Kitchen Cleaning Tips and Tricks

The kitchen is another area of the home that most people are not too keen on cleaning. But, it doesn't have to be as big of a chore as it seems. Let me share some tips and tricks for getting, and keeping, your kitchen clean (even if you cook in it!!).

• The Microwave: Ever open your microwave to find, what looks like, a bomb has gone off in it? We come across this often in our industry in both commercial and residential settings. Because you use this appliance to cook food, you don't want to use a chemical cleaning agent to clean up the mess. So what can you do? Take a towel and get it damp, place it in the microwave and nuke it for 60 seconds. Once the dinger goes off, let it sit, with the door closed, for another 60 seconds. (You can use this down time to wipe the back splash and counter tops!) Now open the microwave and use that warm towel to wipe away the mess. What happens is you are creating a steam bath in your microwave that loosens the stuck on junk. Make sure you wait that second 60 seconds so you don't burn your hands on the hot towel!

• The Fridge: I've already done an extensive post on cleaning and organizing your fridge. Check it out!  http://cleanrightco.blogspot.com/2012/08/what-about-fridge.html

• The Oven: Yuk! The oven is one of the cleaning tasks everyone dreads. But, here are some tips to make it a job that isn't so bad. First, use the self cleaning mode, if you have one. Sure it's gonna heat your house up and, usually, stink it up too but, it sure beats scraping and scrubbing all that gunk from the bottom of the oven. Once the self cleaner ends, open the door and wipe out the ash. Any remaining gunk can be scraped out with a razor or scrubbed out with a piece of fine grade steel wool. If you aren't lucky enough to have a self cleaner or just don't want to use it, there are a couple choices you have. 1- use a chemical oven cleaner. Spray it in, let it sit, scrape up the gunk and scrub out the left overs with a piece of fine grade steel wool. 2 -if you don't want to use chemicals your are going to have to put some elbow grease into it. First, scrape out as much gunk as you can with a razor. Then put some water in an oven safe container and turn your oven on a low temp. Close the door and heat the water till it steams the inside of your oven. Let the steam work over the gunk for as long as you want but make sure you don't let it go so long that all the water evaporates and you end up cooking the gunk back on. Turn the oven off and let it cool. Once it has had a chance to cool down, wipe out the gunk. You may need to use a piece of steel wool to get any left overs. Another helpful tool for an oven is a pumice stone. Yes, a pumice stone. The inside of your oven is made of porcelain, just like your toilet, and a pumice stone will scour out those stubborn stains. Tip: Don't let your oven get out of control. Wipe out the spills and splashes as soon as you notice them. Of course, make sure your oven is cool before you do it!

• The Garbage Disposal: Oh my how these things can get stinky! Once a week you should sprinkle some baking soda down the disposal drain and then pour some vinegar down it till the foam fills the drain and comes through into your sink. Not only is it fun but it cleans out the drain! After that run HOT water down the drain for a minute or so. Once I do that I like to take half a lemon and grind it up in the disposal. Tip: When your dishwasher is draining, turn your disposal on while it does it. The water draining from your dishwasher is super heated (as long as you have that button selected on your dishwasher) and will help clean out the drain and blades of your disposal.

That's it for this week! Hope you've enjoyed ~Erica Jensen, President of Clean Right Company in Spokane, WA

Want a clean kitchen but would rather spend the time with friends and family? No problem! Give Clean Right Company a call and we'll do it for you (along with the rest of your house!) (509) 534-3343 or visit www.cleanrightco.com for more information on Clean Right Company and the cleaning services we offer.