Ever noticed how quickly your kitchen becomes messy, even when you’ve just cleaned it?
As one of the busiest rooms in the house, and the place where you prepare food, it’s important to clean your kitchen regularly to help keep your family healthy. Unfortunately, cleaning the kitchen every day can be exhausting and time-consuming, especially when you have a million other things to do.
Lucky for you, these cleaning tips will help you degrease, deodorize, and sanitize your kitchen in no time at all.
Without further ado, let’s get started.
1. Microwave Cleaning Tips
There are many products you can use to clean a microwave. Just some examples are vinegar, lemon, baking soda, or washing up liquid. For this simple procedure, lemon is the star ingredient.
What makes lemon a great cleaning agent is its antifungal and antibacterial properties. Here is how you can eliminate bad smells in your microwave using lemon.
- Fill a bowl with water.
- Slice the lemon and squeeze the juice in water.
- Microwave on high for at least three minutes.
- Using your oven gloves, remove your bowl.
2. Tips for Cleaning Stainless Steel Appliances
Of all the kitchen cleaning tips and tricks, this one is the easiest. Here are all the simple steps you need to follow.
- Observe the direction of the grain. It will either be running vertically or horizontally; rub the steel in that direction.
- Spray your appliance with vinegar and wipe the surface with a soft cloth or paper towel. This will eliminate debris from your appliance and restore some of its glow.
- Dip a soft cloth in oil and use it to rub the steel. This will help get rid of all marks and restore its shine.
That’s all the tips for cleaning stainless steel you need!
3. How to Clean the Garbage Disposal
You can’t deny that, when it comes to convenience, garbage disposal units make our lives a lot easier. Yet, frequent use of this appliance can sometimes lead to unpleasant odors. If you’ve noticed a nasty stench wafting from your disposal, don’t worry – it’s not permanent.
It’s likely you already have everything you need to get rid of this unpleasant smell in 10 minutes.
Between dirty kitchen appliances, cooking disasters, and everyday spills, your kitchen goes through a lot in a week.
All you need is dish soap and a scrub brush. Start by dabbing at least one tablespoon of soap onto your dish wand or scrub brush. Scrub the visible parts of your garbage disposal and pay attention to the area where the flange meets the basin, as small particles tend to hide there.
Lastly, fill your garbage can with water, and add a natural cleanser or vinegar. As you drain the water, hidden dirt will be washed away.
If you’ve got an extra lemon, drop some of the peel into your bin to keep it smelling fresh.
4. Use Baking Soda and Hydrogen Peroxide to Rejuvenate Old Baking Sheets
Cleaning the gunk on baking sheets that have been in the family for years can take forever. Instead of scrubbing away with soap for hours, try using baking soda to get rid of stubborn grease.
Baking soda helps remove stains, and its non-abrasive so anyone can use it. Mix baking soda with hydrogen peroxide for even better results as both work effectively as stain removers and disinfectants.
You can also use this winning combination to clean other utensils. For best results, make a paste of the two ingredients first. Apply this paste to the surface and leave it for a few hours.
After this, you’ll find that gunk will come out easily, even without hard scrubbing. If you still find stains after this, repeat the process until your sheets are squeaky clean.
5. Oven Cleaning Tips
We all know how difficult, messy, and time-consuming oven cleaning is. Whether you’ve been putting it off for a while, or you’re a victim of a recipe gone wrong, these tips will sort you out.
Here are all the steps you need:
- Empty the oven by removing the racks, thermometer, pizza stone, and anything else that’s inside.
- Make a baking soda paste and adjust the ratios until you have a spreadable mixture.
- Coat the inside of your oven with the paste, avoiding the heating elements. If your oven is very grimy, consider using rubber gloves to spread the paste. The baking soda will start turning brownish, and some places may be chunkier than others, which is fine.
- Allow the baking soda paste to rest for at least 12 hours as you clean the racks.
- Use a damp dishcloth to wipe off as much dried baking soda paste as you can. A silicone spatula can help with scrubbing the hard-to-reach surfaces.
- If there are still surfaces that have baking soda on, spray a little vinegar using your spray bottle. The vinegar will react with the baking soda and become foam. Keep adding vinegar or water until you achieve a shiny look.
- Replace your oven racks and everything else, and you’re done. Easy, right?
6. Grill Cleaning Tips
It’s always advisable to keep your grill clean and ready for summer. As much as it may be tempting to ignore the layers of dust building up on it, storing your grill clean is definitely a good idea.
Here are tips for cleaning that will make the process simple for you:
- Start by heating your BBQ grill at a very high temperature to burn off any leftover remnants.
- Allow your grill to cool slightly, and place water-soaked newspaper on it.
- Use a grill brush to remove the remaining stains. You can also crush some aluminum foil into a ball and scrub with it. Avoid householder cleaners as some may be abrasive and toxic.
- As soon as your BBQ cools, tip the ash into a bucket – once it collects moisture, it will be harder to clean.
- Using damp kitchen roll, pick off the remaining bits and use warm water to clean the grill.
- When using the grill in the future, make sure to use plenty of sunflower oil to avoid more grime next time.
7. Dishwasher Cleaning Tips
Be honest. When was the last time you made time to clean your dishwasher? And we’re not talking about running a wash cycle with an empty chamber; we are talking about cleaning crates, cartridges, and filters.
We’re guessing it’s been a while since you gave it a thorough clean. No judgment, though. We’ve all been there.
When your dishwasher isn’t clean, tiny bits of grease and food can cling together and form deposits of dirt, which may give your dishwasher a bad smell and make it less effective.
To avoid this, use the following dishwasher cleaning routine.
Daily
Form a habit of cleaning out any food that falls into the machine during a wash. After every cycle, pull out the rack and look for any leftovers that may have been missed and clean them out using paper towels. This will prevent build-up, making your dishwasher simpler to clean in the future.
Weekly
Using a damp sponge, wipe away any residue that may have settled on the handle, edges, or dishwasher controls.
You’ll also need to clean the filter. If this isn’t clean, your dishes won’t be clean. Since you don’t want pesky spots on your utensils, unlock and remove the filter (below the spray arm) and rinse it with hot water.
Using a soft toothbrush, scrub the plastic frames and mesh screen to eliminate any particles or grease in the cracks. Place everything back once it’s clean.
If you have trouble locating your dishwasher’s filter, use your manual or check your manufacturer’s website for information.
Monthly
Now it’s time to give your dishwasher a deep clean. Whether you go for a DIY method and use vinegar or use a dishwasher cleaning tablet, its crucial to remove any trapped minerals and dirt.
One DIY tip you can use is to place two cups of distilled vinegar on the top rack and run a complete cycle without water or detergents.
If you decide to use cleaning tablets, go for Affresh or Cascade because these have surfactants that cause grease and food bits to dissolve. Make sure you read the instructions well since some tablets can’t run the same cycles as other detergents.
8. How to Clean a Range Hood Filter
This is, by far, one of the least researched kitchen cleaning tips. If, like many people, you’ve never cleaned, or even checked underneath your stove hood, pay close attention to these top tips.
Since the purpose of the filter is to collect grease, it can get very messy.
Going for a prolonged period without cleaning the filter may lead to blockages, which may make it ineffective.
Fortunately, cleaning it is a no brainer. Check out the steps below:
- Remove the filters from the hood. For most filters, this should be easy. It will either pop out or slide under the hood.
- Fill a bucket with boiling water (the hotter the water, the better the results). You can boil water using the electric tea kettle.
- Pour a ¼ cup baking soda and add a squirt of degreasing dish soap. Use a toothbrush to stir until the water becomes soapy.
- Put the exhaust fan filters in the water, and ensure they’re fully covered.
- Allow the greasy filters to soak for at least 10 minutes
- Add more soap to a non-abrasive scrub brush and scrub the filters.
- Rinse the filters and dry them using a clean cloth or paper towel.
- Return the filters and make a habit of cleaning it monthly for maintenance purposes.
Related reading: Under Cabinet Range Hoods Buying Guide
9. How to Clean a Kitchen Sink
Usually, the only time we clean our sinks is when we spill something. Even then, we often only wipe the surface and leave it at that.
Shockingly, the kitchen sink can be one of the filthiest parts of your kitchen, trapping particles of leftover food and collecting all the bacteria that come with piling dirty dishes (which we are all guilty of).
Here is a simple method to clean your kitchen sink:
- Once you finish doing your dishes, empty your sink.
- Sprinkle baking soda to break up food particles. This method is preferable because baking soda is only mildly abrasive and won’t harm your sink.
- Put on your gloves and squirt soap on your sponge
- Start scrubbing the sink as you allow the hot water to run
- Scrub your sink from top to bottom to remove dirt and stains. After you’re done with the sink, scrub around the drain.
10. How to Clean Kitchen Cabinets
Greasy kitchen cabinets are the hardest place to clean in every household. As hard as it is, sometimes it just needs to be done. Luckily, the following methods can make it easier:
- Goo gone. Ensure you wear gloves when handling this product. Apply Goo Gone cleaner on grease spots and allow it to rest for two minutes. Heat a damp cloth in the microwave for 35 seconds, and wipe the greasy areas. Lastly, clean the area with soap and water and then dry completely.
- All-purpose orange cleaner. Spray the cleaner on the cabinets and let it sit for 10 minutes before cleaning with a damp cloth.
- Get a wood cleaner with carnauba wax. This product is usually found in high-quality polishers and wood cleaners.
- Hot water and dish soap. Dish soap effectively cuts through grease, especially when mixed with hot water. Apply soap to a nylon pad and scrub the cabinets using the hottest water you can stand. Keep the water warm and use minimal pressure to avoid scratching your cabinets. Rinse the cabinets with warm water and dry.
Final Call
There is no doubt that the kitchen is one of the most vital rooms in every household. Its where food is prepared and stored, and for families with busy schedules, it serves as a living space as well.
Therefore, it’s crucial to ensure that all surfaces are well cleaned and disinfected. By doing this, you reduce your chances of contracting food poisoning and keep your home free from unpleasant smells.
We hope our ten house cleaning tips gave you a few insights. Let us know if there are tips that we left out in the comment section, and don’t forget to share these tips with your friends.
