The Spot On Your Kitchen Appliances You're Probably Not Cleaning Enough

When it comes to keeping your place spotless, we know you're probably on the lookout for the time-saving tips and tricks for cleaning your home faster. After all, who wants to add some more tasks to the chore list? But in the race to get all your items fresh and clean, it's possible you're neglecting one tiny spot that can hold tons of germs.

That overlooked area is on your kitchen appliances, which are some of the dirtiest surfaces in your home. Next time you're giving the appliances a good scrub, don't forget about the switches, buttons, knobs, and any other controls. They may be small, but they're major hubs of contamination. Multiple fingers can flip or switch them daily — and since those fingers may have just come into contact with food all around the kitchen, there's even more of a chance for some contamination. Luckily, it can be easy and quick to do a regular clean of these little spots, minimizing your risk for spreading unwanted germs throughout your kitchen (and the rest of your home!).

Didn't realize just how dirty those little switches can be? You're not alone. In one study published by NSF, participants thought that areas like toilet handles and money would be the grubbiest items in the house, but stove knobs actually tested higher for contaminants like mold and staph. That's in part because knobs, switches, and handles are such high-touch areas. It's also because the kitchen is unfortunately a great environment for germs — it often provides the moisture and humidity that pathogens love.

Thankfully, you don't have to live with the grime. There are tons of easy methods for cleaning oven knobs and other switches. You can use an all-purpose vinegar cleaning solution by mixing equal parts distilled vinegar, water, and dish soap in a spray bottle and wiping the area down with a microfiber cloth. This works great on flat surfaces like microwaves and dishwasher buttons, but you may want to use a toothbrush or cotton swabs dipped in the cleaning solution to get into hard-to-reach crevices around stove knobs, light switches, or refrigerator handles. Make sure to dry the area thoroughly with a different microfiber cloth, so as not to add to the moisture that leads to germ breeding grounds.

That quick clean is a good practice to get into every week. For a periodic deeper clean, you may want to remove the knobs (when possible) and give them a good soak in the vinegar solution. The cleans will help make your kitchen an inhospitable environment for germs — and a safer one for you.