Cleaning Nicotine Stains From Appliances

It's pretty common that a long-time smoker feels free and unburdened for a while after kicking the habit. This feeling can go on for a long time, until the realization that there is still a long way to go to become truly smoke-free. What many long-time smokers do not realize is that the cigarettes they smoked for years has left a caked-on film of gummy nicotine residue over everything in their home, including their kitchen appliances.

When cleaning appliances, a different approach is often needed than what you would do when cleaning other items. Here are a few ideas that any former smoker can use to get their appliances clean from any nicotine residue and finally move on with their smoke-free life.

• Degreaser. Nicotine is a fairly greasy substance, and as such it only stands to reason that a de-greaser will help to clean your appliances. Before applying the degreaser, make sure you read the instructions provided with the product. Instead of applying the degreaser directly to the appliance though, apply it to either a sponge, green scrubby, or washcloth and scrub till the appliance is clean.
• Window wipes. Products like Windex have wipes out on the market. These pre-moistened cloths are perfect for cleaning nicotine stains off of small appliances. As each wipe becomes too dirty to use, just throw it away and replace it with a new one. This type of wipe is best suited for dealing with a lighter encrusting of nicotine stains.
• Baby wipes. Those pre-moistened cloths that many people use to clean up after a baby's mess, or to help remove make-up, are also perfect for removing nicotine stains from small appliances. As each wipe gets too dirty to use, throw it away and replace it with a new one. These types of wipes are almost perfect degreasers, so they are great to use for cleaning nicotine-stained appliances.
• Magic Eraser. Mr. Clean Magic Erasers and similar products are perfect for the tough scrubbing that some nicotine encrusted appliances are going to need in order to get properly clean.
• Replacements. The easiest, but by far most expensive, way to get rid of nicotine stains on your appliances is to purchase replacement appliances. Since this is the most expensive method for removing nicotine stains, use this one only as a last resort.