The Kitchen. It’s the heart of the home, and also the area that seems to be cleaned the most, but then maybe isn’t as clean as you’d like it to be.
In this post I’m sharing my sprint cleaning hacks for those tough to clean areas in the kitchen!
P.s. next up is the bathroom, if you have any questions simply email hello@kinn-living.com and I’ll get these answered for you!
I know it seems like the kitchen is very clean because we use it all the time, we’re constantly wiping the surface down and cleaning the hob, but how often have you really deep cleaned your oven or the fridge? If you have an extractor fan rather than a down draft do you clean the grill above?
Tip number 1 How to clean the oven: How to deep clean your oven without the harsh chemicals! (Or if you’re lucky enough to have a self cleaning feature than I recommend just switching it on and letting go!)
I honestly hate cleaning the oven, which means that in reality it probably gets a bit neglected.. guilty as charged. But when I do finally accept that I can’t just simply burn off the cheese that fell from my toastie on the weekend any more then I reach for the baking soda and vinegar. First things first, empty the oven of the trays, racks, pizza stone... anything that can be taken out (without breaking it of course) remove it.
Next up, make a paste of baking soda paste using 1/2 cup of baking soda and then add two to three tablespoons of water, you can adjust the quantities as needed, but the main things is you need the paste to spreadable. Once you have your paste coat the interior of the oven (avoid the heating elements)
Leave this overnight or for 12 hours, i say overnight because it’s obviously when you’re least likely to need it. After you’ve let the baking soda mix do it’s magic grab a damp cloth (you might need a spatula for harder to reach areas or areas it’s stuck on extra hard) and wipe clean. In a spray bottle add a little white vinegar and spray the interior of the wiped clean oven, this will help remove any left over baking soda residue, and then give it one final wipe with a clean damp cloth.
For the oven racks if you have a large enough sink or bathtub then pop these inside and cover with hot water. For the sake of this post I will be discussing using the bath tub. I recommend putting the racks on old towels or tea towels so you don’t accidentally scratch or damage the tub. I often use boiling kettle water, but super hot water from the tap is fine too. Then grab your washing up liquid (ours works well) and pour about 1/2 a cup into the tub. Swish this around and then leave the racks overnight or if you can’t leave them all night then about 4 hours should do it. This soaking time will really help cut down on the elbow grease needed!
After it’s soaked grab a bristled brush and scrub those racks until the grease and grime is gone. Rinse away the residue (bonus tip: if you get a plug hole hair catcher this will help stop debris from going down the drain and potentially blocking it) and with your clean racks pop them back in oven and you’re good to go!
Tip number 2. How to clean the kettle: The Kettle is an area that often gets neglected, how often do you just pop the kettle on and say “next time, next time I’ll descale it”. Descaling The kettle can seem like a lot of effort, but really it only takes a few minutes!
To descale the kettle all you need is a large lemon. Yep that’s it! Grab a lemon and slice it up thinly, throw all of it inside and fill the kettle with water. Then boil it. Leave it for half an hour and boil again. Tip the water out and maybe give it a quick rinse. Hey presto, your kettle is shiny and clean again!
Tip number 3 The Fridge: This one is pretty easy, but just make sure you empty everything, throw out the bad food and any parts that can fit in the dishwasher (that won’t get broken) I recommend popping in for a quick wash. If the fridge has a funny odour that you’re struggling to get rid off then take a bowl of baking soda (this is odour neutralising) and leave it in the fridge for a couple of hours. If the smell still persists you can also try leaving a few slices of lemon in the fridge (just make sure to swap them out when they start to get a bit old!)