Daily kitchen chores like cooking meals, doing the dirty dishes, cleaning the oven area, and arranging the utensils consume a lot of time and energy. The kitchen becomes the dirtiest area of the house, and you cannot skip cleaning the place.
A curry-splattered oven-top or tea-stained breakfast counter is too difficult to clean. But here we have collected and listed 11 time-tested hacks that would make kitchen cleaning an easy job.
Table of Contents
Top 11 Kitchen Cleaning Hacks
#1. Cleaning Your Gas Stove or Oven
Your stove or oven becomes dirtier after cooking, some quick tips and tricks to clean the oven easily, without investing much time.
- Vacuum cleaning can send the cooking debris into the dust bag and deep clean your oven without any fuss. You can later wipe off the other cooking deposits and make your oven clean in no time.
- Sprinkle salt on your the spills immediately while you’re cooking. You can wipe clean the area post-cooking.
- Use your old brushes to reach the difficult nook and corners of the oven, especially when you’re cleaning the burners and drip trays of a gas oven.
- Boil water, lemon, vinegar, and dishwashing solution. Lose the kitchen doors and windows closed for a while. Open the doors and rub off the tough oven stains. It is easy to clean off without any effort.
- Mix 1/4th cup of baking soda,1/4th cup of salt, and 1/4th cup of water. Mix it and make a smooth paste. Apply it to the oven (or stove) and let it settle for 15-20 minutes. Later, wipe off the solution with a damp cloth. This method is safe and can be used when the stove is not very dirty.
- Baking soda and vinegar can be quite helpful to remove tough stains. Mix both the ingredients and apply them to the oven. Wipe off later.
- Glass top ovens must be taken care of while cleaning. Your regular scrubber can scratch the surface, keeping a permanent mark. Use a sponge scrubber and mild dishwasher to clean the glass-top oven.
- A stainless steel oven can be cleaned with a normal scrubber and dish-washing liquid. You can use citric acid, toothpaste, and baking soda, mix them with the regular dish-washing solution and apply them on the oven top and keep it like that overnight for tough stains. Wash of with a sponge scrubber later.
- Avoid using harsh chemicals on the ovens, as it may cause severe damage to the oven’s surface. You can also use professional cleaning services, but regular cleaning is a must to keep the kitchen safe from mites and cockroaches. The more you pamper your oven, the more it would last longer.
#2. Cleaning the Kitchen Chimney
Cleaning the kitchen chimney is more difficult than cleaning an oven. We do not clean the chimney as frequently as we clean the oven, but the chimney helps in keeping the kitchen clean by evacuating the cooking smoke and fumes that would otherwise have made the kitchen walls and the surface dirtier. Often, we hire professional services to clean the chimney, but there are a few smart hacks that you can use to save your money, time, and effort.
- Take paraffin oil or hydrocarbon liquid and soak the filters and other removable parts of the kitchen chimney overnight. The next day, scrub off the dirt and grime (precisely, tough strains) using a solution of detergent powder and boiling water. The chimney parts are cleaner now.
- For moderate dirt and deposits, use a scrubber and detergent to wash the chimney’s surface.
- A rust cleaner that contains oxalic acid can be used to soften the rust marks, and later, can be scrubbed off to remove tough stains.
- A scouring pad made of plastic and an old toothbrush can be used to clean the surface of the chimney.
- Baking soda, salt, and vinegar mixed in equal proportions can be used instead of commercial cleaners to clean the chimney parts.
- Take off the baffle filters from a conventional chimney and put them in a tray. Sprinkle a mixture of salt and soda. Pour a solution made of boiling water, kitchen cleaning solution, and vinegar over it. Leave it overnight and scrub off the next day.
- To remove tough stains, clean the baffle filters using sodium hydroxide. However, you must take safety measures before using the chemical as its fumes are quite harmful when inhaled.
- You can sprinkle caustic soda over the filters and pour hot water on them. Keep the filters immersed in the solution for an hour. Put the filters under running water.
- While charcoal filters can not be easily cleaned, make sure to change them every quarter.
- Mesh filters should also be cleaned using the solution of soda, vinegar, and liquid dish-washing solution.
- You can clean the duct tape chimneys using a liquid dish-washing solution and scrubber every month.
Make sure to clean the chimney using adequate protection, like gloves and masks so that the harmful chemicals are not causing any harm to your hands or your respiratory system. Cleaning your chimney can improve its efficiency and keep the rest of your kitchen clean.
#3. Cleaning the Kitchen Tiles
The dirt accumulates on the tiles beside the oven, even after regular cleaning exercises. No matter what kind of tiles you are using, it would always harbor dirt. So, some simple cleaning hacks can help clean the kitchen tiles in no time, saving your efforts.
- Use laundry detergent powder and a scrubber to wash off the tough stains from the tiles.
- Make a solution with liquid detergent, bleaching agent, and baking soda and fill it in a spray bottle. Spray it on the tiles and leave it overnight. Scrub off with a dish-washing scrubber or surface cleaning brush.
- Use a wet cloth soaked in liquid detergent to clean the tiles daily.
- Bacteria and germs can be transferred from one utensil to another, so make sure to clean the sponge using boiling water and dish-washing liquid. You can microwave the sponge dipped in a liquid detergent and water to keep it clean and hygienic.
#4. Cleaning the Garbage Bin
Cleaning the garbage bin is a must because if not properly cleaned, it might be the best place for cockroaches, mites, and insects to grow and stay. Follow these simple hacks and keep your garbage bin clean and tidy.
- Put a spare garbage bag inside the garbage bin and then put another one above. While the former one should be kept permanently inside the garbage bin, the latter should be removed daily.
- Keep separate bins for wet and dry garbage. The wet garbage bins shouldn’t be kept open.
- Clean the garbage bins using a scrubber and liquid detergent. You can put cotton balls soaked in essential oils or naphthalene balls inside the garbage bins to keep them smelling fresh.
Also, read – How to get rid of cockroaches in the kitchen
#5. Cleaning your Kitchen Appliances
You might be using several kitchen appliances to save your time, energy, and effort. In several households, cooking using the traditional cooking appliances would be problematic due to the time consumption. So working couples use kitchen appliances like hand grinders, mixers, juicers, microwave ovens, induction, and several other gadgets to make their lives simple. But using them means you need to put extra effort into cleaning them too. Here is a checklist of a few hacks that you can use to keep the kitchen appliances dirt free-
- Cooking in induction can be easy, but cooking spills can cause stains that are difficult to remove. Use mild detergent and a soft sponge scrubber to clean the surface of an induction cooktop.
- Mixer grinder jars should be soaked in a solution made of liquid dishwashing detergent, baking soda, and vinegar and kept aside till an hour and can be rinsed off. This exercise would remove nasty smells of food items like onions and garlic.
- The hand blenders have removable arms that are often dishwasher safe. If they are not detachable or dishwasher safe, use mild dishwashing liquid to wash off the lower part of the hand blender.
- Microwave ovens can be cleaned using the commercial kitchen cleaners available in the market. You can remove the microwave’s plate and wash it off with a dish-washing liquid. Put a glass full of water and lemon peel pieces into it. Microwave it for 30 seconds. The nasty smell residing inside the microwave would go off.
- The dishwasher can be self-cleaned by putting a dish-washing tablet inside and switching it on. Alternatively, you can put vinegar and baking soda to clean it.
- Wash the refrigerator racks with mild cleaners. Keep silica gel packets or lemon peels inside the refrigerator to keep bad smell away.
#6. Kitchen Surface Cleaning
The kitchen surface can be cleaned using phenyl or liquid detergent mixed with bathroom cleaning liquid. The surface scrubber can be used to remove tough stains. Wash it with warm water and surface disinfectants later.
#7. Cleaning Kitchen Racks
Hot water mixed with liquid detergent can be used to clean the kitchen racks. Alternatively, you can use baking soda and citric acid powder and clean the racks. Do not forget to put some cloves in a cloth bag and Neem leaves inside the racks to remove bad odor, cockroaches, and mites.
#8. Cleaning the Chopping Board
Daily cutting of fruits and vegetables can make the chopping board dirty. Make a paste of vinegar, baking soda, and liquid detergent and keep it overnight. Rinse off the next day.
You can also use non-toxic bleaching agents to clean the chopping board.
#9. Keeping the Kitchen Sink Clean
- You can clean kitchen sink using any liquid dish cleaners or cake, baking soda, vinegar and a scrubber.
- Put the lid over the drain of the sink, open the tap and fill the sink with water. Pour dishwasher cake, baking soda and vinegar. Remove the lid next day and wash the sink.
- If the drains seem clogged, put Drainex (a ready-made chemical compound to unclog the drain), keep it for and hour and wash off.
#10. Keep the Kitchen Containers Clean
Wash the containers with mild dishwashing liquid. Alternatively, use a solution of vinegar and baking soda and pour it inside the container. Wash off with lukewarm water. This would prevent the container from having a bad smell.
#11. Cleaning the Granite Cook-top
A simple kitchen cleaner can be made using baking soda, vinegar, and dish-washing liquid. Pour the solution into a spray bottle and spray it on the surface. Wipe clean with a wet cloth.
Safety Measures to Follow While Cleaning the Kitchen
- Wear masks and protective gear before using harsh chemical-based cleaners.
- If you are using oil-based cleaning agents, make sure to turn off the gas lines and switch off the main power point before cleaning the switchboards.
- Keep the windows open while using the chemicals to let the fumes out. Proper ventilation should be there while cooking and cleaning.
Final Thoughts
Cleaning your kitchen consumes a lot of time and effort, but regular cleaning not only protects your kitchen from dirt or grime deposits build up on the kitchen racks, appliances, containers, chimneys, and oven.
But also saves your time and efforts from the heck of deep cleaning.
