According to StudyFinds.org, a survey of 2,000 people found that the typical American spends 1,000 hours in the kitchen. And it’s not just because cooking is a necessity; for nearly three in four polled participants, it’s an activity they enjoy doing at least sometimes.
If you’re also part of that group and love cooking, you must learn to love kitchen deep cleaning just as much. It’s for your health, safety, and that of the people you serve your dishes made with love.
To that end, the experts at Yorleny’s Cleaning Service put together this kitchen cleaning guide. Read on to learn how to deep clean a kitchen by mastering its dos and don’ts.
Do Create a Cleaning Checklist
Checklists are a tried, tested, and proven way to:
- Organize and manage tasks
- Minimize errors
- Maintain consistency
- Boost efficiency and productivity
- Ensure all steps in the list get completed
Since a checklist already outlines what you must do, you no longer have to think about it; you just have to do it, saving you time and trouble. It can also make chores feel less overwhelming, as you can break them into more manageable chunks (e.g., daily, weekly, monthly, etc.). All these benefits make checklists an invaluable tool for deep cleaning your home, including the kitchen.
Don’t Forget Must-Have Kitchen Cleaning Products
List all the materials and equipment you need to help you avoid missing spots when deep cleaning your kitchen. Here are some examples:
- Scrubs, sponges, microfiber cloths, and dusters
- Broom, dustpan, mop, and vacuum cleaner
- Dishwashing soap
- Eco-friendly cleaners, such as baking soda, lemons, and white vinegar
- Material-specific solutions for more stubborn build-up of dirt, debris, and stains
- Compostable trash bags
Do Clean Before Disinfecting
Cleaning (i.e., soaping up and wiping or mopping surfaces) removes physical contaminants, such as:
- Dirt
- Debris
- Food crumbs
- Liquid spills
- Grease and oil
Cleaning doesn’t always kill disease-causing germs, though. However, this doesn’t mean you can skip cleaning and go straight to disinfecting. As the U.S. CDC explains, impurities (like the above) can make it harder for chemicals to kill germs.
Don’t Ignore Contact Times
Also called “dwell time,” contact time is the length of time a cleaning substance must remain on a surface undisturbed. You must follow this to ensure the product can do its job effectively.
For example, when you use a specialized oven deep cleaning solution, you may have to:
- Apply it
- Wait a few minutes
- Wipe it away
The above ensures that the product has enough time to cut through the grease, grime, and baked-on food accumulated in your oven after months of use.
Many other cleaning solutions have contact times, such as those aimed at removing:
- Stubborn stains
- Mold and mildew
- Limescale
- Disease-causing germs
The label of a cleaning solution should state specific safety and usage instructions. To help you use your time efficiently, apply products with the longest dwell times first.
Do Remove and Organize Cabinets and Drawers
If you can’t remember the last time you cleaned your kitchen cabinets and drawers, now is the best time to give them a deep clean:
- Remove everything they contain
- Vacuum them thoroughly from corner to corner
- Wipe their insides with clean rags dipped in some soapy water
- Rinse and wipe them dry with a fresh rag or towel
- Wash or wipe their original contents
- Organize the contents
Don’t Start From the Bottom
Remember: Gravity is the boss. So, one of the most crucial home and kitchen cleaning methods is to begin cleaning from the top and work your way down. If you start from the bottom (e.g., the floors), they will likely get dirty again, as dust and debris may fall on them once you clean the countertops or cabinets.
If you’re deep-cleaning the entire kitchen, you can follow this step-by-step guideline:
- Remove cobwebs and dust from ceilings and light fixtures using a long-handled duster or vacuum
- Clean high shelves, cabinets, and windows
- Wash countertops
- Clean the range, oven, and fridge
- Sweep, vacuum, and mop the floors (pay careful attention to the gaps under appliances like the fridge and dishwasher)
Do Wash and Disinfect Sponges Regularly
New York Post says that a study found kitchen sponges could be as bacteria-filled as the inside of toilets. So unless you clean and disinfect your sponges (and rags) regularly, you could spread all the germs they harbor to everything you clean with them.
To avoid infectious diseases that may stem from germy sponges and rags, consider doing the following:
- Thoroughly clean them with dishwashing soap and disinfect them afterward
- Moisten and microwave them for about one minute
- Include them in a heated dry cycle when you run the dishwasher
It’s also best practice to replace sponges every two weeks or so.
Do Consider Getting Professional Help
Deep cleaning your kitchen can be therapeutic or a nightmare, depending on your perspective. If the latter is the case, or you have little to no spare time in your hectic schedule, consider outsourcing the task to professional home cleaning services.
At Yorleny’s Cleaning Service, we have highly experienced, rigorously vetted cleaners. They’re experts in whole-home, top-to-bottom cleaning and can accommodate deep cleaning requests.
Our standard cleaning services are already comprehensive. However, if you need to have the insides of the following included in the service, our deep cleaning add-ons have got you covered:
- Cabinets
- Refrigerators
- Oven
If you also need help with laundry or having your walls cleaned, please don’t hesitate to let us know. We’ll include it in your deep cleaning service.
Ready to Get Your Kitchen Deep Cleaning Chores Done?
Creating a checklist, cleaning before disinfecting, and getting professional help are the dos of kitchen deep cleaning. Conversely, ignoring contact times and cleaning from the ground up are the top don’ts to avoid at all costs.
If you’re ready to enjoy the perks and pros of a thoroughly cleaned home (not just the kitchen) without lifting a finger, we highly encourage you to explore Yorleny’s Cleaning Service. Our insured, bonded, and highly experienced cleaners are ready to clean your home from top to bottom, whether in Royal Palm Beach, Port Lucie, or beyond. We’re so confident of the quality of our services that we offer a money-back guarantee.
Call us today and tell us how we can help, and we’ll happily provide a quote!
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