Tips On How To Best Clean Your Kitchen

It's no secret that people consider kitchens the most important parts of their homes. Here's where the most time is spent cooking, eating, socializing, and yes, cleaning up. The best kitchen cleaning tips are effective, time-efficient, and will keep things cleaner for longer. According to Seattle Times, the five dirtiest places in a kitchen are the fridge, small appliances, countertops, sinks, and cooking utensils. Cleveland Clinic adds that kitchen towels and sponges are also hotspots for bacteria growth. We're talking about some nasty stuff here: Remember that last time someone said that they had stomach flu? It probably wasn't a virus but rather something that they ate. The University of Rochester Medical Center explains that when bacteria transfer between surfaces, it can cause food-borne illnesses.

Keeping kitchens sanitary is a priority for this reason, but no one wants to put their hand on a greasy countertop or look at a dirty kitchen floor, either. The Maids posts that it takes longer to clean a kitchen than a bathroom, which makes sense because kitchens are usually larger. Besides that, food prep stations must be sanitary, and cooking is messier than taking a shower. Here are the best ways to clean and sanitize your house's busiest and most-loved room.

Cleaning a refrigerator is more than just wiping it down; you have to scout through the contents and toss whatever has expired first. We recommend removing all of the fridge's contents, checking expiration dates, and (carefully) sniffing questionable items. How often should a fridge be cleaned? According to GQ, they can be spot cleaned as needed. A three- or four-month deep cleaning is recommended, and you can put your food in coolers with ice packs while working. That way, you won't feel rushed.

HomeServe explains the steps for cleaning out a refrigerator once the food is out. Take out removable shelves and drawers and let them come to room temperature (that prevents cracking). Those can be soaked in warm, sudsy water with a drop of ammonia. Use a scrub brush for stubborn gunk, rinse clean, and air dry. Clean the interior with a 1:7 ratio baking soda to water mixture, and use toothpicks and a toothbrush to get into the tight spots.

Do you have dried food splotches from condiments or leftovers? Disinfect the area with 3 parts water to 1 part of vinegar mixed into a spray bottle. Once the inside is cleaned and sanitized, the door gaskets can be cleaned with dish soap and water. You can use an all-purpose cleaner for the exterior, but if it's stainless steel, just use warm water and microfiber cloths.

It's common to cook uncovered food and drinks in microwaves and then find colorful splatters all over the interiors. Rise and Shine Cleaning Service explains that those stains reheat each time the microwave is turned on, so those warmed-up germs can cross-contaminate whatever it is you're cooking. In addition to that, if there are thick stains in a microwave, they can catch fire. Other problems include bad smells and not being able to shut the door. Are you convinced that you need to clean your microwave now?

Slay at Home Mother shares a decent hack that can make it easier to clean cooked-on food stains in microwaves. She pours 2 cups of water into a (microwave-safe) container and adds 2 tablespoons of lemon juice. This gets placed inside the appliance and put on high heat for five minutes. While it's on, she cleans the outside with glass cleaner spritzed onto a microfiber cloth. After you hear the beep, put on a potholder, remove the lemon water, and put it aside. Take out the turntable and wipe it down in your sink. Then, you can wipe down the inside with a cloth or sponge, dipping it into the lemon water as needed.

It's not always easy to see dirt and grease outside cabinets and drawers, especially dark ones. But cleaning the exterior is important since touching cabinets after handling raw meat could spread bacteria, according to Superior Shop Drawings. Besides that, the handles can get gunky — who wants to touch that?

EverydayCheapskate cleans the outsides with a DIY wood cabinet cleaner made from Dawn dishwashing liquid, white vinegar, olive oil, and warm water mixed into a spray bottle. This source also suggests orange oil as a natural, effective cleaner. For stubborn stains, combine 2 parts baking soda and 1 part vegetable oil to make a paste. Keep scrubbing this thick paste into the wood with a clean cloth until the marks are gone.

Not all kitchen cabinets and drawers are made from wood, though. Kitchen Tune-Up recommends dusting laminate ones often (including the corners) with lint-free cloths. For a good cleaning, add a few drops of dishwashing liquid into an empty spray bottle, fill it up with warm water, and clean it with a sponge or microfiber cloth. It's important to wipe the laminate dry because it can crack or warp when too much moisture is absorbed.

Kitchens can have many stainless steel surfaces, from appliances to countertops to trim. They can also get stained and look dull when they aren't taken care of. Consumer Reports calls them magnets for grease and water spots and advises against using abrasives to clean them. Steel wool scouring pads, bleaches, and scouring powders are all no-nos.

Instead, add a bit of mild dish detergent to warm water and clean the stainless steel with a soft cloth. You can make a baking soda paste for tough stains that don't come off. Glass cleaners can be used to spot clean any rogue fingerprints that didn't come off after the first pass.

There's more than one way to clean stainless steel, though. Another option is to spray straight white vinegar onto the surfaces and wipe it in the same direction as the grain. You can also restore the shine with a bit of baby oil on a cloth; it makes stainless steel shine like new. Just make sure that the surfaces are completely clean before doing this.

We recommend doing this towards the end of kitchen cleaning since the other tasks will dirty your countertops. It can be tricky because you have to choose the correct product or DIY cleaners based on your countertop material. Merry Maids explains how to clean the most common kinds, including granite, soapstone, Corian, and laminate. It recommends dish soap and water on a microfiber cloth, but you must keep rinsing it out to get rid of the dirt. Never use vinegar because it can damage the finish, and avoid scouring pads and scrub brushes.

Real quartz countertops can be cleaned in the same way, and you can also use ammonia and glass cleaner to make them shine. But unless you use a disinfectant cleaning product, the countertops won't be sanitized with these methods. The Granite Place discourages using bleach because it can damage the surfaces. Instead, it recommends 70% rubbing alcohol, which evaporates quickly. It can be applied with clean cloths and only needs about 10 minutes to dry. This is also good for sanitizing kitchen handles, light switches, and knobs. Alcohol has a strong smell, but you can turn on a fan or open up some windows.

Sweeping a kitchen floor after dinner every day is a great habit, and anyone who does this has our respect. However, weekly wet cleanings are still needed to keep the surfaces cleaner and more sanitary. As with cabinets and countertops, floor cleaning methods depend on the material. You'll want to sweep and vacuum the floor first, no matter what it's made from.

BuildDirect recommends cleaning vinyl floors with warm water and vinegar, or you can use a store-bought vinyl floor cleaner. Use dish soap to clean tough stains and dry the floor with clean towels. Ceramic floors can be mopped with a mild cleanser and warm water. Laminate floors can also be cleaned with warm water and vinegar and must be thoroughly dried when finished. Use a pH-neutral floor cleaning product if you have marble floors since harsh, acidic cleaners will damage them. Home Depot uses hardwood floor cleaners and spray-and-mop wood floor products on wood floors, pointing out the importance of not leaving any standing water on the surfaces.