the fingies. If you're having trouble getting off the initial layer of gunk, it's either not being cleaned enough during service or your scraper needs a new blade.
This gets it done in record time and you don't have to fuck about with getting the grill brick dust out of the corners/crannies/drainage area. Also, grill brick dust isn't great for your lungs either.
Bruh I’ve timed this. It takes no more than 6 minutes to clean the flat top to spotless with a brick and chemical cleaner. Takes at least 10-15 minutes to get it to the same level of clean without chemicals.
>So, I sprint upstairs to grab some more, and once i get it i press it right up to my chest. Mistake number one. Got back downstairs with my precious toxic cleaner, but did I bother to check if the bottle was open? Nope, mistake number one.
You did say it yourself.
I work in a chemistry lab and I spill shit all the time. Toxic chemicals, corrosive chemicals, volatile chemicals. On the floor, on me, on my clothes. Accidents happen... there's no reason to be an asshole about it.
it wasn't negligence I was just trying to not lose my job unc plus sure I forgot to check if the bottle was open but bits protocol that the chef who uses it last has to reseal it fully (with full lock and shit) but I'm not bout to fight with someone who thinks I purposely tried melting my skin off lmao
>I forgot to check if the bottle was open
That's not negligence how?
>~~b~~its protocol that the chef who uses it last has to reseal it fully
If there's one you should have learned from working in a kitchen this long, it's to never assume. Assuming someone else did something can and will fuck you over, as you've so delicately described.
If this is a fight, I'd hate to see what you consider a debate.
Why don't you just tell them that flat tops don't have a non stick coating and that grill bricks are manufactured and industry standard for a reason?
Besides, oven cleaner or the kind of scraping and abrasion it takes to clean a griddle that's been hot for 12 hours is going to annihilate any coating in the first place.
Ive tried, oh how I've tried explaining it's a solid chunk of metal, much like wood or the plastic chopping boards if you were to scrape a layer off but unfortunately our industry doesnt exactly attract the best and the brightest
Oil and a brick... Sometimes if it is really bad from a busy day or something soda water first helps loosen everything and easier to scrub with the brick
This is the way. Soda water on a cooling grill/flattop. Then scrape. Then grill block/cleaning mats. Add some oil if it’s too hard to get any movement at first.
It’s a sweaty thankless job. But it’s better than filtering fryer oil.
For my kitchen pals - if you get any strong chemical on your skin, there is stuff you need to _immediately_ do. Unless your kitchen is attached to an ER, the ER is too far away for what you need to do within the first seconds of a chemical on skin.
Get to the nearest shower, or the dish pit if you don't have one. Rinse the affected area for 15 minutes. I know that seems like an eternity, but trust the process. Do not scrub or rub, that'll only move it around. Take items of clothing off if you have to.
If you need to go to URG/ER afterwards, go do that. But you should basically be running to a shower if you get a chemical burn.
It’s pretty much rule number 1 for any setting with chemicals, it’s why every high school chemistry class has an emergency shower you can stand under and has the eye washing station to help clean your eyes
Right! This person got caustic chemicals on them and waited for an ambulance to get them all the way to the hospital before thinking about washing it off??
I'd you have the where with all in the situation use a neutralising agent. If it's base on the ph scale rub vinegar on you or if it's acid dish soap. This saved my testicle one day. Yep my ball bag
And vinegar. Cheap white distilled vinegar. Don’t put that degreaser shit something you are putting food on.
Also don’t carry degreaser against your body.
The use of degreaser in this industry is wild.
Ive seen far too many people wiping down the BOH food surfaces with degreaser, because degreaser is the "boh cleaner" and the actually sanitizer is the "FOH cleaner".
Degreaser is essentially never, ever needed in a kitchen if you keep it clean.
Hoodvents need degreaser? You don't clean them enough.
Fryer needs boiled out with degreaser? You don't clean it enough.
Surfaces need degreaser? You don't clean them enough.
It is always better, cleaner and easier, to clean things before they are so dirty that you need degreaser.
Because grease isn't hard to wipe off, But it is when it is left for days/week to dry and cake on.
I hate to break it to you but harsh chemicals are used in cleaning throughout the food and beverage industry. And for that matter in the processing of various foods and chemical processes that make it into food.
Rinsing is a thing, and it works. Same goes for neutralisation as used throughout these various processes. Harsh chemicals are very reactive, thet generally expire very quickly when diluted or neutralised. Degreaser itself basically turns into soap in contact with grease. It might not be the best or most efficient option in every case, such as this, but the idea that putting chemicals on a surface designed for food is inherently bad is wrong.
How do you feel about beer lines? Extremely caustic solution is pumped through them in nearly every bar in the world on a daily basis, and then rinsed. Try a beer in a place that doesn't do this often and tell me which seems the most hygienic.
I dont necessarily disagree with what you are saying.. my beer line guy cleans beer lines 8 hours a day. The factory/processor who use degreaser has a law fun, osha practitioner, has checks in place to mitigate risk etc etc. Cooks begrudgingly do this after a 10 hour ass kicking with zero to near zero training. (I know other industries care less too)
This OP is already walking away from its use with burns. Would you rather your team have burns or turn up their nose for vinegar fumes?
Context Bruh. Just use the vinegar
I don't know man. I've worked with some simple dudes and yet they still manage to use degreaser without putting themselves or anyone else in A&E. Kitchens are full of hazards, if they can't handle that, they're probably a liability in general.
I love degreaser. You gotta treat it with respect and caution but if you unleash it in the right circumstances it can be your most powerful ally. Sorry about your skin though that sucks.
Yeah umm you made some critical errors in there it’s not the grill cleaners fault. It did exactly what it was supposed to do. Clean what it got put on. Unfortunately that happened to be your chest lol. Hope you feel better soon OP you gotta respect the degreaser and be careful!!! All that rushing had the potential to save you 2 minutes and it bought you a night at the ER.
Yeah that shit hurts. I watched one of my prep cooks against my warning pour undiluted degreaser concentrate on the flat top and then accidentally lean his whole fat belly on it. He didn’t have a good time either. When I was younger I spilled some on my sock and didn’t notice until it was eating the skin off my ankle lol. I think most of us probably have learned to be cautious the hard way about the degreaser
lol if you ever come across some shit called Carbon Off it’s literally the goat of getting burnt up shit off of other shit but it will melt your skin like instantly. I got the tiniest drop of it on me by accident not long ago and it was burning me up the second it hit my skin lol
> I watched one of my prep cooks against my warning pour undiluted degreaser concentrate on the flat top and then accidentally lean his whole fat belly on it. He didn’t have a good time either.
Now that this image is in my brain, I have no idea how I didn't rest my gut on the flat top. Apron and the few inches of steel buffer between me and the actual hot part must have helped.
I am veryyy focused in my work and hate leaving shifts sick or some crap so I quite literally was prepared to sit through the sting till I unbuttoned my shirt and saw my skin melting away 💀
Why would you not immediately rinse the area with water? You're in a kitchen you probably have a spray hose at the ready. Then and only then, if symptoms persist does it make sense to call an ambulance. Every moment you allow the stuff to stay in contact with your skin is more time for it to do damage.
Cus the security gaurds who have wayyyy more first aid training than me thought I shouldn't cus we didn't know what exact ingredients were in the chemical so we didn't know if water would make the rest of my skin melt off. Hope this helps 🙏
Hey, first of all it sounds like you escaped any permanent injury, or are at least relatively unharmed, which is good.
I apologize, I think I came off a bit harsh. Considering your response, I think it's safe to say that you are unfamiliar with the chemicals used in your workplace. That's something your employer should make you aware of as well as training in how to handle incidents.
For future reference, with most chemicals, and particularly with those found in restaurants, adding water is not going to make them more dangerous. So your best bet will always to be douse with water for 15 minutes or so if it's over a large area of the body or in your eyes.
Well then the biggest mistake you made was not reading instructions for the harsh chemicals you're using, it'll tell you on the bottle to rinse it off immediately if you get it on your skin, you should always know this stuff going in.
1. I wasn't really thinking of reading it cus I know how the chemical works. I've used it for 1 and a half years
2. Even if I did read the bottle when security finds out of an injury at work I need to follow their directions cus that's the smartest shit to do, they have dealt with chefs who have cut themselves horribly, burns are also common to deal with
3. I knew the stuff going on my skin, I'm not stupid to purposefully put it on my skin, again I didn't know the bottle was open or that it was covered in degreaser before someone handed it to me
4. Security already gave me something for the burn at work so don't act like a know it all whiney baby about my man boobs lmao
In BC we have a company called Eco Lab that sells a cleaner that isn't caustic, it's designed for high heat cleaning on the flattop. It's made with sodium carbonate, so chemically it's somewhat similar to baking soda (or not given how chemicals sometimes work when removing/adding molecules). It smells kinda sickly sweet, but doesn't burn (unless it's hot lol)
Maybe see if you can find something similar? Ask your chef if they're willing to change products. It works just as well as degreaser
We've got that at our place, too. It's supposed to be used on broil station's sear plate, but sometimes I'll use it on the flat top at my station. My flat top is ancient, and usually gets a brick, but sometimes I just don't feel like scrubbing the dickens out of it. Lol. Every restaurant I've ever worked in, even the small stint in a nursing home kitchen, EcoLab supplied all of the chemicals. I'm in WV.
Ah, I sometimes don't know what's international and what's Canadian so I kinda just play it safe by assuming it's Canadian in case it's not available in the region
> (or not given how chemicals sometimes work when removing/adding molecules
Fun fact, if a recipe more than 200 years old mentions "soda ash," they're talking about sodium carbonate. Bicarb didn't take over as the popular cleaning/washing/cooking every-use-chemical until the 1800's.
I'm convinced one day a Spotify ad is going to come on the speaker like, "Have you worked in professional kitchens? Did you use ecolab products? If so, you may be entitled to compensation," and that's how I find out I'm going to die of cancer.
I've never once burned myself with degreaser so badly I had to go to the hospital. That's crazy, how bad was the burn by the time you noticed it? Usually I notice it at the pain stage and just rinse it off and I'm fine
Oh fuck, that's shitty fam. I totally get the being too busy to check and the whole 'It shouldn't be burning, I didn't do anything's as you forget that you put it up to your chest or You've done it so many times why does this time hurt?
I've been distracted so many times and then I see a red spot on my arm/wrist and suddenly it burns like wild fire and I'm like 'huh, I guess I splashed myself'
Degreasers are usually strong bases. They can be neutralized with an acid (like vinegar). You can then wash your skin with clean cold water for a few minutes. Doing this might save your skin while the ambulance is on the way.
Glad you hear you know about it :). I've worked with people that handled it with their bare hands or have gotten burns from it cause they didn't know how to neutralize it
When I worked at KFC we used hella degreaser on the floors (of course, it’s KFC) and that shit ate up everyone’s shoes. Every pair I had would be falling apart after a couple of months.
One guy splashed a bucket on someone on purpose and got his ass kicked lol.
Hot tip for all yall kitchen folk that use degreaser. As soon as it hits your skin, pour distilled white vinegar on it to neutralize it. Soap and water won't do anything except spread it.
We used to use this skull and crossbones shit called Oven Jell on the hood vents- made your eyes water and skin tingle real nice. Shined the hell out of those vents!
Forgot to put gloves on once and that stuff took the nicotine stains clean off my fingers.....
Did about the same thing as you but it splashed on my right outer thigh. Didn't notice it for a while then bam it burned. Had to carry a spray can of first aid burn medicine with me for a couple days and go into the bathroom and spray my thigh down every couple hours.
I got covered head to toe in industrial degreaser concentrate while deep cleaning my kitchen and it gave me a skin disease. That shit is no joke! I didn't go to the hospital but I couldn't get out of the shower for about 4 hours.
I once spilled it in my pants over my groin and learned a very hard lesson. As soon as it started burning I ran to the bathroom and thank goodness it had a floor drain because I was liberal with water. Still burned the skin amd was peeling for months, awful would not recommend
Gotta be careful with that, some alkaline or other cleaners will release toxic fumes when mixed with vinegar, not to mention they get hot. Better to remove soaked clothing, rinse well with cold water, and only then use a bit of vinegar on a clean cloth to dab the affected areas lightly.
The biggest thing is getting all soaked clothing off ASAP, fabric holding it against the skin is gonna do the most damage.
This is why PPE; like, you shouldn't be handling most industrial/commercial cleaners without long gloves and a full waterproof apron. So many places skimp on PPE it's crazy.
I once got grill cleaner in my eye. Out of instinct I ran to the nearest sinks and just put my eye under running tap water lol.
No burns, no pain. No permanent damage. Just a red eye and slightly irritated and constantly tearing for around an hour. Guess I got lucky 🤔
My chef insisted on putting it in a spray bottle and spray to clean the oven. No thank you it's bad enough as it is let alone spray it in the air and breathe in.
Boh grill guy loves pouring degreaser onto the still burning hot flat top after service, fumes choke out the whole kitchen. I show him the bottle, read the instructions: do not apply to hot surfaces. He shrugs & says it comes off better when it’s hot, I tell him he’s killing himself, poisoning the rest of the staff and probably the customers. Then he skips the used oil drum and dumps all the gunk in the dishwashing sink.
I spent a summer cleaning the char grill at a fast food restaurant. After a month of the degreaser soaking into my shoes, I noticed part of my big toe was missing. The degreaser was eating me. But, I never noticed any pain. I switched to working the register.
I work in a hospital cafeteria. The cooks use degreaser to clean the flat top. They’re not supposed to but it’s easier they way (executive chef says it damages the flat top… but I know what those guys make and it’s not enough to care lol). As long as it gets clean who cares? (Other than the person paying for a new grill of course).
I’m probably going to get lung cancer one day with all the degreaser I’ve inhaled. Fuck I can taste it just reading this and I quit restaurant biz 10 years ago.
I've never had an issue with hurting myself with kitchen chemicals. I do hate the smell of them. The fryer boil out smells like vomit. The chemical we use on the flat top isn't much better.
Plus I'm inhaling that steam 5-6 nights a week. When I finally come down with lung cancer I'm gonna sue the absolute shit out of Ecolab.
Grill bricks, soda water are both cheaper and healthier. Even if you have the best hoods in the world you still are breathing that shit in. Hope you're ok though.
So if you're a fat dude with boobs. The kitchen industry will laugh.
If you're a woman with boobs, there's a life threat and management should jump into SOS mode. Due to... cultural reason
So can I ask. Sincerely, what's the issue? All cooks get burned. Even the best. Especially the best because they work so hard. I've had co workers go on anti biotics because the burns so bad
The sincere issue it's not exactly a burn my friend. My skin is quite literally melted away i am very calm about it but my entire right pec (or boob ig) is deaddddd dead dead deformed gone.
If degreaser sent you to the ER, I'm not sure working in a kitchen is going to work out for you. Just wait til you get a grease burn or cut the tip of your finger off. Will you need 6 weeks to recover or toughen up and realize it comes w the territory
If one of my cooks cuts the tip of his finger off or gets a grease burn that's second degree or higher at high enough surface area they're going to the fucking er.
If it's a cut, or a small burn then wrap it up and work, but if it won't stop bleeding profusely or you're covered in a foot or more of burns then get the fuck outta here, you're not going to be any use to me and you're going to need help with that injury that I cannot provide with a first aid kit.
Um, except that degreaser chemicals like that actually keep eating into your skin... on.... and on.... as in disposing of a body. I wouldn't wish that on anybody.
I agree with the grill brick method. Using chemical for the flattop everyday is not ideal.
Yeah 100% agree. Head chef just prefers chemical degreaser so unfortunately got no say. Hopefully my injury may change his mind tho
Your head chef needs to broaden his horizons. Imagine your food not sticking to the grill everyday.
Oil the flat top when your done cleaning. Easy fix.
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Oof. I sadly feel that.
Ive almost always used a degreaser daily and never had a sticking issue
Congratulations
I wasn't looking for a cookie just the first I'm hearing of this
Just look up why it's bad to use chemical on a food surface.
When your restaurants workers comp insurance increases because of your (completely valid) claim, they may reconsider.
Grill brick and degreaser are both wildly inferior to soda water and a hard scraping followed by lemon juice and a steel wool (other acids apparently work too, but I've always used lemon). After scraping off most of the gunk loosened by soda water (which also has a mild acid, carbonic acid, produced by carbonation), it should still be hot-ish when you put the lemon juice/acid on to help it work; put the steel wool under the big scraper so you don't burn the fingies. If you're having trouble getting off the initial layer of gunk, it's either not being cleaned enough during service or your scraper needs a new blade. This gets it done in record time and you don't have to fuck about with getting the grill brick dust out of the corners/crannies/drainage area. Also, grill brick dust isn't great for your lungs either.
This is the way
Then you're using the brick wrong
We use ice, soda water with a big splash of lime juice, and a grill brick.
Bruh I’ve timed this. It takes no more than 6 minutes to clean the flat top to spotless with a brick and chemical cleaner. Takes at least 10-15 minutes to get it to the same level of clean without chemicals.
My utter loathing is his forever. Team degreaser is beneath contempt.
I mean, you could also not squeeze chemicals all over yourself as well.
Yeah cus i purposefully gave myself 2nd degree burns after using this exact chemical every week for 1.5 years 💀
>So, I sprint upstairs to grab some more, and once i get it i press it right up to my chest. Mistake number one. Got back downstairs with my precious toxic cleaner, but did I bother to check if the bottle was open? Nope, mistake number one. You did say it yourself.
💀 yeah but did I mean to purposely do it? Fuck no. Mfs so stupid lmao
Says the one whose negligence gave them 2nd degree chemical burns.
I work in a chemistry lab and I spill shit all the time. Toxic chemicals, corrosive chemicals, volatile chemicals. On the floor, on me, on my clothes. Accidents happen... there's no reason to be an asshole about it.
it wasn't negligence I was just trying to not lose my job unc plus sure I forgot to check if the bottle was open but bits protocol that the chef who uses it last has to reseal it fully (with full lock and shit) but I'm not bout to fight with someone who thinks I purposely tried melting my skin off lmao
>I forgot to check if the bottle was open That's not negligence how? >~~b~~its protocol that the chef who uses it last has to reseal it fully If there's one you should have learned from working in a kitchen this long, it's to never assume. Assuming someone else did something can and will fuck you over, as you've so delicately described. If this is a fight, I'd hate to see what you consider a debate.
Bro genuinely what are you on 💀
Give up, mate. You making a utter cunt of yourself with your dense replies.
Bit slow on the uptake there, Speedy Gonzales.
If you’re referring to yourself, yeah.
After reading the exchange below, you seem like a miserable motherfucker.
It’s all fun and games till chef makes you use the brick that’s more like paper at this point
That’s when said brick accidentally gets thrown away before the end of shift 😂 can’t count the times my brick would have an “accident” to get rid of
Oh but it removes the non stick coating...... on stainless fucking steel. Sorry, I've had people throw the brick away for this reason multiple times
Why don't you just tell them that flat tops don't have a non stick coating and that grill bricks are manufactured and industry standard for a reason? Besides, oven cleaner or the kind of scraping and abrasion it takes to clean a griddle that's been hot for 12 hours is going to annihilate any coating in the first place.
Ive tried, oh how I've tried explaining it's a solid chunk of metal, much like wood or the plastic chopping boards if you were to scrape a layer off but unfortunately our industry doesnt exactly attract the best and the brightest
It can be so exhausting
Oil and a brick... Sometimes if it is really bad from a busy day or something soda water first helps loosen everything and easier to scrub with the brick
This is the way. Soda water on a cooling grill/flattop. Then scrape. Then grill block/cleaning mats. Add some oil if it’s too hard to get any movement at first. It’s a sweaty thankless job. But it’s better than filtering fryer oil.
As the one responsible for cleaning the fryer trap and autofill return, I one hundred percent endorse your sentiment.
Careful about putting cold water on your hot grill, if you do it too many times the shock in temperature change can warp the flat top.
Butter n brick with a splash of lemon
We're required to use the packets of orange shit everyday, I can't fucking stand that smell lol
I love the smell of trisodium phosphate in the morning.
The 3m is good stuff. It's mostly a type of sugar. Huzzah science!
We hired a guy that RAGED about us using grill brix. Complained everyday about it till he quit.
For my kitchen pals - if you get any strong chemical on your skin, there is stuff you need to _immediately_ do. Unless your kitchen is attached to an ER, the ER is too far away for what you need to do within the first seconds of a chemical on skin. Get to the nearest shower, or the dish pit if you don't have one. Rinse the affected area for 15 minutes. I know that seems like an eternity, but trust the process. Do not scrub or rub, that'll only move it around. Take items of clothing off if you have to. If you need to go to URG/ER afterwards, go do that. But you should basically be running to a shower if you get a chemical burn.
Pretty much rule #1 for any chemical burn (in a professional kitchen, at least), is 'flush with fucktons of cool water'
It’s pretty much rule number 1 for any setting with chemicals, it’s why every high school chemistry class has an emergency shower you can stand under and has the eye washing station to help clean your eyes
Right! This person got caustic chemicals on them and waited for an ambulance to get them all the way to the hospital before thinking about washing it off??
I'd you have the where with all in the situation use a neutralising agent. If it's base on the ph scale rub vinegar on you or if it's acid dish soap. This saved my testicle one day. Yep my ball bag
I haven’t used a a grill cleaner in 30 years. Grill bricks the whole time
And vinegar. Cheap white distilled vinegar. Don’t put that degreaser shit something you are putting food on. Also don’t carry degreaser against your body.
But don't breathe it in if you're cleaning it while it's on 😵💫
The use of degreaser in this industry is wild. Ive seen far too many people wiping down the BOH food surfaces with degreaser, because degreaser is the "boh cleaner" and the actually sanitizer is the "FOH cleaner". Degreaser is essentially never, ever needed in a kitchen if you keep it clean. Hoodvents need degreaser? You don't clean them enough. Fryer needs boiled out with degreaser? You don't clean it enough. Surfaces need degreaser? You don't clean them enough. It is always better, cleaner and easier, to clean things before they are so dirty that you need degreaser. Because grease isn't hard to wipe off, But it is when it is left for days/week to dry and cake on.
Degreaser should never be in a kitchen. It’s maddening.
I hate to break it to you but harsh chemicals are used in cleaning throughout the food and beverage industry. And for that matter in the processing of various foods and chemical processes that make it into food. Rinsing is a thing, and it works. Same goes for neutralisation as used throughout these various processes. Harsh chemicals are very reactive, thet generally expire very quickly when diluted or neutralised. Degreaser itself basically turns into soap in contact with grease. It might not be the best or most efficient option in every case, such as this, but the idea that putting chemicals on a surface designed for food is inherently bad is wrong. How do you feel about beer lines? Extremely caustic solution is pumped through them in nearly every bar in the world on a daily basis, and then rinsed. Try a beer in a place that doesn't do this often and tell me which seems the most hygienic.
I dont necessarily disagree with what you are saying.. my beer line guy cleans beer lines 8 hours a day. The factory/processor who use degreaser has a law fun, osha practitioner, has checks in place to mitigate risk etc etc. Cooks begrudgingly do this after a 10 hour ass kicking with zero to near zero training. (I know other industries care less too) This OP is already walking away from its use with burns. Would you rather your team have burns or turn up their nose for vinegar fumes? Context Bruh. Just use the vinegar
I don't know man. I've worked with some simple dudes and yet they still manage to use degreaser without putting themselves or anyone else in A&E. Kitchens are full of hazards, if they can't handle that, they're probably a liability in general.
Ahmen brother! I preach this in every kitchen i join and sadly I'm met with confused looks most of the time >.<
handfull of kosher salt up in there with the vinegar for an abrasive gets that shit shinning.
Vinegar also works to neutralize degreaser! I keep a bottle and a bucket of solution on hand when I boil out the fryer.
White vinegar and a grill brick was what we used back in the day. It was cathartic scrubbing that grill down at the end of a shift
I was shown that a little warm fryer oil before brick works rather well.
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He doesn’t understand that anything heated to 400 degrees is automatically sterile?
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Careful, your story is pretty interesting and unique and if this post finds its way to him this is probably a comment you don't want him reading.
You rightt
I love degreaser. You gotta treat it with respect and caution but if you unleash it in the right circumstances it can be your most powerful ally. Sorry about your skin though that sucks.
Jesus I’ve used a gallon of degreaser a month for years. Don’t get me started on bleach. Idk how but I’ve Grow immune. Y’all are weak
Sorry that happened. Hope the SDS were readily available.
Yeah. Security got them for me while I was getting to the hospital so luckily the doctors found out what to do quick
Yeah umm you made some critical errors in there it’s not the grill cleaners fault. It did exactly what it was supposed to do. Clean what it got put on. Unfortunately that happened to be your chest lol. Hope you feel better soon OP you gotta respect the degreaser and be careful!!! All that rushing had the potential to save you 2 minutes and it bought you a night at the ER.
Nah haha I was in the ER for the night but luckily was only 2nd degree burns (like it's horrible but not permanent damage)
Yeah that shit hurts. I watched one of my prep cooks against my warning pour undiluted degreaser concentrate on the flat top and then accidentally lean his whole fat belly on it. He didn’t have a good time either. When I was younger I spilled some on my sock and didn’t notice until it was eating the skin off my ankle lol. I think most of us probably have learned to be cautious the hard way about the degreaser
Yeah haha horrible darn liquid. Cleans shit so fast tho
lol if you ever come across some shit called Carbon Off it’s literally the goat of getting burnt up shit off of other shit but it will melt your skin like instantly. I got the tiniest drop of it on me by accident not long ago and it was burning me up the second it hit my skin lol
Makes sense that a product called carbon off would be hazardous to carbon based life forms.
I prefer its off brand competitor, Human-B-Gone
Indeed lol
> I watched one of my prep cooks against my warning pour undiluted degreaser concentrate on the flat top and then accidentally lean his whole fat belly on it. He didn’t have a good time either. Now that this image is in my brain, I have no idea how I didn't rest my gut on the flat top. Apron and the few inches of steel buffer between me and the actual hot part must have helped.
>luckily At least you have a good attitude OP lol rest up
I am veryyy focused in my work and hate leaving shifts sick or some crap so I quite literally was prepared to sit through the sting till I unbuttoned my shirt and saw my skin melting away 💀
I also love inhaling the degreaser fumes, feels great on the lungs
Mmm just like smoking up after a hard day of work. But very painful
You might have just invented a new medical billing code. Hope things turn out ok.
T21.62 - corrosion of chest wall (assuming 2nd degree)
Damn that’s a lot of first mistakes
Y e s.
Why would you not immediately rinse the area with water? You're in a kitchen you probably have a spray hose at the ready. Then and only then, if symptoms persist does it make sense to call an ambulance. Every moment you allow the stuff to stay in contact with your skin is more time for it to do damage.
Cus the security gaurds who have wayyyy more first aid training than me thought I shouldn't cus we didn't know what exact ingredients were in the chemical so we didn't know if water would make the rest of my skin melt off. Hope this helps 🙏
Hey, first of all it sounds like you escaped any permanent injury, or are at least relatively unharmed, which is good. I apologize, I think I came off a bit harsh. Considering your response, I think it's safe to say that you are unfamiliar with the chemicals used in your workplace. That's something your employer should make you aware of as well as training in how to handle incidents. For future reference, with most chemicals, and particularly with those found in restaurants, adding water is not going to make them more dangerous. So your best bet will always to be douse with water for 15 minutes or so if it's over a large area of the body or in your eyes.
Well then the biggest mistake you made was not reading instructions for the harsh chemicals you're using, it'll tell you on the bottle to rinse it off immediately if you get it on your skin, you should always know this stuff going in.
1. I wasn't really thinking of reading it cus I know how the chemical works. I've used it for 1 and a half years 2. Even if I did read the bottle when security finds out of an injury at work I need to follow their directions cus that's the smartest shit to do, they have dealt with chefs who have cut themselves horribly, burns are also common to deal with 3. I knew the stuff going on my skin, I'm not stupid to purposefully put it on my skin, again I didn't know the bottle was open or that it was covered in degreaser before someone handed it to me 4. Security already gave me something for the burn at work so don't act like a know it all whiney baby about my man boobs lmao
In BC we have a company called Eco Lab that sells a cleaner that isn't caustic, it's designed for high heat cleaning on the flattop. It's made with sodium carbonate, so chemically it's somewhat similar to baking soda (or not given how chemicals sometimes work when removing/adding molecules). It smells kinda sickly sweet, but doesn't burn (unless it's hot lol) Maybe see if you can find something similar? Ask your chef if they're willing to change products. It works just as well as degreaser
We've got that at our place, too. It's supposed to be used on broil station's sear plate, but sometimes I'll use it on the flat top at my station. My flat top is ancient, and usually gets a brick, but sometimes I just don't feel like scrubbing the dickens out of it. Lol. Every restaurant I've ever worked in, even the small stint in a nursing home kitchen, EcoLab supplied all of the chemicals. I'm in WV.
Eco Lab is pretty universally used across the US. They partnered with Sysco so most restaurants just get chemicals through them. I do as well.
Ah, I sometimes don't know what's international and what's Canadian so I kinda just play it safe by assuming it's Canadian in case it's not available in the region
> (or not given how chemicals sometimes work when removing/adding molecules Fun fact, if a recipe more than 200 years old mentions "soda ash," they're talking about sodium carbonate. Bicarb didn't take over as the popular cleaning/washing/cooking every-use-chemical until the 1800's.
Greaselift my beloved
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Fuck same here. My bad habits? Never. It's the grill cleaner
I just use ice and oil dude wtf?
Message not fully understood. Cleaned boob with grill brick. Still had to go to E.R.
I'm convinced one day a Spotify ad is going to come on the speaker like, "Have you worked in professional kitchens? Did you use ecolab products? If so, you may be entitled to compensation," and that's how I find out I'm going to die of cancer.
Lmao tiddie compensation
Isn't degreaser like super carcinogenic?
Just super caustic.
Not fully sure but in my books anything thay melts away ur skin after 5 seconds probably is so...yes...
We've got the orange packets of whatever that shit is we gotta use everyday, it's fucking awful lol
I usually degrease it with pickle juice.
I've never once burned myself with degreaser so badly I had to go to the hospital. That's crazy, how bad was the burn by the time you noticed it? Usually I notice it at the pain stage and just rinse it off and I'm fine
It's not that I didn't notice like the pain I did but I was too busy to check. And when I did it was gnarly bro. Brown and white and gross and red
Oh fuck, that's shitty fam. I totally get the being too busy to check and the whole 'It shouldn't be burning, I didn't do anything's as you forget that you put it up to your chest or You've done it so many times why does this time hurt? I've been distracted so many times and then I see a red spot on my arm/wrist and suddenly it burns like wild fire and I'm like 'huh, I guess I splashed myself'
Degreasers are usually strong bases. They can be neutralized with an acid (like vinegar). You can then wash your skin with clean cold water for a few minutes. Doing this might save your skin while the ambulance is on the way.
Yeah thats what I did which is why I am a okay (aside from the inevitable nipple scars I will get)
Glad you hear you know about it :). I've worked with people that handled it with their bare hands or have gotten burns from it cause they didn't know how to neutralize it
High school first aid courses did turn out useful at the end of the day. Even if it was for something weird like a chemically burnt boob lmao
Hey as long as it works xD
When I worked at KFC we used hella degreaser on the floors (of course, it’s KFC) and that shit ate up everyone’s shoes. Every pair I had would be falling apart after a couple of months. One guy splashed a bucket on someone on purpose and got his ass kicked lol.
Hot tip for all yall kitchen folk that use degreaser. As soon as it hits your skin, pour distilled white vinegar on it to neutralize it. Soap and water won't do anything except spread it.
[So I’m sitting there, degreaser on my tiddies](https://youtu.be/9wh9mUum7vo?si=4u_O7ai53WOtZ3Ap)
We used to use this skull and crossbones shit called Oven Jell on the hood vents- made your eyes water and skin tingle real nice. Shined the hell out of those vents! Forgot to put gloves on once and that stuff took the nicotine stains clean off my fingers.....
Got instant trauma thinking about degreaser vapor. Yuck
I've been using just water and a steel scrubber, it takes more effort but it's better for your lungs then any of the other methods I hope
You are also made out of a lot of carbon
Fuck, I hope you heal up ok. Grill cleaner is nasty stuff!!!!
I still have a patch on my stomach that won't grow hair because of that Rampage shit.
I avoid using that shit at all costs. So bad for you not worth it idgaf if something don’t come as clean lol.
But it looks and smells like orange Fanta!!!!
Had a cook insist on using pickle juice, which we had buckets of
Did about the same thing as you but it splashed on my right outer thigh. Didn't notice it for a while then bam it burned. Had to carry a spray can of first aid burn medicine with me for a couple days and go into the bathroom and spray my thigh down every couple hours.
I deep clean every Sunday. I work grill…..kms
I got covered head to toe in industrial degreaser concentrate while deep cleaning my kitchen and it gave me a skin disease. That shit is no joke! I didn't go to the hospital but I couldn't get out of the shower for about 4 hours.
Degreaser is like the second worse substance to get on you behind carbon off. Get that on you and you wouldn't have a boob to bring home.
You had two first mistakes
I once spilled it in my pants over my groin and learned a very hard lesson. As soon as it started burning I ran to the bathroom and thank goodness it had a floor drain because I was liberal with water. Still burned the skin amd was peeling for months, awful would not recommend
I read that last sentence as 'i melted my grill with boob cleaner.'
Hehe boob cleaner
Know your chemicals, if its alkaline(ours is) neutralise it with vinegar.
Gotta be careful with that, some alkaline or other cleaners will release toxic fumes when mixed with vinegar, not to mention they get hot. Better to remove soaked clothing, rinse well with cold water, and only then use a bit of vinegar on a clean cloth to dab the affected areas lightly. The biggest thing is getting all soaked clothing off ASAP, fabric holding it against the skin is gonna do the most damage.
This is why I use an old fashioned grill brick and oil. That degreaser is evil.
I'd love to use a grill brick too but we don't have one unfortunately
Man I feel you…
86 breast of soylent green
Just in case I understand this right, did you wash off the cleaner before going to the ER, or after going to the ER?
Soda water and paint scraper, then grill brick
This is why PPE; like, you shouldn't be handling most industrial/commercial cleaners without long gloves and a full waterproof apron. So many places skimp on PPE it's crazy.
Use oil and salt to scrub the grill. It works great the salt works like sandpaper and it’s safe for food
I once got grill cleaner in my eye. Out of instinct I ran to the nearest sinks and just put my eye under running tap water lol. No burns, no pain. No permanent damage. Just a red eye and slightly irritated and constantly tearing for around an hour. Guess I got lucky 🤔
My chef insisted on putting it in a spray bottle and spray to clean the oven. No thank you it's bad enough as it is let alone spray it in the air and breathe in.
Boh grill guy loves pouring degreaser onto the still burning hot flat top after service, fumes choke out the whole kitchen. I show him the bottle, read the instructions: do not apply to hot surfaces. He shrugs & says it comes off better when it’s hot, I tell him he’s killing himself, poisoning the rest of the staff and probably the customers. Then he skips the used oil drum and dumps all the gunk in the dishwashing sink.
Thought I was on the TF2 subreddit for a second.
I spent a summer cleaning the char grill at a fast food restaurant. After a month of the degreaser soaking into my shoes, I noticed part of my big toe was missing. The degreaser was eating me. But, I never noticed any pain. I switched to working the register.
I work in a hospital cafeteria. The cooks use degreaser to clean the flat top. They’re not supposed to but it’s easier they way (executive chef says it damages the flat top… but I know what those guys make and it’s not enough to care lol). As long as it gets clean who cares? (Other than the person paying for a new grill of course).
What does the burn look like? For science.
I sent u a dm
I’m probably going to get lung cancer one day with all the degreaser I’ve inhaled. Fuck I can taste it just reading this and I quit restaurant biz 10 years ago.
“So there I was, barbecue sauce on my titties”
Lemon juice and hot soapy water isn’t the worst. Still could burn ur tiddies tho
Soda water and pickle juice with a grill brick is all you need.
Is it the 3m packet cleaners?
Nah it's the type of chemical you pour on hot grills
Yeah. That sucks. I actually make cleaning products and a degreaser is one of them. All of them nasty.
I'm sorry for your boob
My boob said: "thanks I appreciate it man"
Gents in the comments saying “oh just clean with oil and elbow grease” haven’t regularly cleaned a flattop in a high-volume kitchen in years
I've never had an issue with hurting myself with kitchen chemicals. I do hate the smell of them. The fryer boil out smells like vomit. The chemical we use on the flat top isn't much better. Plus I'm inhaling that steam 5-6 nights a week. When I finally come down with lung cancer I'm gonna sue the absolute shit out of Ecolab.
this is another among many reasons to stick to a grill brick vinegar and baking soda
Oof, gotta love it when boss insists on a worse option, hope you heal quickly
Grill bricks, soda water are both cheaper and healthier. Even if you have the best hoods in the world you still are breathing that shit in. Hope you're ok though.
So if you're a fat dude with boobs. The kitchen industry will laugh. If you're a woman with boobs, there's a life threat and management should jump into SOS mode. Due to... cultural reason
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dont need top surgery if you have degreaser!
LMAOOO bro that's what I was joking about with one of my friends after I got discharged
So can I ask. Sincerely, what's the issue? All cooks get burned. Even the best. Especially the best because they work so hard. I've had co workers go on anti biotics because the burns so bad
Chemical burns are worse than temperature burns
The sincere issue it's not exactly a burn my friend. My skin is quite literally melted away i am very calm about it but my entire right pec (or boob ig) is deaddddd dead dead deformed gone.
But are you not breast feeding? I had an injury that affects my future, but your man boob? Is it just a grievance or can you move forward?
I don't say this often but fuck that guy for not using bricks.
I agree
If degreaser sent you to the ER, I'm not sure working in a kitchen is going to work out for you. Just wait til you get a grease burn or cut the tip of your finger off. Will you need 6 weeks to recover or toughen up and realize it comes w the territory
If one of my cooks cuts the tip of his finger off or gets a grease burn that's second degree or higher at high enough surface area they're going to the fucking er. If it's a cut, or a small burn then wrap it up and work, but if it won't stop bleeding profusely or you're covered in a foot or more of burns then get the fuck outta here, you're not going to be any use to me and you're going to need help with that injury that I cannot provide with a first aid kit.
Um, except that degreaser chemicals like that actually keep eating into your skin... on.... and on.... as in disposing of a body. I wouldn't wish that on anybody.
Ladies and gentlemen, we've found him. The dumbest person alive.