Cleaning your kitchen is so much more than just loading the dishwasher and wrapping up leftovers. It’s the one room that’s probably used the most and full of specialty items to clean. But if you’ve been putting off deep-cleaning, now’s a great time to start. With our roundup of simple cleaning hacks, your kitchen is going to be the cleanest on the block.
Get a Squeaky-Clean Microwave
The microwave is the heart of many kitchens, but it’s also one of the most neglected in cleaning. Good Housekeeping helps to simplify this oft-forgotten chore. All it takes is some water combined with citrus or vinegar that’s boiled in the microwave, allowing the steam to build up. Once it’s finished cooking, let stand for 15 minutes and wipe down the now loosened grime…success!
Chemical-Free Oven Cleaning
I don’t have the luxury of a self-cleaning oven, and I prefer not to use harsh chemicals to clean it. So what’s a girl to do? I followed the excellent instructions from The Kitchn and began washing my oven with a mixture of baking soda and vinegar — no cleaner fumes here. It does require leaving the paste to set anywhere from 12 hours to overnight, but to me, that’s just an excuse to take a night off from cooking (wink).
Shining Stainless Steel
We’ve learned how stainless steel can help clean your hands, but what will help clean the stainless steel? Home repair legend Bob Villa and the team have some great advice regarding the most common kitchen surfaces. To eliminate scratches, spots, and stains, restore your appliances’ original shine, start with a quick sponge over with dish soap, and follow up with a scrub down of baking soda, followed by its partner-in-crime, vinegar. After a thorough rinse, the final touch is a light coating of olive oil to let the appliances sparkle.
Wooden Cutting Boards
Our wooden cutting board is one of our most used kitchen items. From chopping onions to carving meat, or acting as a cheese board, we use it all the time. And even though we clean it, we always wonder if it’s ever clean enough. Food Network takes away our fears, and yours too, with their easy cleaning tips explicitly designed for a wooden cutting board. It begins with sanitizing with peroxide and cleaning stains with baking soda. A final spritz of vinegar deodorizes the board while preparing it for its next kitchen adventure.