Spring is on the doorstep and that can only mean one thing: it’s spring cleaning time. In the kitchen, there are 5 areas that you should lavish particular attention on:
1 – Freshen up your fridge
Start with a stock take and throw out any old jars and packets of food lurking at the back of the fridge. Next, wipe down all the shelves using a bowl of soapy water and a soft cloth to remove any debris. A toothbrush may come in handy for those hard-to-reach places. Don’t forget to clean the fridge gulley at the back so that condensation can drain away properly. If you’re not sure how, check the instruction booklet to avoid causing damage. Once your fridge is nice and clean, cut a lemon in half and place inside the fridge to act as a natural odour absorber.
2 – Deep clean your oven
Cleaning the oven is not a job for the faint hearted but someone has to do it. Unless you hire a professional oven cleaner to tackle this least favourite of kitchen cleaning jobs – money well spent if you ask us – get to work with a spray bottle filled with water and bicarbonate of soda. Spray the interior surfaces of the oven liberally (avoiding the heating element) and ideally leave overnight. Wipe the dirt off the next day, removing any leftover soda with vinegar if needed.
3 – Steam clean your microwave oven
The easiest way to clean and refresh your microwave is to steam clean it. Fill a large jug with half water and half white vinegar and place into the microwave oven on full power for 10 minutes. This is enough time for the steam to loosen any stubborn food stains and spills, meaning all you have to do is to simply wipe away the moisture with the dirt. To deodorise your microwave – especially useful after you’ve cooked fish in it – put 2 lemon halves into a bowl of water and microwave for 15 minutes. Bingo, the smell is gone.
4 – Scrub your stainless steel
Stainless steel sinks can be notoriously difficult to keep sparkling clean. Our top tip is to avoid anything abrasive on steel sinks and draining boards. Instead, sparingly use a wax based aerosol cleaner or a proprietary stainless steel cleaning agent such as Bar Keepers Friend. For a more natural approach, clean your sink with a paste of baking soda and water, then rinse with vinegar, a natural disinfectant that will also help remove hard water stains.
5 – Descale the kettle
At the end of a winter of endless cups of hot tea and coffee, your trusty kettle will need some much needed attention. You can buy all-purpose kettle descaler from hardware shops and supermarket, or use your general store cupboard vinegar to do the same job. A weak acid, it’s perfect for cleaning, disinfecting, removing limescale and mineral deposits. Put half a cup of white vinegar into a kettle of water, bring to the boil and leave to sit overnight. This should be enough to remove any surface scale. Dip a cloth into the vinegar solution and use on the outside of a chrome kettle to give it nice polish.