Five Quick and Easy Tips to Get Your Kitchen Clean
It’s the room you all gather around before a meal. It’s where you burned your first Thanksgiving turkey. Where your two year old knocked over a large batch of salsa right before a tasting competition.
It’s also where germs, bacteria, dirt and grime can build up quickly.
With so much activity, the kitchen can easily become one of the dirtiest rooms in your home. That can be concerning when it’s the room where your food is prepared.
When it comes to keeping your kitchen safe for food preparation – and for general living – it may sometime require more than just a wipe down with wet rag. After your pot of chili overflows all over your stove, you might need more than a washcloth.
Thankfully, there are some quick and easy ways to turn your kitchen from a cooking mess to spic and span in no time. And, you don’t even need expensive equipment or have hours upon hours to clean.
Here, we share five tips you can use today to really clean your kitchen with items you probably already have.
- Use Vinegar on Hard Water Deposits
Vinegar doesn’t just bring benefits for your physical health. It can also help you in cleaning your kitchen as well. Tiphero.com says you can use vinegar to remove calcium deposits from hard water stains.
All you’ll need is a rag, a sponge and vinegar. Simply use the rag to wipe the faucet with vinegar and use the sponge to scrub off the build up. The vinegar acts in dissolving the build-up formed by hard water. And, once the deposits are loosened, it becomes much easier to wipe your sink clean.
- Whiten Your Sink With Lemon
A white sink can look fresh and beautiful in your kitchen. But if stains have built up over time, your white sink will highlight those messes. Your once bright white sink becomes a trap for reminding you how messy your kitchen is.
But, there’s a quick and easy fix to lighten you sink in no time. Tiphero.com notes you’ll just need baking soda and half of a lemon. First, sprinkle some baking soda in your sink and use half of a lemon as a scrubber. The acid in the lemon kills germs and works with the baking soda to brighten your sink to make it look brand new.
- Use Baking Soda and Vinegar to Brighten Tile and Grout
If you have tile in your bathroom, you know how easily the grout between your tiles can collect dirt and grime. Food52 has an easy fix using baking soda and vinegar.
For tiles that are flat, such as a counter, lightly sprinkle your baking soda along the grout. Then, spray vinegar along the grout lines. And, like you may have seen in a science project, the vinegar will cause the baking soda to begin to fizz. Let that fizz sit for a few minutes, then scrub grout lines with a toothbrush.
If your tiles are vertical, such as a backsplash, combine baking soda with a little bit of water to form a paste. Then, brush the paste on the grout lines between the tiles and let sit for a few minutes. Spray the grout with vinegar and let sit for a few minutes. Grab a toothbrush and scrub those lines clean.
- Clean Wood With Baking Soda
That wooden cutting board you got as a wedding shower gift may be holding in a lot of bacteria. Because wooden surfaces have a tendency to absorb what comes in contact with it, it may lock in bacteria that can make you and your family sick.
But according to HowStuffWorks, you can clean that surface easily with just some baking soda and water.
To deodorize and clean your wooden cutting board or other surface, mix ½ cup of baking soda with 1 quart of warm water. Then, use a sponge to clean the surface. Rinse with water and dab with a towel. Rather than wiping it clean, allow the wooden surface to fully air dry.
If you need to return your surface to its former shine, coat it with vegetable oil and use steel wool to rub in the oil.
- Water and Lemon Make a Clean Microwave
The cleaning power of lemons extends to the microwave as well. When your quick-cooking appliance gets greasy with built up spills, cleaning it is just a lemon and some water away.
According to CleanMama blog, you can even put the microwave to use as you clean. All you need to do is fill a microwave-safe bowl with water and add in a lemon sliced in half. Place it in your microwave for a 3-5 minutes. The steam generated from the water and lemon cuts down the grease, allowing you to easily wipe your microwave clean.
Conclusion
Cleaning your kitchen doesn’t need to be a challenging, labor-intensive, week-long project. By these quick and easy tips using things you probably already have in your house, you’re just a few minutes away from a clean kitchen.
So bring on the family dinners. Open up your kitchen to your two year old. Invite your in-laws over for dinner. You’re now armed with tips that will get you a clean kitchen in no time.
