Actichem Grease Buster 15 ltr

Product Overview

Actichem Grease Buster is a heavy-duty caustic oven and grill cleaner for commercial kitchens. It is built for carbonised grease and baked-on fat — the black, hard, polymerised residue on oven interiors, grill plates, range hood filters and bakery racks that ordinary degreasers will not touch.

It works by saponifying fat at pH 14 and suspending the resulting soap and carbon so it can be rinsed away, boosted with a solvent and surfactant system to speed penetration into hard carbon.

It is highly effective, and it is the most hazardous chemical Carpet Cleaners Warehouse supplies in this category. It is corrosive, it is a Poisons Schedule 6 chemical, it is fully regulated dangerous goods, and it carries a reproductive toxicity classification. Please read the safety section below in full before ordering.

Important Safety Correction

The previous version of this page stated that the solvent system was "low in odour and low in toxicity". The low-odour part is correct. The low-toxicity part is not. The solvent in this formulation is N-methyl-2-pyrrolidone, which is a Category 1B reproductive toxicant. We have corrected the claim and set out the full classification below.

Classification

From Actichem's safety data sheet, version 3.3, issued 28 July 2025.

• Signal word: DANGER
• H314 — Causes severe skin burns and eye damage. Skin Corrosion Category 1A and Serious Eye Damage Category 1. Category 1A is the most severe skin corrosion category there is.
• H360D — May damage the unborn child. Toxic to Reproduction Category 1B.
• H290 — May be corrosive to metals. Corrosive to Metals Category 1.
• Poisons Schedule 6.
• pH 14 as supplied. The top of the scale.

Dangerous goods — this product is fully regulated

There is no pack-size exemption. Both the 5 litre and 15 litre packs consign as dangerous goods, and a dangerous goods shipping surcharge applies.

Composition

What this means on site

• Workers who are pregnant, or who may become pregnant, should not use this product. H360D is a reproductive toxicity classification. This is a substitution decision, not a personal-protective-equipment decision — plan the job around it rather than trying to control it with equipment.
• H314 at pH 14 causes injury in seconds, not minutes. Caustic burns are painless at first and continue to damage tissue until the alkali is fully removed. If it contacts skin, flush with running water for at least 15 minutes and keep flushing. Do not wait to see whether it stings.
• Chemical goggles, not safety glasses. Actichem specifies chemical goggles. Oven cleaning is overhead work — you are spraying up into a cavity and product runs back down. Side-shield glasses do not protect against that geometry.
• An eyewash unit must be available. Actichem specifies one. In a commercial kitchen that means knowing before you start where you can hold an eye open under running water for fifteen minutes.
• Overalls and a PVC apron. Specified by Actichem. Caustic soaks through cotton drill.
• Ventilate. Actichem specifies adequate ventilation with local exhaust where conditions are poor. A closed commercial kitchen with the extraction off is exactly that.
• Never mix with acid. A caustic at pH 14 and a descaler or acid drain cleaner in the same sink is a violent exothermic reaction. Commercial kitchens carry both.
• H290 — it corrodes metals. Actichem names copper, aluminium and their alloys as incompatible, along with strong acids, acid chlorides, acid anhydrides, chloroformates and oxidisers. Do not store it in or decant it into an aluminium container.
• Store it as a Schedule 6 poison — labelled, secured, and never decanted into an unlabelled or food container.

If your safe work method statement for oven cleaning does not include a reproductive toxicity classification and a Class 8 dangerous goods entry, it needs to be redone.

Where to Use It

• Ovens, combi ovens and oven interiors
• Grills, grill plates and salamanders
• Range hoods and canopy filters
• Bakery racks, trays and baking equipment
• Heavy grease deposits on concrete floors, tiles and other alkali-resistant surfaces

Suited to commercial kitchens, restaurants, fast food outlets and food manufacturing plants.

What It Must Not Touch

This list is short and it matters. Do not use Grease Buster on:

• Aluminium — it attacks it. This includes aluminium canopy filters, which are common, and aluminium oven trays and racks. Check the filter material before you drop it in a soak tank.
• Electrical components — switches, elements, controls, thermostats.
• Paintwork
• Vinyl tiles
• Copper and copper alloys — from the safety data sheet's incompatible materials list.
• Anodised or coated metal generally — pre-test.

It does not cause rusting of iron and steel components, which is why it suits oven interiors and steel racks.

How to Use

Read and understand the safety data sheet before use. Always pre-test in an inconspicuous location. Keep the container closed for maximum performance — caustic absorbs carbon dioxide from the air and loses strength in an open drum.

Cleaning ovens

1. Heat the oven to 70 °C, then switch off at the main switch. Warmth accelerates the reaction; a live oven with caustic in it does not.
2. Use undiluted on all grill and oven surfaces.
3. Apply with a spray bottle or brush. Keep it off electrical components.
4. Allow 30 minutes penetration.
5. Wipe down with a wet cloth or sponge.
6. Rinse well with water. Caustic residue in an oven will taint food and continue to attack surfaces.
7. Stubborn deposits may need scouring.

Cleaning filters

1. Dilute 50 ml per litre of water — 1:20.
2. Remove filters from the canopy and soak in a hot solution.
3. Remove and rinse well with clean water.
4. Confirm the filters are stainless steel, not aluminium, before soaking. Aluminium filters will be attacked.

A note on adding caustic to water

When diluting, add the product to the water, not water to the product, and use cool or warm water rather than boiling. Concentrated caustic generates heat on dilution.

Mistakes to Avoid

• Soaking aluminium filters. The most common and most expensive mistake with this product. Check the metal first.
• Leaving the oven live. Heat it, then switch it off at the main switch.
• Not rinsing. Residual caustic taints food, keeps attacking surfaces and is a burn risk to the next person who touches the oven.
• Safety glasses instead of goggles on overhead work.
• Using it near an acid descaler. Commercial kitchens carry both. Keep them apart and never in the same sink.
• Leaving the drum open. It loses strength and it is a Schedule 6 poison in a workplace where food is prepared.
• Assuming "low odour" means low hazard. This product does not warn you by smell. That is a formulation benefit for the operator's comfort and a risk for their complacency.

Technical Specifications

Actichem lists pack sizes of 5 litres and 15 litres. Contact us if you need the 5 litre pack — it is easier to handle and both consign as dangerous goods regardless.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why does an oven cleaner carry a reproductive toxicity warning?

Because of the N-methyl-2-pyrrolidone in the solvent system. NMP is an extremely effective solvent for carbonised organic residue, which is why it is in the formulation, and it is classified as a Category 1B reproductive toxicant. The caustic does the saponifying; the NMP is what gets into hard carbon. You cannot have the performance without the ingredient in this formulation.

Is there a safer alternative for routine kitchen degreasing?

For routine grease — not carbonised, not baked on — yes, and you should be using one. A standard alkaline degreaser will handle everyday kitchen soil at a fraction of the hazard. Reserve Grease Buster for hard carbon and baked-on fat that nothing milder shifts. Contact us and we will point you to the right product for the actual soil.

Why does it not smell as strong as other caustic cleaners?

The solvent system is deliberately low-odour, which is a genuine benefit in an enclosed kitchen. It is also a hazard in its own right, because smell is what normally tells an operator they have overdone it. Do not use odour as your exposure indicator with this product.

Can I use it on aluminium filters?

No. Caustic attacks aluminium and will pit and discolour it, and the reaction generates hydrogen. Confirm the filter material before soaking. Many commercial canopy filters are stainless steel, but aluminium ones are common enough that checking is worth the thirty seconds.

Does it rust steel ovens and racks?

No. It does not cause rusting of iron and steel components, which is one of the reasons it suits oven and rack cleaning. Rinse thoroughly regardless.

Why must I switch the oven off after heating it?

Because you are about to introduce a conductive caustic liquid into an appliance with live elements and controls in it. Heat the cavity to soften the deposit, isolate the appliance, then apply.

Does a dangerous goods surcharge apply?

Yes. This product is UN 3266, Class 8, Packing Group II with no pack-size exemption, so it consigns as dangerous goods in every pack size. The surcharge reflects a real regulatory requirement rather than a handling preference.

What do I do if it gets on skin?

Flush with running water for at least 15 minutes and keep flushing while getting medical attention. Caustic burns are often painless at first and the damage continues while the alkali remains on the skin. Do not neutralise with acid. Do not wait to see whether it hurts.

Related Products

• Actichem ProNeutro — neutral cleaner for routine hard-surface maintenance. Never use in the same operation as Grease Buster without rinsing between.
• Actichem Tile & Grout Cream — solvent gel for grease and wax on stone and tile. Also carries H360D — read that page before use.
• Actichem Stone Gel Pro — the acid-free option for scale and soap scum on surfaces caustic would damage.

Summary

Grease Buster does a job that mild chemistry cannot: it strips carbonised, baked-on grease from ovens, grills, filters and bakery equipment. At pH 14 with a caustic and NMP solvent system it is genuinely effective, and it is genuinely dangerous.

It is Category 1A skin corrosion, Category 1 eye damage, a Category 1B reproductive toxicant, Poisons Schedule 6 and fully regulated Class 8 dangerous goods. It should be used by trained operators, with goggles, with an eyewash available, with ventilation, never by anyone who is or may become pregnant, and never on aluminium. Used that way it is an excellent product. Used casually it causes serious injuries.

Safety Data Sheet

Actichem Grease Buster Safety Data Sheet — version 3.3, issued 28 July 2025

If your safe work method statement for this product does not include the H360D reproductive toxicity classification, it needs to be revised.

SKU: AP253.15

DG Shipping Surcharge Applies.

Not sure whether the soil in front of you actually needs a Schedule 6 caustic? Contact Carpet Cleaners Warehouse before you order. For most everyday kitchen degreasing there is a milder product that will do the job, and we would rather sell you that one.