Our kitchens are used so often that dirt, grease and grime can quickly build up, and keeping it clean can feel like a constant battle. The best and most effective way to keep your kitchen clean, is to clean up mess and spillages straight away, but even if you can’t manage that, here are a few tips for speed cleaning some of the most used areas or pieces of equipment in your kitchen:
If you place a handful of wet paper towels inside the microwave, and place it on high for between 2 and 3 minutes, the steam that’s created will soften the food stains and grime. As soon as the paper towels have cooled down, remove them and use them to wipe the interior of the microwave. If your microwave is a bit pongy, heat half a cup of lemon juice on high for up to 5 minutes, and then let it stand for around 10 minutes before removing it.
- Keeping the coffee pot clean
Us Americans love our coffee, but the glass jug of the coffeemaker can quickly begin to look stained and dirty, especially if we leave the coffee pot on for long periods of time. One way of cleaning the pot, is to fill it a quarter way with ice, then squeeze two quarters of lemon along with 2 tablespoons of salt, and swirl the contents around for a couple of minutes. You’ll see that the stains on the interior will begin to shift and disappear, then simply rinse it in water.
- Spotless cheese graters
Cheese graters are notoriously tricky to keep clean, and the best way to prevent cheese from building up on them, is to use a pastry brush to remove all remnants of cheese; do this after every time you use it and it will be a synch to keep clean.
- A fresh and clean garbage disposal unit
Grind ice cubes that have been made from vinegar and water through your garbage disposal unit, and it will be clean and smell much fresher. Repeat this as regularly as necessary.
- Stain eradication for cups and mugs
Make a mixture of equal parts vinegar to salt, and use this to scrub off the tea and coffee stains from the interior of cups and mugs; this works especially well on chine cups that are renowned for quickly becoming stained.
- Cleaning a cast iron pan
If you own a cast iron pan, you probably already know that you shouldn’t use liquid soap on it, and you shouldn’t scrub it with anything too harsh. But did you know that you can use salt to clean it, instead? Rub a few teaspoons of salt into the surface of the pan with a paper towel or soft cloth, then simply rinse with water.
- Getting your oven clean, fast
Take out all the racks and drip pans from your oven and leave them to soak in hot soapy water. This will make it easier to access the interior of the oven, which you can coat with a paste of baking soda and vinegar, and leave for up to hour, before washing off with soapy water. For tough, hardened grime, you may need to use an abrasive scrubber and some good old fashioned elbow grease, for both the interior and the racks/grills. The glass oven window can be cleaned with a solution of vinegar and water.
One of the best ways to avoid spilled food items becoming encrusted on your oven, pour table salt on spillages as soon as they occur, and then when the oven cools down in an hour or so, you’ll be able to clean it up far quicker.