Urban Blog

 

Most of us really love a clean kitchen, or at least the idea of having one. Doing the work to achieve that sparkling clean kitchen might be a different story however. But in many ways, it is not as tricky or time-consuming as you think.

 

Yes, you guessed it. In this article, we’ll explore some of the best ideas of cleaning your kitchen. We have specifically selected ideas that are easy to implement, are inexpensive, environmentally friendly and can even be fun to do.

 

Cleaning your kitchen shouldn’t be a massive burden and with these tips you’ll be able to get that amazing looking kitchen you want in record time!

 

Tip One- Pay Close Attention to Sponges, Towels and Rugs

There are definitely health hazards lurking in your kitchen; this is not a myth. Three major health hazards come in the form of kitchen sponges, kitchen towels and rugs.

 

Kitchen towels and rugs are easy health hazards to neutralize. Simply toss your kitchen towels and rugs into the wash and you’ve taken care of the problem. Kitchen towels should be changed every couple of days or more often depending on use.

 

Kitchen rugs can get very contaminated. Think about all the various things that can drip onto your rug and then imagine those drops festering away for weeks or even months. Yes, it’s pretty gross when you stop to imagine what bacteria your kitchen rug could be harboring. Washing your kitchen rugs at least every two weeks, or after a major spill, is probably a good idea.

 

Kitchen sponges are a little trickier. They come into contact with food constantly and you use them to make your dishes cleaner, so you certainly don’t want to be rubbing grime and germs onto your “clean” dishes.

Consider replacing kitchen sponges every week and be sure to wash them after every use. Also, consider disinfecting kitchen sponges by soaking them in a plastic container with hydrogen peroxide and rinse very thoroughly afterwards. However, the easiest, and likely safest, way to deal with your kitchen sponge is to simply replace it often or opt for a washable kitchen towel instead.

 

Tip Two- Avoid the Hidden Health Hazard of the Dish Rack

Just as it is vital to wash such items as your kitchen towels, kitchen rugs and sponges, the same holds true for your dish rack. Dish racks don’t magically stay clean. The fact that they are in the kitchen near food preparation areas means that they can become contaminated. Like your sponges, the idea of the dish rack is to help you with your clean dishes, so contaminating them is the last thing you want to do. The bottom line is don’t forget about the special cleaning needs of your dish rack.

If you have a stainless steel dish rack, that can be great for improving the visual appearance of your kitchen and matching stainless steel appliances. However, be particularly careful that it doesn’t accumulate rust. A bamboo dish rack is also recommended as bamboo is more resistant to bacteria.

It is smart to clean your dish rack just as you would any other kitchen surface area. You can use soap and water or maybe even throw it into the dishwasher, depending on the type of dish rack you have.

Photo credit: Amazon

Tip Three-Skip Your Oven’s Cleaning Mode

Your oven’s cleaning mode can be rather problematic. The problem is that the oven clean mode works at a very high temperature and can release a lot of compounds into the air at the same time. In turn this will pollute your air and make it difficult to even breathe in your kitchen.

 

Instead of using the oven cleaning mode regularly clean your oven with baking soda. Baking soda is safe and will cause no serious indoor air quality issues. Mix some water with a modest amount of baking soda and dish liquid, scrub your oven and let the mixture sit on the oven’s interior for a few minutes. Then scrub again and wipe clean with water. Finally, collect all debris and let your oven dry before using.

 

Tip Four-Remove Cooktop Stains

Cooktop stains can be very determined to resist your cleaning attempts. This makes sense as cooktop stains are quite literally baked on.

 

Removing cooktop stains can be as easy as using a mixture of baking soda and hydrogen peroxide. Just remember that hydrogen peroxide can be dangerous so keep it away from children and away from your eyes. Before using your cooktop, wipe down the area with water and dry.

 

Tip Five-Ammonia for Grease on Stove Grates

Cleaning stove grates can be time consuming and laborious, however, there is a trick. Ammonia can literally soak the grease right off of your stove grates. Check out this clever approach for cleaning your stove grates.

Photo credit: The V Spot

 

Tip Six-Don’t Let Burnt Pan Bottoms Get You Down

 

Burnt pan bottoms might seem like a fact of life. Bar Keepers Friend is a great product for shining up the burnt bottoms of pans. In fact, you’ll likely be surprised by how well this product works!

 

Tip Seven-Polishing Your Sink the Easily and Inexpensively

Want to have a clean sink but don’t feel like spending money on specialty cleaners? One of the easiest, and cheapest ways, to clean your sink is to use flour.

 

If you have a stainless-steel sink and you want it to look great, then use flour. Click here to check out this great Lifehacker article on how to use good old-fashioned flour to clean your sink.

Photo credit: Lifehacker

Tip Eight-Cleaning Wood Cabinets

 

Kitchen wood cabinets can get surprisingly dirty, which is not too surprising considering that they are, after all, in the kitchen. Murphy Oil Soap has been around for generations for one simple reason: it works. Murphy Oil Soap can be used to clean everything from wood cabinets to flooring.

 

Tip Nine-Mineral Oil for Kitchen Counters

 

Mineral oil can be a good way to wipe kitchen oil off of your counters. Yes, it is counterintuitive to use oil to remove oil, but forget the irony and give it a try! Mineral oil is generally safe to use and definitely works.

 

Grease and oil on countertops can be a real nuisance, so you really do need a secret weapon. Here is a link to an article about this at One Good Thing if you want to learn more.

Photo credit: One Good Thing by Jillee

 

Tip Ten-Keep Drawers Clean with Liners

Many people only worry about keeping drawers organized, but keeping them clean is also important. One inexpensive solution is to opt for drawer liners. We recommend cork in particular for this job.

 

Cork is naturally water resistant and bacteria resistant. Plus, once you have cork, or other drawer liners, you can periodically remove and wipe them down.

Photo credit: Williams and Sonoma

 

Tip Eleven-Cleaning Your Stainless Steel Appliances with an Oldie but Goodie

Vinegar is something of a cleaning superstar. A mixture of vinegar and oil can be extremely effective at cleaning stainless steel fridges, dishwashers and toasters. You can use mineral oil or even olive oil!

It is an easy process that really works, and you can learn more about how at the Kitchn it by clicking here.

Photo credit: The Kitchn

Tip Twelve-Don’t Forget to Clean the Inside of Your Refrigerator

 

When people clean the inside of their refrigerators they often overlook the removable parts. Yet, the removable areas inside of your fridge are often the dirtiest parts. Instead of just wiping these areas down, consider removing them and cleaning them thoroughly with soap and water. If you’ve ever noticed that your fridge smelled even after you removed all the old food, it may be that your fridge surfaces need a deeper cleaning.

There is a great article about this at The Kitchn.

Tip Thirteen-Remember that Old Food Can Be a Health Hazard

 

One of the single best safety habits you can have is to remove old food from your house, whether it is in your cabinets or fridge. Maybe you heard the story recently of a grandmother in the U.K. who sent several members of her family to the emergency room after serving up some nice holiday cocoa…from the 1980s! It’s important to periodically toss out old food so that you don’t have a similar accident.

Photo credit: The Kitchn

Tip Fourteen-Clean Your Garbage Disposal

 

Garbage disposals can get very smelly. If you have a mystery odor in your kitchen that just won’t go away, then it might just be your garbage disposal.

There are many ways to clean your garbage disposal without actually having to stick your hand down in one of the most dangerous places imaginable. Cleaning methods include using liquid soap while the garbage disposal is on and also just pouring baking soda and vinegar down there to do the job for you.

 

It is true that normally mixing baking soda and vinegar isn’t a good idea due to the tremendous fizzing action. But where your garbage disposal is concerned this is an exactly what you want! Head over to Crunchy Betty for a step-by-step guide.

Photo credit: Crunchy Betty

Tip Fifteen-Use Lemon and Salt for Your Wooden Cutting Boards

Lemon and salt are a powerful cleaning combo. The two work together particularly well for cleaning wooden cutting boards. Wooden cutting boards can become very dirty and should be cleaned regularly with soap and water. In addition to cleaning them with soap and water, using a combination of salt and lemon can help cut grease and shine up your wooden cutting boards.

 

Tip Sixteen-Don’t Forget Your Garbage Can

You might remember to clean the inside of your garbage can because it can get rather smelly, but what about the outside of your garbage can? The outside of your garbage can is periodically exposed to all kinds of contaminants ranging from spilt liquids to bits of food and more. You really don’t want to forget about this surface.

 

If you have young children, you can pretty much be sure that they are going to touch your garbage can. Remember to clean the outside of your garbage can along with other surfaces throughout your kitchen. Much like the dish rack, this part of your kitchen is typically overlooked. Plus, a bright shiny garbage can does wonders to improve the look of your kitchen.

The blog No Trash Can has a good article all about this topic.

Photo credit: No Trash Can

Tip Seventeen-Take Advantage of the Power of Simple Ingredients

You probably noticed that in this article we focused a lot of our attention on cleaning ingredients that are eco-friendly and people safe as well. There are plenty of chemical based cleaners out there that work really well. But as a rule, you really shouldn’t bring anything into your kitchen that would be very harmful or even lethal if consumed.

 

Anything you put down the drain eventually makes it out into the oceans and eventually into the fish of the sea and the food chains. Your cleaning decisions most definitely matter, and they do impact the world.

 

If you want to use fewer chemicals and fossil fuel based products, then opting for cleaning products that you make yourself. And then make those products out of safe and inexpensive ingredients.

Clean kitchen are healthier kitchens. A key part of observing proper food safety, so that your cocoa doesn’t send your family to the emergency room, is to think about ways to keep your kitchen cleaner.

 

A major part of having a clean kitchen is to not take anything for granted. Areas that you are sure are clean may be in need of some help. It is also vital to remember that most people don’t really need powerful chemical based cleaning agents.

Simple cleaning tools and ingredients, like the ones outlined in this article, should be more than enough for the majority of your kitchen cleaning needs. Soap, water, vinegar, mineral oil, baking soda and even olive oil can go a long way towards helping you achieve a much safer and healthier kitchen.