The kitchen is the most demanding when it comes to cleaning. Every time you cook or eat or drink, there’s a huge mess to clean up after. There’s a reason it’s called the heart of a home because we’re always using it.
Look around your kitchen right this second, and you’ll find old dishes, leftovers, chopped veggies, dust, and so much more that you can’t even see. Hence, these kitchen cleaning tips are sure to help you out.
Making your kitchen sparkle can sometimes seem like an impossible task. Which is the reason we’re always on the lookout for quick cleaning tips and tricks to keep our kitchen in tip-top shape with minimal effort.
Cleaning supplies and equipment are equally expensive. But with some of these secret (some, not so much) kitchen cleaning tips, you are one step closer to a cleaner kitchen.
Wash the Floors
There’s no great mystery in cleaning your floor and grout lines if you have tiles as your kitchen flooring. As unpleasant as it sounds, it can drastically change the whole look of your kitchen.
Cleaning Tip: Clear out the furniture before you begin. Take an old butter knife and scrape anything that’s stuck to the floor. Thoroughly sweep or vacuum the kitchen floors or hire professional cleaning services to do it for you.
Post sweeping, you can then mop the floors with water mixed with an all-purpose cleaner.
Refresh the Sink
A sink is like the repository of every dirty item in your kitchen. The real secret to a clean kitchen is not to leave unwanted items in your sink.
One way to keep your sink clean is to wash your dirty dishes after every use. While this may not sound appealing, it’s better than the alternative of having dirty dishes rot away for days in the sink.
On the other hand, if you have debris, you can spray an all-purpose cleaner directly on the sink and then spread baking soda for a few minutes. Use hot water to clean out the trash and leftover baking soda, granules down the sink, and buff it with a dry cloth.
Cleaning Tip: One can use any detergent to clean the sink with a less abrasive product to scrub away the build. It’s that easy.
Wipe the Cabinets
All you need to deep clean your cabinets and drawers is soap + water mix and some terry cloth. Empty the cabinets and drawers that you want to clean. Next, spray all-purpose cleaner on the shelves and cabinet doors. Give everything a good wipe down, even the hinges and handles.
If you use shelf liners, wipe them, and then replace them on the shelves. Post cleaning, rearrange all the items back on the shelves. Remember to put more popular items on the lower shelves and the lesser-used items up top.
Cleaning Tip: Vacuum the cabinets using a hand-held vacuum or use a brush to wipe off all the dust particles.
Clean the Refrigerator
A kitchen has many efficient appliances, and most of them will come in contact with food regularly. To be sure you’re not contaminating your food, it’s best to clean and disinfect your kitchen appliances. Perhaps the most important (and used) appliance in your kitchen is the refrigerator.
First things first; remove all the food and drinks and place them on the countertops. You should also note that the type of countertop material you have in your kitchen will also affect your cleaning process. Start by sorting through expired or moldy food items (if any) and fresh ones. Remove all the shelves and drawers as they need the most cleaning.
If you have metal or plastic shelves, you can clean them using two hot water parts and 1 part dish soap right away. As you’re cleaning, use a clean cloth to wipe down your refrigerator’s inner and outer surface with the same water and soap solution.
Cleaning Tip: You can use wet rags to clean tough spots and stains. Spray the cleaning solution on it and gently rub with a damp rag to eliminate any stains.
Clean the Oven
It’s essential to clean your microwave or oven after every use. The food particles from your previous cooking can stick to the oven’s cavity, which can later result in foul odor or long-term stains.
One easy way to clean the cavity is to mix water and half a lemon in a microwave-safe bowl. You should then place it in the microwave for five minutes and give your oven much-needed rejuvenation.
The lemon and the water will then create steam in the contained chamber. The steam coming from this nifty concoction will break down the dirt and particles present in the cavity.
Cleaning Tip: Use a dampened microfiber cloth to wipe away the dirt from the sides and the bottom.
Scrub the Greasy Range Hood Filters
If there’s something that makes your kitchen look crusty, rusty, and straight-up unhygienic is that hidden area just above the cooktop. The range hood absorbs all the smoke and grease from your cooking.
Keep the grease at bay by checking your exhaust regularly to manage the build-up. Get a degreaser or enzyme cleaner to take care of those grates.
Fill in a bucket of boiling water and add a few scoops of your cleaner. Dunk the filters and leave it in for about 20-30minutes, depending on how dirty your filters are. When the timer goes off, take the filters out, scrub it with a bristle brush, and rinse them. Once dried, replace them.
Cleaning Tip: Avoid using the dishwasher to clean fan filters. The odor of the filters will stick to your dishwasher lining and get caught in the drain.
