It’s in the kitchen where delectable foods are shared and remarkable stories are told. Needless to say, it’s one of the most used and important areas in your home.
Unfortunately, it’s not just the regular gathering of family members and friends at the table or counter why the kitchen tends to get dirtier faster than, say, the living or dining rooms. It’s the same place where you prepare and cook food. All the washing, peeling, slicing, chopping, mixing, basting, boiling, frying and baking that you need to do can easily make the kitchen a top hotspot for all kinds of stains, odors and microbes, too!
Especially if your day-to-day life is extremely busy and exhausting, you may not have plenty of time to deep clean the kitchen. Often, you only have just enough time and energy left for wiping surfaces and washing the dishes.
When you gawk at the sink and floor then peek inside the oven, refrigerator and cabinets, often you may realize that the kitchen could use a professional cleaning. The good news is that giving the most used area of your home a professional cleaning doesn’t necessarily have to involve calling up the pros.
Other than arming yourself with the right cleaning tools and products, having the right strategy is also important. You’re in luck because below you will come across a professional’s guide to kitchen cleaning!
Not a lot of people are fond of cleaning their home let alone the kitchen as there are so many appliances, surfaces, and corners that require attention. Here’s a secret to making the task seem like a piece of cake: clean one area of the kitchen at a time only. Make sure to work in a circle, this will make sure that no area is missed. With that in mind, follow the tips below and you’re golden and your kitchen will be gleaming.
Declutter
One of the most important things that you need to carry out prior to cleaning the kitchen like a pro is to get rid of any clutter. Not only will this make cleaning a breeze, but also make organizing later on a delight.
With a trash can in one hand, go from one area of the kitchen to the next, tossing in the trash can anything and everything that should not be in your kitchen. Failure to remove clutter can make giving your kitchen a professional cleaning without hiring the pros a daunting experience.
Free the Fridge
First thing is to open the door, have a trash bag and a large crate available. All expired foods should be tossed in the garbage bag, while the rest should be placed in the crate.
Remove the shelves and drawers and soak them in a mixture of warm water and dishwashing liquid. Wipe the shelves and cabinets clean and dry them off. Then proceed with the next professional kitchen cleaning tip.
Spray Away
Grab your favorite multi-purpose cleaning solution and spray the inside of the oven with enough to soak any suck on debris. Do the same on the stovetop and range hood. The goal is to give the multi-purpose cleaning spray’s ingredients plenty of time to loosen stains and debris, thus making them easier to scrub off later on.
Meanwhile, fill a mug with water and pour a couple of tablespoons of white vinegar in it. Microwave on high for about five minutes the steam produced from the mug will loosen up goo and caked on stuff in the microwave.
Get Rid of Germs
There are millions of things in your kitchen where germs live! This is why disinfecting the kitchen is one of the most important steps that you need to take for a clean as well as a healthy kitchen.
Disinfect the sink with a quarter cup of bleach and a sinkful of water. Use the same solution for zapping germs on chopping boards, wooden and plastic ones alike. Just remember to rinse them very well with water later on. Diluted bleach is also great for disinfecting the floor, but this is best done last.
Counters Count
It’s not just the sink and chopping boards that need to be disinfected, but kitchen countertops, too! If your countertop is granite, it’s a no-no to clean it with bleach even if it’s diluted.
The safest way to disinfect countertops is with a solution out of equal parts of isopropyl alcohol and water. Most of the time, using warm soapy water is enough. Especially if your countertop is out well-sealed granite, it’s less likely for bacteria to multiply on it and endanger your health as well as the health of your family and friends.
Open the Oven
The previous tip said to spray the oven with multi-purpose cleaning spray. After a while the stuck on debris will be loose enough to wipe the oven clean. Make sure to arm yourself with a sponge and start scrubbing away. If there’s still stuck on debris in the oven use a pumice stone to completely remove any hard to remove goo. Make sure to wet the pumice stone to prevent scratches on the oven surfaces.
Not happy with the oven window? Apply ammonia and let it sit for at least an hour. Afterward, scrape off the gunk with a paint scraper or pumice stone. Once you are happy with the oven’s appearance and smell, it’s time to focus on the stovetop, range hood, and microwave. Here’s a tip: clean your stove on a regular basis to eliminate the need for deep cleaning.
Organize
Just because you cannot see what’s inside kitchen drawers and cabinets (unless they have glass doors) doesn’t mean that they should not be cleaned and organized. If you want your kitchen to look like it was cleaned by professional cleaners at Clean Corp, make sure that you spend some of your time and energy on the drawers and cabinets.
Always keep in mind that the stuff that you use all the time should be placed in drawers and cabinets that are easy to access. If you don’t use it always, place it at the back or on the top shelf.
Ignore Not the Floor
Lastly, you should disinfect the floor to make your kitchen sparkle and is free of microbes, too. Remember the homemade disinfecting solution for the sink that we suggested above? You can mop the floor with it.
But before that, rinse the refrigerator shelves and drawers and place them back inside the refrigerator. Neatly place the foods back into it, too. Here’s a simple tip to keep your refrigerator from smelling. Place an opened box of baking soda or a couple of charcoal bricks.