10/14/2019
Best Way To Clean A Kitchen in 9 easy steps
At Cleaning With Confidence, we often get asked, “what is the best way to clean a kitchen?,” or “how do I clean my kitchen?”. After being asked so often, we decided to finally list our process, which consists of best cleaning kitchen methods and practices, mixed in with the methods we use in our residential house cleaning division in the Metro Phoenix area.
First, let’s make sure you have the right tools and products. You will need the following:
- An all-purpose or multi-purpose cleaner (commercially sold product, or make your own)
- Dishwashing Liquid
- 2-5 microfiber towels (we usually use green ones, but any color will work)
- A nylon scrub brush or old toothbrush (that you won’t use for dental care anymore)
- Something to use for high dusting such as a Swiffer or microfiber duster with long extension pole for cleaning the edge where the ceiling meets the walls, light fixtures, ceiling fans, etc.
- A broom and dustpan, electric broom or vacuum
- A microfiber mop
- 2-10 washable Microfiber mop heads
*The following special products are optional or needed depending on surfaces being cleaned
- Stone cleaner for any granite or marble
- Bona for wood floors or cabinets
- Stainless Steel cleaner and polish
- Barkeeper’s friend, Comet, or another gentle grit-based cleanser
- An all-purpose cleaner with chlorine bleach. for bleaching out stains in porcelain sinks or on bleach-safe counters, etc.
- Sponge with a gentle scrubbing side (usually the blue on blue or yellow with green scrubbing side is a good choice – use the gentlest type necessary to avoid scratches)
- Microwaveable coffee mug or cup
- Lemon or lemon juice
Where do you start now that you’ve gathered your kitchen cleaning tools?
1. Tidy up the kitchen. A) Put everything that doesn’t belong on the counters or in the kitchen away. So, now that you have your kitchen cleaning supplies ready, the first step to cleaning the kitchen is to tidy up. That probably sounds like a no-brainer, but it is one of the best things you can do before digging in to the actual kitchen cleaning. The less there is on your counters, the less you have to clean and the less moving of items you will have. I also like to B) empty the toaster crumb tray at the beginning as well, as it won’t make more of a mess once you have started the cleaning. Finally, now is the time to C) put away any clean dishes which are sitting in your dishwasher or counter dish drying rack and D) load any dirty dishes into the dishwasher or drying rack. Tidying up the kitchen should take about 5-10 minutes.
2. Remove cobwebs and dust from high areas (high dusting) – we usually use a dusting tool with a long extension pole and gently dust the entire edge of the ceiling where it meets the vertical walls. Then, we dust any tops of cabinets, pot shelves, can lights, ceiling-hung lighting or plants, ceiling fans, etc. Always start at the top work your way down to allow any dust to settle to the ground, so your final sweeping and dusting will clean it away. High dusting will typically take 5-10 minutes.
3. Clean Cabinet Exteriors and Drawer Exteriors – depending on the level of dirt and whether it is a standard clean or deep clean, we either spot clean the areas around the handles or pulls and clean any visible dirt on the rest of the fronts, or we clean and condition the entire cabinets and drawer fronts. Which product you use depends on what your cabinets are made of. If you have wood cabinets, for example, you may wish to use Bona on a microfiber rag. Although most wood kitchen cabinets have a varnish or finish made to stand up to standard gently cleaning. If you aren’t sure which product to use, you can either use a moistened microfiber rag (which will usually get rid of about 99% of dirt), or a slightly damp microfiber or sponge (not scrub side) with 1 small drop of dishwashing liquid or liquid hand soap. Cabinet Spot cleaning should take another 5-10 minutes.
3. Clean the Inside of the Microwave. One of the best methods for cleaning a microwave is to take a microwaveable coffee cup with water and the juice of approximately one whole fresh lemon and microwave on high for about 2 minutes. This will steam the inside of your microwave and make it easy to wipe down with a damp microfiber cloth or one that has just a small amount of dish soap or multipurpose cleaner. If there is a little bit of stubborn, stuck on foods on the interior, try using a barely damp sponge (using the gentle abrasive side), using the least amount of elbow grease needed to remove the food particles. If the stuck on food is on the glass, be extra gentle. You may want to avoid the abrasive sponge altogether. It might even take steaming the interior more than once. But, unless the inside of your microwave looks like one in a college dorm room, usually one round of steaming and one gentle wipe should do the trick. If you would like to see an alternative using both vinegar and lemon juice, check out this microwave cleaning video. (Interior microwave cleaning should take 5 minutes including the time to microwave and steam water with lemon).
4. Clean Appliance Exteriors – Now is the time to clean all your appliances, whether large or countertop size. Choose the correct cleaner for each. If you have mostly stainless steel, we recommend a stainless steel cleaner. Always wipe in the direction of the grain. If it is enamel, a microfiber with all-purpose cleaner or dishwashing liquid should do the trick. For glass-top cooktops, there are some great glass appliance cleaner. Tip – Spot clean any visible dirt first. If it is hard to remove, apply the cleaner first and allow “swell time” and let the product do its job. If there is no visible dirt or you have already completed this step, put a small amount of your cleaner on a damp Microfiber and wipe from top to bottom or side to side, again depending on what the surface is made out of and if there is a grain. Use the tried and true S-pattern method of cleaning for the fastest and most effective way of completing this task. Another tip – if you are cleaning a countertop appliance, clean the area where you are moving it from at the same time, then return the appliance to an already clean area and you won’t have to move it again when you clean the rest of the counter. (We estimate this to take from 1-5 minutes per appliance.) If you have a gas cooktop or range, here is a link on how to clean it.
5. Clean the Counters – Again, depending on what surface you have, use the recommended product. We like to spot clean any visible dirt first. If there is tough, stuck on food particles that don’t come up easily with an easy spray and wipe, retreat with the correct counter cleaning product and let it sit for a few moments while you clean the other areas. Then, return to the harder to clean area. If your counters can safely be cleaned with a bleach product, we recommend it. But, don’t use bleach if you are not sure. Certain products like bleach can easily ruin quartz and marble, especially if left on for a few minutes, as the pH can ‘etch’ the stone.
6. Sweep to Prepare the Floors for Mopping – Nothing is more frustrating than trying to mop a floor that has crumbs, dust or pet hair. Although we hear complaints about going over the floors twice, the amount of time it takes to sweep first and then mop is worth it! Shake off and remove any floor mats or runner, and set them aside in another room, especially since they will usually need vacuuming, which you will do when you vacuum carpeted rooms. Although some folks vacuum their hard floors, we don’t recommend it because vacuuming actually kicks dust into the air, only to have it settle on your just washed counters. We like the old broom and dustpan method, or dry microfiber mop for this part. Some people ask us why we don’t sweep at the beginning of the clean. This is because, as you clean other items, especially counters, you will be knocking crumbs onto the floor. In addition, if you happen to walk out of the room, to grab another product for example, you will track any dirt back into the kitchen.
6. Microfiber Mop – I bet you’re asking why we were so specific about mopping with microfibers. Well, any other mopping method just doesn’t cut the dirt. In our business, a string mop and bucket is a no no because we’ve learned that there is no better way to make sure dirt stays in your house! Particularly if you have tile and grout because the dirty water settles back into the lower grout areas. We could write an entire article on how to effectively mop using a microfiber. Here is one of our favorite mopping methods in a nutshell (but, don’t use this method if you have wood floors and are mopping with a non-water-based product such as Bona). A) Dampen the microfiber head with clean warm water (a sink works fine for this and is the reason we haven’t cleaned the sink yet). B) Roll the wet microfiber tightly like a burrito and wring to squeeze out any excess water. The head should be damp and should have such little amount of water so as throwing it unrolled on the ground doesn’t splash any water, but not so dry as to be ineffective as if there is no water. Next C) attach it to the aluminum head and pole. D) Spray 3 squirts of the correct floor cleaner onto the damp head (if the head is vertical as you spray it would be a spray to each the top, middle and bottom). As an alternative, fill the sink with warm water and put 3 drops of dishwashing liquid in it while filling it with water (do not use a lot of soap, as you will need to rinse it after and residue on your floors will attract dirt faster), dip the clean microfiber into the water and wring in the same way as above. E) Start at one end of the kitchen and mop the floor using an S-pattern until you have covered about 30 square feet (if your kitchen is 10′ wide, do 3 rows, for example). Stop and look at the bottom of the mop head. If it is not dirty at all or is barely dirty, and if you didn’t come across any areas that ‘scritches,’ continue for the next 30 square feet. F) If you do hear or feel a dirty area, go over that area again until it doesn’t. You may need to apply one foot on the mop head to help it scrub that dirty area. Continue cleaning about 30 square feet at a time until the mop head is visible dirty, or until too dry to clean effectively. G) Once the mophead is dirty or too dry, replace the mop head with a fresh one that is dampened and has cleaner on it. Repeat this process until the entire floor is clean. Clean and replace any rugs or mats.
7. Clean the Kitchen Sink – The procedure for cleaning the sink is the same for nearly everything else, with a few changes. A) If your sink has a removable rubber fl**ge on the disposal side, remove it. Clean the fl**ge while you pretreat the opposite side of a double sink (see the next step) then replace the fl**ge. B) Pretreat the sink with the appropriate cleanser and let it swell or soak in for about 3-5 minutes. We like to use soft scrub with bleach on white porcelain sinks. If stainless steel, use a stainless steel cleaner and clean in the direction of the grain. You may need a tougher grease fighting cleanser for very dirty or greasy sinks, and you may need to use the abrasive side of a sponge. We often use one drop of dishwashing liquid on a wet sponge for this. C) Clean the sink including the spout, handles, etc. Be sure to clean the visible areas of the drain, and where the drain meets the sink, as a lot of dirt and mold can build up in these areas. D) Spray a little Windex, ammonia, or other glass cleaner on a clean rag and shine the faucets.
That’s it! You are all set and your kitchen is now clean and inviting.
Next time, let us do the work! Click here for our Website Home Page to learn more about our award winning cleaning services and to get a quote or schedule your residential cleaning service in Metro Phoenix, AZ (https://cleaningwithconfidence.com). Need Commercial Cleaning information? See https://cleaningwithconfidence.com/commercial-cleaning-phoenix
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