Quick and Easy Kitchen Cleaning Tips and Tricks

The kitchen is the most challenging yet the most important part of the house to clean. There are so many small implements and narrow surfaces that they get overlooked during a superficial clean up.

Identifying implements and objects which need to be cleaned thoroughly and cleaning them, step by step, using products that work on those implements is the major task. Your baai may overlook several aspects while cleaning the kitchen, such as cleaning out your stove’s vent hood. Indian kitchens need a bit of thorough cleaning once in a while, to remove stubborn grease and clogged surfaces that arise from our intense cooking methods.

We’ve described tasks that are involved in deep cleaning your kitchen. Clean your fridge and kitchen cupboards once a month. Your kitchen surfaces and stove are better off with daily cleaning. Small implements such as your toaster and coffee maker should be deep cleaned once a week to prevent the accumulation of bacteria.

How to Clean your Kitchen Effectively

Before you start cleaning your kitchen, clear it of all the items that don’t belong there. After this, put away clean utensils and implements and bring the ones to be cleaned to the sink.

Cleaning Large Kitchen Appliances

Here’s how to clean large kitchen appliances such as the sink, microwave, fridge and oven.

Microwave

1. Clean the splatters inside your microwave using warm, soapy water and a sponge.
2. If you find any tough, hard-to-remove stains, mix 1 quart of water with 2 tablespoons of baking soda and rinse out the insides
3. Then run another rinse using clean water and dry with a clean rag.

Sink

1. Here’s how to clean the kitchen sink. Start rich soapy suds and wash all your dishes first.
2. Keep the sink clean of all utensils and implements.
3. Scrub the basin and fixtures clean with a rough scrub.
4. Then wash the sink and taps with warm soapy water and a sponge, to prevent mould growth or water stains.
5. Wipe the sink down with a dry sponge.
6. Use a toothbrush dipped in soapy, warm water to clean hard to reach crannies of the faucets.
7. Buff with a dry cloth to remove any water spots. If you notice any mineral deposits, wipe those areas down with a rag wetted with one part water with one part white vinegar.
8. Let it dry

Refrigerator

Cleaning the freezer

1. Unplug the refrigerator
2. Remove the frozen items and throw away stuff that’s spoiled
3. To one cup of water, add 1 teaspoon of dish soap and 1 teaspoon of white vinegar and shake well.
4. Pour the solution into a spray bottle and spray the whole freezer with the mixture. If you don’t have a spray bottle, best to dip a rag fully in the solution and wipe down all the surfaces.

Cleaning the fridge

1. Take out the fridge’s entire contents and throw away spoiled or expired items.
2. Add two tablespoons of baking soda to one quart of water.
3. Dip a sponge in the mixture and wipe down the fridge, outsides and insides, scrubbing out sticky stains
4. Take out removable drawers if any and wipe them down
5. Wipe the shelves down, scrubbing stuck debris and stains
6. Wipe the baking soda and water solution away using a damp cloth.
7. Dry each surface using a dry kitchen towel

Oven

1. Turn the oven off
2. Take out the grates and soak them in a bucket of soapy, warm water for as several hours. This will loosen anything that might be stuck on the grates so it can be scrubbed off.
3. If your oven smokes during baking, to ¼ cup of water, add ¼ cup salt and ¾ cup baking soda. Cover clog openings or metal with foil so that the mixture does not damage them.
4. Spread the cleaning mix in the inside of your oven and let it soak overnight. The next morning, remove the mixture using a plastic spatula. Clean the oven with a dry rag and put the racks back when they’re dry.

If your oven is electric, take out the racks and set the oven on cleaning mode. When the cleaning mode cycle is over, remove any residue left by the cleaning cycle.

Cleaning Kitchen Surfaces

Cabinets

1. If you’re wondering what to clean kitchen cabinets with, the answer is easy. Use products from your kitchen such as dish soap and gentle detergents. If you have easy to clean kitchen cabinets, the job will be a breeze.
2. Take all the stuff out of your cabinets. Get rid of spoiled or expired items before cleaning kitchen cabinets
3. Dip a cloth in soapy water and wipe the cabinets to get rid of crumbs and dust.
4. If the cabinets are coated with grime and grease, scrub the surface gently with a gentle scrub soaked in warm soapy water.
5. Dry your cabinets thoroughly to avoid any colour running.

Here’s how to clean wood kitchen cabinets; clean them with a wood-cleaning product recommended by your cabinet maker.

Stove Top

1. If your stove has gas burners, take them out and poke the holes with something sharp to dislodge food particles and debris if any.
2. Then wash them with soap and warm water.
3. If you have an electric stove, wipe off the debris with a moist sponge. Do not use a very wet sponge
4. If your stove grate is removable, then scour the grate using a scouring pad. If the grate is coating with a non-stick coating, use a soft sponge to clean it
5. To clean the stove surface, clean it with soap and sponge. Wiping the stove surface with antibacterial wipes will help remove stains. Use a gentle scouring pad to remove greases if any.
6. Wash the stove control knobs in warm water and mild dish soap. Don’t use strong soaps or anything that contains abrasives or ammonia, as they will eliminate the marks on the knobs.
7. Use a soapy cloth to wipe the outside of the vent hood and then dry with a dry cloth. Remove the vent filters once in a month and give them a soak in warm soapy water. Let them dry well before you put them back.
8. Cleaning kitchen chimney grease can be tough, so put your gloves on and use abrasive scrubbers and go at it till it’s all out.

Read more on using simple home remedies to clean gas stove and cooktops

Counters

1. Clean your counters with a soapy dishrag and follow up with a drying cloth
2. Alternatively, spray your counters with an anti-bacterial spray and wipe them down.
3. You can also use disposable antibacterial wipes and specific degreasing products on your counters.

Kitchen Exhaust

1. Turn the kitchen exhaust off and use a dust cloth to remove dust and cobwebs from the blades.
2. Wipe down gently with a damp dishcloth, being careful not to touch any of the wirings
3. Your kitchen exhaust fan cleaning is done at this point – just run it for a while to ensure it’s dry.

Cleaning Small Kitchen Appliances

Always consult the manuals that come with your small appliances to know how to clean them, such as your fridge’s user guide. There’s a section on how to clean the fridge in every fridge manual. Apart from the electric parts, you can wipe down the rest of the parts of the small appliances with warm soapy water.

Coffee Maker

1. Dismantle the coffee maker and put the parts down separately.
2. Clean the coffee maker vessel, lid and filter basket with warm, soapy water.
3. If you find debris collected in any corners, clean thoroughly with a cloth dipped in white vinegar.
4. Decalcify your coffee maker once a month if you live in a hard water area, and once in two-three months if you live in a soft water area. For decalcifying:
5. Fill the coffee maker’s water chamber with a mix of white vinegar and water in the ratio of 1:1.
6. Put in a paper filter and allow the machine to brew until half the chamber is empty.
7. Then turn the coffee maker off for about 30 minutes, and then finish brewing.
8. Use a new paper filter and rinse the machine
9. Brew a pot of clear water next; do this twice.
10. Use warm, sudsy water to fill the carafe along with some rice as an abrasive.
11. Swirl the mixture, and then remove any gunk using a scrubber.
12. Rinse the coffee pot and dry.

Toaster

1. Unplug the toaster
2. Take out the crumb tray and shake it out
3. Clean the crumb tray using soapy, warm water. Remove any debris or stains stuck to the inside of the tray.
4. Use a clean toothbrush to wipe the crumbs away from the interior.
5. Upturn your toaster and shake it to remove any leftover debris
6. Dampen the toothbrush with some vinegar and brush the insides of the toaster with it. Do not use water. Rub the wire bars with the vinegar-dipped toothbrush and get rid of leftover debris
7. Wipe down the sides of the toaster with a wet damp cloth
8. If there are tough stains on the surface, use baking soda or bicarbonate of soda and scrub gently with a cloth.

Blender

1. Cleaning the blender pot:
2. Fill the blender about halfway with hot water and add a drop of dish soap to it
3. Now turn on the blender, holding the lid down with a towel to absorb leaked water; run for about 10 seconds.
4. Pour out the dirty water
5. Fill the blender again with hot water and rinse it thoroughly
6. Cleaning the blender base:
7. Sometimes you’ll find debris stuck into your blender’s base. To clean them:
8. Dip a toothbrush in white vinegar and scrub the inside of the base. Don’t use water.
9. Turn the base upside down to remove the debris and wipe off with a soft cloth

How to Finish It Up

Collect all the items that you have left soaking in warm water and either wash them by hand or load them in the dishwasher. Drain the items and dry with a kitchen towel. Clean the sink basin using baking soda and rinse with hot water. Use a microfiber cloth to wipe down the faucet and handles.

Once all your implements, surfaces and equipment are clean, take a cloth and clean the light fixtures, the corners and cabinet tops and the top of the refrigerator. Knock all the dirt on the floor. Get the dirt from under the cabinets, and under the baseboards. Dry mop the entire kitchen. If your kitchen has tiles and you’re wondering how to clean kitchen tiles, just wet mop once with a regular antibacterial cleaner and then dry mop the floor.

Here’s a tip to clean kitchen grease; apply a paste of 1 cup warm water with 1 cup baking soda to the grease stains and let dry. Use a soft cloth to remove the cleaning paste.

What Materials You Will Need

For cleaning your kitchen, you will need several items. Most of these items will be present in your kitchen – stock up for cleaning. One recommendation – make a daily kitchen cleaning checklist along with a house cleaning checklist where you’ll just be doing daily maintenance cleaning and stick the list somewhere you’re bound to see it.

1. A large trash container to hold all the debris and expired products from the refrigerator.
2. A basket into which you can dump things that belong to other rooms in your house
3. Dish soap, preferably antibacterial
4. Specific cleaners you use for steel vent hoods or non-stick surfaces. Collect all your cleaners and put them in one place for easy access. You’ll need different cleaners, especially if you’re going to do kitchen duct cleaning and so on.
5. A set of dishrags, sponges, and kitchen towels for drying
6. A couple of scrubbers to remove debris and stains from your kitchen implements
7. A dry mop, a wet mop, vacuum cleaner and dustpan
8. White vinegar for cleaning your toaster and electric implements
9. Baking soda to clean your fridge and other equipment

Also read: Top 9 Ways to Use Vinegar for Cleaning Purpose.