Contents
Household Cleaning Basics
Household Cleaning Tools
Cleaners and Cleaning Solutions
How to Eliminate Household Clutter
How to Clean Ceilings
How to Clean Walls
How to Wash Windows and Glass
How to Dust
How to Clean Floors
How to Clean Your Bathroom
How to Clean Your Kitchen
How to Clean Bedrooms
How to Clean Living Areas
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How to Clean Your Kitchen
Since the kitchen tends to be the busiest room in the home, and the place where everyone eats (and spills) food, kitchens attract a lot of dirt and germs. The main tasks involved in cleaning the kitchen are:
- Doing the dishes
- Cleaning countertops and food-prep areas
- Cleaning the sink
- Cleaning the oven
- Cleaning the refrigerator
- Cleaning small appliances
How to Do the Dishes
Though almost no one wants to do dishes just after eating, that’s exactly when you should do them, for two reasons:
- Hygiene: Leaving dishes with bits of food on them in the sink or on the countertops attracts pests, germs, and bacteria.
- Time and effort: Washing just-used dishes is much easier than cleaning dishes with dried, caked-on food.
Tips for Using a Dishwasher
- Confirm that your dishes are dishwasher safe: Crystal, china, silver, cookware, and fine wood typically can’t go in the dishwasher. Check the manufacturer’s instructions—often printed on the bottom of the dish—before putting any of these materials in the dishwasher.
- Rinse dishes: Even the best dishwasher can’t remove dried, caked-on food. Rinse dishes before putting them in the dishwasher to ensure that they’ll get clean.
- Put plastic on top: Temperatures are higher on the bottom rack. Prevent plastic dishes from melting or changing shape by washing them on the top rack.
- Allow room for water to circulate: Overloading the dishwasher keeps the water from reaching all the dishes. To prevent this problem, keep an ample amount of space between dishes.
- Dry dishes before putting them away: Mildew grows in damp places, including dishes that are put away while still wet. Use your dishwasher’s dry cycle or dry dishes with a towel before you put them away.
Tips for Washing by Hand
- Wash with a scrub brush: Scrub dishes with dish soap and a clean, vinyl-bristled scrub brush. Scrub brushes are far superior to sponges, which are breeding grounds for bacteria.
- Use a drying rack: Dish racks allow dishes to air-dry completely. Don’t dry dishes on a towel spread out on a counter—wet towels encourage bacterial growth.
How to Clean Counters and Food-Prep Areas
You can clean most counters by spraying them with an all-purpose cleaner, then wiping them with a clean cloth. If your cleaning cloth won’t work on a tough lump of dried food, use a toothbrush or a scraper. For stone or granite counters, clean with warm water or a cleaner specifically for that surface.
How to Clean the Kitchen Sink
Kitchen sinks are breeding grounds for germs. Wash yours weekly to maintain its finish and appearance, and disinfect it monthly to eliminate germs.
How to Disinfect the Kitchen Sink
Fill your sink with a solution of one gallon of water and 1 cup of hydrogen peroxide. Let it sit for ten minutes.
How to Clean the Sink
The best way to clean your sink depends on the material from which it’s made:
- Stainless-steel sinks: Scrub the sink with baking soda to clean. To avoid water marks or rust, dry the sink thoroughly after each use. Wiping with white vinegar will remove hard water stains, and wiping with lighter fluid will remove rust.
- Composite or Corian®: Clean with diluted all-purpose cleaner. Stain care depends on the sink’s type of finish. Consult your manufacturer for details.
- Porcelain: These sinks stain easily, so never leave unclean dishes in them, and always dry them with a cotton cloth after use. Clean with diluted all-purpose cleaner and a soft cloth. Remove stains with a paste of hydrogen peroxide and baking soda. Never scrub with anything abrasive.
How to Clean the Oven
Cleaning care for an oven depends on whether it’s a conventional oven or a self-cleaning oven:
- Conventional ovens: Spray the oven with a commercial oven cleaner or a paste of orange cleaner and baking soda, and let it sit overnight. In the morning, use a sponge with a scouring pad to scrub out the oven cleaner and dissolved food residue. Be sure to rinse the oven carefully with clean water, or the next meal you cook in the oven will taste like oven cleaner.
- Self-cleaning ovens: Don’t use oven cleaners on self-cleaning ovens—they can damage the finish. Instead, follow the manufacturer’s guidelines to run the self-cleaning cycle.
How to Clean the Stovetop
You can clean the stovetop with all-purpose cleaner and a cotton rag. Work from top to bottom:
- Wipe down the range hood.
- Clean the backsplash, the wall or tile behind the stove.
- Wipe the stove’s control panel. If necessary, pull knobs straight off to wipe behind them.
- Lift the metal burner rings on the stove to wipe the areas beneath them.
- Replace aluminum drip trays (the removable trays beneath the burners) every few years.
How to Clean the Refrigerator
Before you can clean your refrigerator, you must clear it of clutter. Follow these steps to unclutter and clean it:
- Discard anything in the refrigerator that’s past its “use by” date or that you know you won’t eat.
- Gather all-purpose cleaner and a few cleaning rags. Clean the interior of the refrigerator from top to bottom, back to front, and right to left, moving items on the shelves to clean under them.
- Make sure to wipe walls, shelves, and cubbies, removing drawers to wipe inside, outside, and underneath each.
- Wipe down the rubbery door seal with warm water and all-purpose cleaner about four times a year.
- You should also clean the refrigerator coils, which are located behind or underneath the refrigerator and help the refrigerator to cool efficiently. Use a long-handled feather duster or a towel wrapped around a yardstick to reach under the refrigerator and clean the coils.
How to Clean Cabinets
If your cabinets are made of stained or unfinished wood, use a wood cleaner. Most cabinets can be cleaned with a bit of all-purpose cleaner and a damp cloth.
How to Clean Small Appliances
Wipe small appliances, such as toasters and coffeemakers, with all-purpose cleaner and a cleaning cloth. The same approach will work on the inside of microwave ovens as well.
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