Spring Clean Your Kitchen

Spring Clean Your Kitchen
September 29, 2015 Cure All Pest Control

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The kitchen is the hub of the home, so it deserves a little TLC now winter’s over. Not only will a spring clean leave your kitchen feeling fresher and looking amazing, but it will also be a more hygienic and healthy place for your family to hang out in and cook meals.

Pre-clean

Start by giving your kitchen a quick tidy up. This doesn’t need to be time intensive, just clear away any clutter that doesn’t belong in the kitchen, put away the dishes and give the surfaces a wipe over.

Pantry

Remove all the pantry items and set out on the kitchen table. Any items that are past their expiry date or empty boxes should be discarded. Items that are still within their expiry date that you know won’t be eaten can be donated or given to friends/family. Sweep the floor and wipe down the pantry shelves with all purpose eco-cleaner before stowing the food items back in neatly. Note: you may need to buy extra storage containers for opened items. Be aware of weevils, pantry moths and other pesky creepy crawlies and get them under control before they take over your whole pantry.

Fridge

Empty out everything in the fridge, including those lone beer bottles rolling around in the back! Get rid of anything that’s past its use-by date, moldy or inedible. Using warm soapy water wipe down all the sides to get rid of spots and spills. It will be easier take out the shelves and produce compartments to wash them in the sink. Put the food back in neatly where it’s supposed to go.

If there are still odours, a dish of baking soda left overnight in the fridge will absorb them. Wiping down your fridge’s surfaces with some paper towel and vanilla will also keep your fridge smelling inviting.  Remove fridge magnets and wipe down the exterior and door handles to get rid of greasy fingerprints and food spots.

Oven

The oven is perhaps the most dreaded task of kitchen cleaning, but it doesn’t need to be. You also don’t need to use a heavy duty oven cleaner, all you need is baking soda, white vinegar and a damp sponge. Take out the trays and put into the kitchen sink with a fresh lot of warm soapy water. Sprinkle baking soda on a damp sponge that’s been soaked in the vinegar and wipe the inside of the oven.

For stubborn food spills put a small amount of baking soda directly onto the spill and pour on a teaspoon of vinegar and leave it to activate. Come back to it in 15 minutes after you’ve cleaned the top and front of the stove. The spill should come off easily with a bit of elbow grease. Dry off the trays and return to the oven.

Microwave and dishwasher

Add lemon juice and water to a microwave-safe bowl and zap it on high for three minutes to deodorise and to easily remove baked on grime. Empty the dishwasher of items and clean the filter, put it through a wash cycle on empty. Running it with a small dish of white vinegar is also a good way to banish odours.

Small appliances

Empty the crumb tray and clean the exterior of the toaster, wipe the kettle, blender, coffee machine and any other small appliances to remove dust and food spills. This is especially important to minimise food sources for cockroaches.

Surfaces & Floors

Tidy, store or discard any mail, menus, kids toys or general knick knacks off the kitchen counter and table and give them a good wipe down with anti-bacterial eco-spray. Sweep or vacuum up loose debris on the floor and follow with a damp mop / floor cleaner or steam cleaning.

Sink & Rubbish Bin

Last but not least empty your sink of dirty water and give it a wipe with anti-bacterial eco-cleaner, rinse with a jet of hot water and dry with a microfibre cloth. Finally empty the rubbish bin and put in a new liner, wipe the exterior with the microfibre cloth to leave it shiny and fingerprint free.