Keeping your kitchen clean all the time can seem like an impossible uphill task. With the kitchen being the most used room in most households, it seems impossible to keep all the dishes, cabinets, countertops and floors clean.
While the countertops and dishes require everyday cleaning, every once in a while, you will need to thoroughly clean your greasy large and small appliances, dusty doors, and stained floors.
I have compiled a few helpful tricks that you can apply to help make these chores easier and faster so that you won’t spend an entire day doing them. You’ll be surprised how simple some of those jobs can be when equipped with the tricks and tips.
1) Granite countertops
When properly maintained, these beautiful countertops can last eons. You can use a homemade cleaner for this. Simply mix 1/4 cup of rubbing alcohol, 3 drops dish soap and a few drops of water in a 16 oz bottle.
Spray the mixture onto the counter and buff with a dry microfiber cloth to give your granite countertops a clean shiny look!
2) Wooden Cabinets
Kitchen cabinets tend to form greasy and oily buildup which can take up a lot of time cleaning. Using a combination of hydrogen peroxide and baking soda is a sure way to cut through the grease and oil and give your gunk-covered cabinets a fresh clean look.
Or use oil to combat oily buildup
Just mix 1 part coconut oil with 2 parts baking soda in a small bowl and apply the mixture to your cabinets with a cloth or sponge, or using your hands. An old toothbrush is great for the grooves that are harder to reach with your fingers. All the gunk comes off easily, leaving your cabinets looking good as new.
3) Floors
Similar to your cabinets, your kitchen floors are susceptible to oil and grease. Mopping them using your good old mop may not adequately remove the stains. Try mixing vinegar, dish soap and washing soda with warm water in a bucket and then mop as usual. Your floors will be left squeaky clean and grease free.
5) Oven
Cleaning your oven can be quite involving and time-consuming. Using ammonia helps to loosen and dissolve those tough baked-on messes inside your oven to enable you to wipe your oven clean in just a matter of minutes, instead of scrubbing it for an hour or so. An ammonia-based cleaner will certainly not do all the work for you but will without a doubt simplify it, greatly.
Start by preheating your oven to 150 degrees F while boiling a pot of water on your stovetop. Turn off the oven once it gets to a 150 F. Pour 1 cup of ammonia into a baking dish and place it on the top rack of your oven.
Finally, place the pot of boiling water on the bottom rack of your oven, and close the oven door. Wait a few hours (preferably overnight) for the ammonia and hot water to do their thing.
Empty your oven of the water and ammonia after the wait is over. Remove the oven racks too, and leave the oven door open for 10-15 minutes so it airs.
Mix 1-2 teaspoons of dish soap with the ammonia, and some warm water and wipe away the now soft grease from the sides and bottom of the oven. At this point, this is now a hassle-free task for you.
Extra tip: If you own a gas oven, make sure you turn the gas off and the pilot light is out before you start cleaning.
Never ever mix ammonia with other strong cleaning agents, such as bleach or commercial oven cleaners.
Or
Mix together 1 lemon zest, 1 tablespoon vinegar, 1/4 cup liquid dish soap, 1/2 cup baking soda, and 1/4 cup hydrogen peroxide. Then use a sponge to scrub
Then remove the racks and smear the cleaner all over the inside of the oven, including the oven door, using a paper towel or sponge. It should start working right away, just don’t scrub. Once you’ve coated the entire oven, shut the door and wait 4 hours at least for the mixture to do its thing.
Open the oven and use a damp scrub sponge and some warm soapy water to remove the cleaner and scrub out any leftover grime.
Set your oven to self-clean, and close the door.
Let the oven cool for at least an hour. Then open the door and use a damp paper towel or sponge to wipe away any remaining cleaner and residue left over from the self-cleaning and voila! Your oven looks as clean as the day you first bought it!
NB: the baking soda is for scrubbing without scratching, the hydrogen peroxide and dish soap is for tackling the gunk and the lemon zest and vinegar give a fresh scent.
6) Grimy oven racks
First, remove the racks and place them in the tub, spray the racks with a spray bottle that’s full of vinegar, and then sprinkle a good amount of baking soda all over the racks.
Wait for about 10 minutes and then add some hot water. Then using a scrub pad, remove any stubborn grime, rinse the racks off, and pat them dry.
7) Oven glass
Add some water to a ¾ cup of baking soda and mix until it becomes a paste. Then spread the mixture across the oven glass pane and let it sit for 10-20 minutes. Then use a damp cloth to wipe off the mixture.
9) Cleaning sheet pans
Begin by squirting dish liquid all over the pan, then place dryer sheets on top of the dish liquid, covering the pan. Pour warm water over the dryer sheets and let the pan sit for not less than 3 hours. Then remove the dryer sheets from the pan and pour the liquid into the sink. Use a cloth to scrub off any stubborn spots that are left behind.
10) Glass cooktop
First of all, squirt some dish soap over the countertop, sprinkle some baking soda and hydrogen peroxide and then using a scrubbing brush, scrub and mix the solution together. Once you are done scrubbing, let the solution sit for a few minutes then wipe it off.
11) Baked gunk on the stove top
First, create a mixture of baking soda and hydrogen peroxide. Pour the mixture onto the gunky spots and use a paper towel to scrub the spots away.
12) Stovetop hood vent filters
You need to first fill the sink with hot water, then add ¼ cup of borax. Let the vent filters sit in the water for about 15 minutes, then take them out and dry them. Repeat the process in case any grease is left on the vent filters.
13) Enameled cast iron stove grates
First, take the grates off the stove and place them in the sink. Pour boiling water over the grates to help remove the grease. Then soak the grates in a sink filled with hot water and add dish soap for about 15 minutes. Take them out, rinse them off and dry.
14) Burnt pots
Place a few slices of lemon into the burnt pot. Fill the pot with water and then boil the water. You should start to see the burnt spots float around in the water. Let the water cool and pour it out, and scrub away any spots that remain. Rinse the pot and dry it!
Or
Pour water into the pan and add vinegar. Boil the water with vinegar on the stove before removing the pan and adding baking soda. Pour out the contents of the pan and scrub it to get rid of stubborn spots.
15) Microwave
Put 4 cups of hot water into a glass microwave-safe bowl, and place lemon chunks inside the bowl. Start the microwave and let it run until the water starts to boil and then turn it off. Leave the microwave door closed as the steam inside the microwave dissolves the grime and grease. Clean the microwave tray and use a cloth to wipe the inside of the microwave.
16) Sink
Stainless steel sink
Start by sprinkling baking soda into the sink, and then spray some white vinegar into the sink using a spray bottle. Wait for 10-15 minutes then use a scrubbing pad to scrub the mixture before rinsing it away, for a sparkling clean sink.
Unclog sink
Pour some vinegar down the drain of the sink, and then sprinkle some baking soda down the drain and plug the drain hole. Wait until the fizzing stops before taking out the plug. Leave the sink as is for about 30 minutes and then pour hot boiling water into the drain. This will flush out any remaining clogs.
17) Garbage disposal
Use an old toothbrush to effectively scrub away any food residues and grime from the splash guard flap of the garbage disposal.
18) Dishwasher
Didn’t think your dishwasher needs cleaning as well? Well you and me both. It does, if you want to get rid of any food residues in the dishwasher to enable it to work more effectively and efficiently. Try these 3 simple steps to get a squeaky clean, fresh smelling dishwasher in no time at all.
Empty the dishwasher and pull the bottom rack out to check the drain area for any hard chunks that can plug the drain, damage the pump or scratch dishes. Then place a dishwasher-safe cup filled with plain white vinegar on the top rack of your dishwasher. The vinegar helps to wash away the loose, sticky grease, sanitize the washer and help eliminate the musty odor. Then run the dishwasher through a cycle using the hottest water setting.
Once the vinegar cycle is done, sprinkle some baking soda around the bottom of the dishwasher and run it through a short cycle, again using the hottest water setting. The baking soda will remove any leftover stains while deodorizing your dishwasher.
You can add ½-1 cup bleach in the bottom of the dishwasher and run a full cycle if you are having trouble with mold and mildew.
Use a laundry bag for washing small items in the dishwasher
Prevent small items from falling through the cracks of your dishwasher by placing them in a laundry bag inside your dishwasher.
19) Glassware
Mix some vinegar and water in the sink and place your glassware in this mixture. Let the glassware soak for a while, and then scrub off any water spots that remain using a cloth.
20) Toaster
Use a pastry brush to brush crumbs out of your toaster.
21) Coffeemaker
Fill your coffee maker up halfway with vinegar and run the brewing cycle. After the cycle is done, replace the vinegar with water. Start the brewing cycle once again. Repeat this process a few more times with water to make sure that you get rid of all the vinegar.
22) Blender
Put a cup of water into the blender, add a few drops of dish soap and let the blender run for a few minutes. Pour out the water, rinse the blender, and dry it.
23) Range Hood
The hood over your range/stove is important for trapping cooking grease. It works more effectively if it has a clean filter. Here is how to clean the filter fast and easy.
First, get a large stock pot and fill it with water. Ensure that at least half of your range hood filter can fit into it.
Bring the water to a boil, and gradually add the 1/2 cup of baking soda. After all the baking soda has been poured into the water, place your greasy range hood filter into the boiling water. You can do one half of the filter at a go depending on the size of your pot.
Let the filter boil in the baking soda water for a few minutes. After you’ve done this with both halves, rinse the filter under hot water from your tap. Repeat the process in case of any leftover grease stains. Air-dry your hood filter for a few hours and then dry. Put your squeaky clean filter back in your hood vent.