Easy ways to deep clean your kitchen for spring
What a wonderful feeling to throw open your windows for a crisp spring breeze, smelling the clean air as you smile upon a clean kitchen! It makes you feel as if those long winter months really were leading up to something special.
But before you can enjoy a clean fresh kitchen, you’ll need to use some elbow grease to get things cleaned up. Check out our best spring cleaning hacks to get your kitchen spotless in no time.
Harness the power of baking soda
Yes, you really can get a deep clean without chemicals. Make sure your cleaning tote is stocked with baking soda as well as vinegar for an all-natural power combo that scrubs away grease and grime. Use a paste of baking soda and water to scrub your sink and drain cover, and give your faucet a final polish with diluted vinegar to bring back the shine. (This spring cleaning life hack also works on your bathroom sink and faucet, too.)
Soak your gas stove grates
For a deeper clean, soak your stove grates and oven racks in a plastic basin or tub with a dishwasher pod for a few hours or up to overnight. The detergent will dissolve the cooked-on grease, leaving less scrubbing for you.
Soften microwave grease with lemon
The next time your recipe calls for lemon, reserve half of it to clean and freshen your microwave. Microwave one cup of water with one half of a lemon for three minutes, then carefully remove (wear oven mitts!). The lemony steam will have softened the splatters inside your microwave so you can just wipe them away.
Remove cookware stains
Does your favorite stainless steel pan or pot have unsightly discoloration? You can restore it to just-like-new shine with a few shakes of Barkeeper’s Friend. This scrubbing powder works hard to remove baked-on stains, leaving your pots and pans shiny again.
Line your stovetop
One of our favorite spring cleaning tips is to prevent messes before they happen. Avoid scrubbing by lining your stove with StoveGuard stove protectors. They’re made of food-safe, heat-resistant materials, so you can cook like normal while crumbs and drips collect on the StoveGuard. To clean your stove, just rinse your StoveGuard under the tap and wipe away the mess. Your stove always looks neat and clean!
Prevent oven drips
Cleaning your oven is another thankless chore. The next time you bake a pie, roast a chicken, or simply heat up a frozen pizza, be sure your oven racks are lined with OvenGuard oven liners. They catches spatters and drips, preventing them from falling to the oven floor and getting baked in (or worse, causing a flare). Simply remove the oven liners, clean them with warm water and a drop of soap, and replace them for a sparkling clean oven.
Put your dishwasher to work
Your dishwasher can do more than just wash dishes. Use the sanitize cycle to thoroughly clean your pet’s feeding bowls and remove bacteria so Fluffy or Fido stays healthy. You can also use the sanitize cycle to disinfect your kitchen sponge, bottle brush, even your range hood exhaust fan filter.
Line fridge drawers and shelves
Speed up the time it takes to clean your fridge by lining your drawers and shelves. Now sticky drips from the jelly jar stick to the paper towel, not your refrigerator shelf. It also makes cleaning your fruit and vegetable drawers easier, too.
Get into the littlest spaces
Crumbs have a way of winding up in the most inconvenient spots. Use your vacuum cleaner’s hose attachment to suction out cabinets and drawers. An old toothbrush, cotton swabs, clean paintbrushes, or even a cotton towel wrapped around a butter knife will do wonders for getting into cracks and crevices where crumbs like to hide.
Shine up your appliances
Don’t forget to polish your appliances while you’re deep cleaning your kitchen. When your cleaning is complete, it’s the finishing touch on a spotless kitchen. A bit of diluted vinegar works wonders here, too.
Keep your stove and oven looking great all year long when you purchase a StoveGuard and OvenGuard.