Posted on September 12th, 2021
A clean kitchen is necessary for a healthy home. Sanitizing kitchen surfaces, cleaning dirty dishes, and wiping up spills and crumbs prevents the growth of bacteria, reduces the risk of foodborne illness, and helps you avoid attracting unwanted pests. Making sure your kitchen remains a tidy, inviting place also makes it easier to prepare meals at home, which is healthier and more cost-effective than relying on takeout.
Of course, if you often find yourself housecleaning in a hurry, keeping your kitchen spotless can feel like a daunting – if not impossible – goal. Along with contacting our maids in Indianapolis for help, employing time-saving cleaning tricks is a great way to get your kitchen gleaming without sacrificing all of your free time. To quickly whip your kitchen into shape, try using the seven easy cleaning hacks below. Depending on the layout of your kitchen, these tips may need to be rejigged.
7 Top Tips for Cleaning Your Kitchen
1. Keep a kitchen cleaning checklist on the fridge.
Keeping track of which tasks need to be completed on a daily, weekly, and monthly basis is crucial to cleaning efficiently. By outlining exactly which areas of the kitchen need to be cleaned (and when), you’ll avoid cleaning the same things twice – Or worse, realizing that you missed something after you’ve already put all of your cleaning supplies away.
To save you the work of writing down everything that needs to be done to keep your kitchen tidy, we’ve created a printable kitchen cleaning checklist you can follow. Attach the printed checklist to your fridge with magnets so you never have to worry about forgetting an important cleaning task.
2. Quickly dispel garbage disposal odors with lemon ice cubes.
Garbage disposals provide a convenient way to dispose of food waste, but they’re also one of the most common sources of kitchen odors. To keep your garbage disposal smelling fresh with minimal effort, fill an ice cube tray with sliced lemon, rock salt, and water, then freeze it. After the ice cubes have frozen solid, place a few in the garbage disposal and run it as you normally would. The rock salt will scrub the blades clean while the lemon juice kills bacteria and creates a pleasant, fresh scent.
3. Clean your oven the easy, green way.
If your oven doesn’t have a self-cleaning feature, or you want to avoid the energy costs associated with using it, try this simple overnight oven cleaning method instead: Before you go to bed, remove the grates from the oven and spray the inside with a mixture of 1/3 cup water, 1/3 cup white vinegar, and 1/2 cup baking soda (be careful to avoid getting the solution on the heating elements). When you’re done, close the oven door and immerse the grates in a tub full of hot, soapy water. Let everything sit for 8-12 hours so the solution has time to dissolve stuck-on grime, then scrub the oven and the grates with dish soap and a cleaning sponge before rinsing.
4. Use your vacuum to make cupboard cleaning a breeze.
Cupboards are notoriously awkward to clean because they contain a lot of corners and hard-to-reach places. To expedite cupboard cleanup and prevent strained muscles, use your vacuum’s brush attachment to quickly suck up crumbs and dust inside and on top of your cupboards. When you’re done, moisten a microfiber cloth with a 50/50 mixture of water and white vinegar and wipe your cupboards down from top to bottom to remove grease.
5. Use a clothing steamer to quickly cut through grease.
Clothing steamers can be used for a lot more than just removing wrinkles from fabric. The high temperatures produced by steamers are also incredibly efficient at dissolving grease on range hoods, cupboard doors, backsplashes, and appliances. To get rid of stuck-on grime, simply hold the steamer in place until you see grease stains and debris begin to break down. Then, wipe away the loosened residue with a damp cleaning sponge. As a final touch, spray the area with a 50/50 mixture of water and white vinegar before polishing it dry with a microfiber cloth.
6. Eliminate trash can odors with kitty litter.
Dusting the bottom of your kitchen trash can with scented kitty litter can keep unwanted odors at bay and make your trash can easier to clean. Along with being a powerful deodorizer, kitty litter absorbs and traps liquid, so it’s perfect for catching garbage bag leaks before they can stain your trash can.
To clean your trash can, just dump out the used kitty litter when you change the garbage. Then, wipe the can thoroughly with a disinfectant cleaner and place fresh litter on the bottom. This no-scrub solution should keep your trash can smelling fresh all year long.
7. Use a mesh bag to wash small items in the dishwasher.
Washing small items – like lids, tiny containers, and water bottle tops – by hand can be fiddly, time-consuming work. To clean and sanitize small kitchen accessories in half the time, purchase a mesh laundry bag and place them inside. Then, put the bag on the top rack of your dishwasher and run it as you normally would. The mesh bag will allow hot water and soap to scrub the items clean while stopping them from being thrown around the dishwasher.
Need Kitchen Cleaning Help ? Contact the Experts at DeluxeMaid
Using the kitchen cleaning tips outlined above can shave a lot of time off your weekly cleaning routine, but they aren’t always enough on their own. If you have a large family, a spacious home, or a demanding job, kitchen cleaning can feel overwhelming no matter how you approach it. When this happens, professional cleaning services are often necessary to keep cleaning manageable and ensure your home remains a pleasant, hygienic place.
At DeluxeMaid, we offer affordable, flexible residential cleaning services that can be tailored to fit different household sizes and budgets. Whether you need cleaning help once a week or just once or twice a month, our licensed, bonded maids in Indianapolis will be happy to work with you. Contact us today to arrange your first appointment, so you can begin enjoying what your kitchen is really meant for: Preparing nourishing, delicious meals to share with friends and family.