The kitchen is the heart of the home, the room where the family gathers. Generally, you don’t need special equipment or chemical cleaners to keep your kitchen looking good if you stick to a routine and deal with mishaps as soon as they occur.
Surface Care
Benchtops and other well-used surfaces in your kitchen require daily attention to keep them clean, mould and bacteria-free.
- Wash off plastic or granite surfaces with a sponge and soap solution, or with one part vinegar and one part water. Wine dry immediately to avoid streaks.
- Wipe down large surfaces with a cloth in each hand: one for cleaning, the other for drying.
- To eliminate unwanted germs from work surfaces, scrub unsealed wood surfaces regularly with salt or a mixture of 4 tablespoons of bicarbonate of soda and 2 tablespoons of lemon juice.
- To make wood surfaces dirt resistant, rub them with a little olive oil or linseed oil after cleaning and removing water stains.
- When cleaning cabinets, inside or out, add a little vinegar to the soapy water to cut through grease.
Sinks
- Use a soap bar to make stainless-steel sinks spotless. You can also remove stains by rubbing them with potato peeling, lemon juice or bicarbonate of soda.
- Use a couple of dashes of lemon juice on a dishwashing sponge to rub down a discoloured sink.
- Rub out heat marks in the sink by sprinkling on a little bicarbonate of soda and then rinsing off.
- Treat spots from material deposits with a mixture of vinegar and salt. Place a paper towel over the spot, sprinkle with the solution and leave it to set. Remove the paper towel and rinse.
Cooktop
- Wipe up splashes and spills on your cooktop immediately – it will save you a lot of extra work.
- If food gets burnt onto an electric heating element, dampen a cloth with soapy water, place on the cold element for 2 hours and then wipe it clean. Deal with spills in the grooves of the heating element by slightly heating the element and sprinkling it with a little bicarbonate of soda and then rubbing it in with a sponge. Wipe it off with a damp sponge or cloth.
- Ceramic glass cooktops are especially easy to clean: simply wipe them with a damp sponge. If food is burnt on, sprinkle a little lemon juice on it, let it sit for a few minutes, wipe and, if necessary, remove any residue with a glass scraper. To maintain an attractive shine, polish the cooktop with a little vinegar. And to avoid scratches, lift rather than slide pots and pans from one burner to the next.
- Lightly rub dried-on deposits on a gas cooker’s non-removable parts with a moistened dishwasher tablet and then wipe dry. Wear protective gloves.
Oven & Grill
- While the oven is still hot, put a heatproof container of hot water inside; the moisture will make it easier to wipe clean.
- Place foil or a baking tray underneath a baking or roasting pan – it will save you some elbow grease if the pan’s contents boil over.
- If your oven isn’t self-cleaning, while still warm, remove burnt-on foods with salt and wipe the surface dry with a piece of newspaper or paper towel. Use a damp cloth to soften any particles that remain so that they can be scrubbed away easily.
- Loosen baked-on deposits by filling a glass bowl with half a cup of full-strength ammonia, putting it into a cold oven and leaving it overnight.
- Rinse cake tins with dishwashing liquid and water. Use salt and vegetable oil for tough stains.
- Scrub burnt-on sugar with newspaper and salt, and then wash with soap and water.
- Place food on foil before cooking it to help to keep grill pans clean. Put the foil matt side up to avoid ‘sparking’.
(See: Fantastic Oven Cleaners, Paul's Oven Cleaning)
Refrigerator & Freezer
- Look after rubber seals by rubbing them with talcum powder so that they don’t become brittle.
- Clean the inside of your refrigerator regularly with vinegar and water, or wipe it down with a solution of bicarbonate of soda and water.
- If you don’t have a frost-free freezer, mini-icebergs may form. If this happens, it’s time to defrost. Empty the refrigerator’s contents into a cool box or wrap them in old blankets. Then place a pot of boiling water inside the refrigerator and close the door until the ice melts. Wipe with dishwashing liquid, vinegar and water.
- To prevent rapid ice build-up, wipe down the inner freezer walls after you defrost with cooking oil or glycerin. When you defrost next time, the ice will come away from the walls easily.
Keep your kitchen sparkling with the right cleaning techniques. If you need professional help in cleaning your kitchen or any area in your home, call in the cleaning experts.