The kitchen has a few areas that you may not even be aware of that need to be cleaned.
Here are some tips to add to your cleaning plan.
1. Citrus on Appliances
A citrus-based cleaner works great for cleaning appliances such as stoves and refrigerators.
2. Remember the Range Hood’s Filter!
In addition to cleaning the outside of a range hood, be sure to clean the filter by washing it in the sink in warm water and dishwashing soap or run it in the dishwasher.
3. Dust Under the Refrigerator
Clean the gaskets on a refrigerator with citrus spray so the doors will seal tightly. Make a vacuum cleaner attachment from a cardboard gift wrap tube, and use it to clean dust under the refrigerator.
4. Scrub the Countertops
Cut a lemon in half, apply baking soda to it, and use the lemon as a scrub brush to clean countertops.
5. Refresh the Garbage Disposal
Put lemon juice and crushed ice in a garbage disposal. Run water in the sink and turn on the disposal to clean it.
Watch the video above to find out more.
VIDEO TRANSCRIPT
Danny Lipford: Now, another area of the home that needs a lot of cleaning all year long is your kitchen. And in the kitchen, there’s a few areas in here that you may not even be aware that needs to be cleaned.
Allen Lyle: Of course, you do want to keep all the surfaces of your appliances clean. For the range, that means all those grease splatters. And I love a citrus-based cleaner for that—it cuts it and makes it smell great.
Don’t forget about your range hood. You do want to make sure to hit it on the outside as well as underneath, you get a lot of grease that gets up in there.
But, you may not think about this. The filter on the range hood. This does get clogged up with the grease and gunk, so, this needs to be cleaned, too. The good news is it’s really easy to do. You can rinse this out in the sink. Or do what I like to do—you just drop it in the dishwasher. Here you go, Danny.
Danny Lipford: Now, when you’re looking at your refrigerator, there’s a few areas here that you may never think about cleaning. One is your gasket. If you don’t keep this nice and clean, it just won’t provide the adequate seal that you need to save energy and keep everything nice and cool.
Hey, while you’re at it, go ahead and clean the top of the refrigerator. You know it’s nice and dusty.
Now one other area, concerning the refrigerator that you may not think about is underneath the refrigerator. Because of the way the refrigerator works, it can pull a lot of dust under there that you never see, that can affect the efficiency and the longevity of your refrigerator.
So, using a cardboard tube, that may be left over from some gift-wrapping that you’ve done in the past, you can make your own little attachment to keep not only the refrigerator nice and clean, but while you’re at it, try the washer and dryer as well.
Allen Lyle: Danny, while you’re there, how about handing me a lemon?
Danny Lipford: Need a lemon. Here’s a lemon.
Allen Lyle: Thank you, sir.
Danny Lipford: All right.
Allen Lyle: I’ll show you a really cool trick. I love this. Take a lemon, just cut it in half, and then take some baking soda. Going to sprinkle that right on top of the lemon. The baking soda is just a very, very mild abrasive.
All right, now watch this. I’m going to take this. The lemon becomes my scrub brush to distribute all that baking soda. And I’m going to scrub and clean the sink and make it smell good, too.
Danny Lipford: And not only does that work great on a surface like a sink, but also on all of your countertops. Hey, while you got the lemon, squirt a little down in there if you will.
Allen Lyle: All right. How about this?
Danny Lipford: Right in that garbage disposal. Another thing that people just don’t think about cleaning is the garbage disposal. But, with a little lemon, a little crushed ice, will not only deodorize it, but it’ll make it nice and clean.
Further Information
- Clean Your Home Naturally Using Common Household Products (video)
- How to Remove Grease from Kitchen Cabinets (video)
- Cleaning Stainless Steel Appliances (video)
- How to Clean a Garbage Disposal (video)
