The Complete DIY Kitchen Maintenance Guide
Are you sick and tired of those tough, hard to clean stains you keep finding around the kitchen? No matter how much you given them a clean they just seem to stick around. Well, you’re not alone. Many people aren’t aware how to properly clean their kitchen, and those that are usually use chemicals and other products that aren’t great for your health. That’s why we put together a simple guide to naturally cleaning your kitchen and appliances.
What You’ll Need:
- Microfiber Cloth
- Vinegar
- Baking Soda
- Disinfectant Cleaner
- Lemon, Orange or Lime
- White Vinegar
- Vacuum
- Essential Oils (Optional)
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Cabinets
Cabinets are often over looked when tidying up around the kitchen, but they shouldn’t be as cabinets collect large amounts of dust, as well as oils from human contact and even occasionally food splashes and stains.
How to Clean
Clear out all cabinet contents before wiping down all surfaces inside your cabinets with a solution of warm water and white vinegar. Dust the cabinet tops before wiping them down using a solution of warm water and white vinegar to clean any persistent stains. Then wipe down the cabinet faces with a slightly damp cloth to remove any general dirt and grime. If you find persistent grease spots, use a cloth soaked in the same white vinegar and warm water solution.
How Often Should It Be Done
Cabinet Faces: Fortnightly
Cabinet Tops: Yearly
Inside Cabinets: Bi-Yearly
Sink, Taps & Countertops
The sink, taps and countertops are quite easily the most used parts of any kitchen, usually all coming into contact with dirty hands, dishes and contaminated foods, so keeping it clean is essential.
How to Clean
After using your cutting board, wash it with a solution of warm soapy water and white vinegar, removing any odours, then allow it to air dry. You can also sprinkle the surface of your cutting board with baking soda and work this into the wood using a lemon, lime or orange, afterwards, rinse with warm water and allowing to air dry.
How Often Should It Be Done
Countertops: Daily
Sink & Taps: Every Other Day
Walls & Backsplash
Kitchen walls are prone to grease build-ups in areas where you cook and prepare food, not to mention any accidental spills and stains that might have built up over time.
How to Clean
Soak a microfiber cloth in warm, soapy water and gently scrub any spots and stains on walls around the kitchen. If any stains are especially persistent you can use a mixture of equal parts white vinegar and water. You can also use a solution of 1 part baking soda and 8 parts water to clean any stubborn stains from your backsplash.
How Often Should It Be Done
Walls: Weekly
Backsplash: Weekly
Oven
The oven is often one of the dirtiest places in the kitchen – Let’s be honest when was the last time you really gave the oven a deep clean? Yeah, it probably wasn’t that recent, and with all the food being cooked, spilled and splashed around your oven it’s worth spending some time making sure it’s done properly.
How to Clean
Empty all shelves and trays from your oven and mix 1/2 cup of baking soda with water and mix this until it becomes a paste. Spread this paste on any hard to clean areas within your oven and allow it to sit for a few hours. Wipe all baking soda off any surface of the oven using vinegar and a damp cloth – This will help to remove any grease and grime that’s managed to build up over time. Lastly, take a microfiber cloth and create a solution of equal parts water and vinegar, add a few drops of essential oils (You can choose any scent) and thoroughly wipe down all glass surfaces.
How Often Should It Be Done
Oven: Monthly
Glass: Every Other Day
Gas Range
If you use your range as much as we do, you’ll know that a few spills are simply unavoidable, and with the added heat of the burners these simple spills quickly become stubborn to clean.
How to Clean
Remove the burners and grates from the range top and give them all a scrub in warm water to remove any easier to remove food debris. If you come across any harder to remove stains and food debris you can create a paste like mixture of water and baking powder and apply this to the stubborn areas, allow this to sit for an hour or so before removing with a dam cloth and vinegar. You can also give both the burners and grates a wipe down with just a damp cloth and white vinegar to remove any stubborn splashes and spills.
How Often Should It Be Done
Burners: Monthly
Grates: Monthly
Extraction Fan
If something is made to remove airborne grease, combustion products, fumes, smoke and more, then it’s likely to get pretty dirty, well cleaning it is simple if you know how.
How to Clean
Remove your extraction fan filter and place it in a boiling/simmering solution of baking soda and water for around 10-15 minutes.
How Often Should It Be Done
Extraction Fan Filter: Monthly
Fridge Freezer
We use our fridge freezer for storing any perishables, from raw meat and eggs to frozen pizzas and chips. So in a place where we store the majority of our food, it makes sense to ensure it’s always clean and tidy to prevent the spread of germs and bacteria.
How to Clean
The interior of your freezer is fairly easy to clean, all you really need to do is ensure nothing has spilled and keep ice build up to below an inch in thickness – If the ice build up gets too thick, grab a scraper, knife or anything that can be use to scrape the ice and get to work (Defrosting the freezer will make this a lot easier). Next, empty out the contents of your fridge, including all shelving and wipe everything down with warm soapy water. Lastly to ensure your fridge freezer stays in good working order, it’s worth pulling it away from the wall and vacuuming the evaporation coils.
How Often Should It Be Done
Freezer Interior: Yearly
Fridge Interior: Yearly
Coils: Bi-Yearly
Microwave
We know from experience that the microwave always manages to end up with plenty of spills and splashes and over time grease manages to build up within. Cleaning the microwave takes 15 minutes to do and will make it look as good as new.
How to Clean
Wipe down the inside of your microwave with a damp cloth to remove any loose dirt and grease. If stains remain persistent, fill a microwave safe container with water and add a chopped up lemon, lime or orange. Place the container within the microwave and turn onto full heat for 5 minutes, allowing steam to build within the microwave. Once done, allow the water to cool before wiping all surfaces with a damp cloth – This should remove all grease and grime.
How Often Should It Be Done
Microwave: Monthly
Dishwasher
Many people believe that because your dishwasher is washing your dishes it doesn’t require much cleaning itself. However, food debris and water stains can build up over time.
How to Clean
Remove any food debris and wash the drainage area using a mixture of baking soda and water. Take a dishwasher safe container and fill it with white vinegar, place the container in your dishwasher and run on a hot cycle in order to clean the interior of your dishwasher. Finally, remove the filter from your dishwasher and wash it using baking soda and warm water before replacing.
How Often Should It Be Done
Filter: Monthly
Interior: Monthly
Drainage: Monthly
Coffee Maker
Coffee machines deal with large amounts of water and so can experience mineral deposit build-ups which can cause bad tastes in your usual morning coffee.
How to Clean
Empty any coffee grounds left in the filter, then fill the water chamber with a solution of equal parts water and white vinegar. Start a brew cycle, turning the machine off half way through the cycle. Allow this to sit for around an hour before resuming the brew cycle and allowing it to finish. Now repeat this process with fresh water.
How Often Should It Be Done
Coffee Machine: Monthly
Toaster
Most of us use our toasters daily, but it’s been found that on average people only clean their toaster once per year! This means you’re leaving bread crumbs and dust sitting in your toaster while you’re using it, and we all know what happens when bread passes it’s expiry date…
How to Clean
Remove the crumb tray from your toaster and clean with warm water and soap. If you toaster doesn’t have a crumb tray, you can turn your toaster over and give it a shake. Wipe down the exterior of your toaster using a damp cloth. You can even use a solution of water and vinegar to give your toaster a little shine.
How Often Should It Be Done
Toaster Exterior: Weekly
Crumb Tray: Monthly
Cutting Boards
Cutting boards are often used in the preparation of food, quite often used for cutting raw meat and other food items that can sometimes cause illness. For that reason it’s worth making sure you wash them correctly and thoroughly.
How to Clean
After using your cutting board, wash it with a solution of warm soapy water and white vinegar, removing any odours, then allow it to air dry. You can also sprinkle the surface of your cutting board with baking soda and work this into the wood using a lemon, lime or orange, afterwards, rinse with warm water and allowing to air dry.
How Often Should It Be Done
Cutting Board: After Every Use
Pots & Pans
We use pots and pans for the majority of meals we prepare at home – so it pays to make sure they’re clean and free of potentially old burnt food.
How to Clean
Fill the dirty pot/pan with 2-3 inches of water (Of course, if the pan isn’t this deep, use less water) and add 1/4 cup of baking soda (1/4 cup of vinegar can be added for more serious jobs). Bring to the boil and allow it to simmer for 15 minutes. Turn down the heat and allow the pot/pan to cool for half an hour. Empty and then gently scrub to remove any grime.
How Often Should It Be Done
Pots & Pans: Daily (After Use)
Kettle
Over time, you might notice the water from your kettle tasting a little bit ‘off’ or funny and this is usually due to a build up of limescale around the heating element within your kettle. Giving it a quick clean can save your brew from that awful taste.
How to Clean
You can easily clean and shine the exterior of your kettle by giving it a quick wipe down with a cloth soaked in a mixture of water and vinegar. Once done, fill the kettle with equal parts vinegar and water and allow this to soak for around an hour before boiling the kettle. Once boiled, rinse the kettle with warm fresh water.
How Often Should It Be Done
Kettle: Monthly
Garbage Bin
Probably one of the most obvious places within the kitchen that would require a clean. I’d hope we’re all cleaning out the bin any chance you get to prevent the spread of any nasty germs.
How to Clean
Empty your bin, and then using a cloth soaked in warm, soapy water, wipe down the outside of your bin. In order to clean the inside, use a solution of disinfectant cleaner and warm water and rinse the whole bin out before giving it a good scrub.
How Often Should It Be Done
Garbage Bin: Fortnightly
