10 Cleaning Tricks for Everyday Kitchen Messes (No Chemicals Needed!)
Updated: May 16, 2023
Time-saving cleaning hacks that actually work? Yes, please!
Sidestep the disappointment of a chemical cleaner that promises wonders and leaves what you’ve “cleaned” just the way it was before, only lemon scented. With these cleaning tricks, you can actually achieve much better results—and your pocketbook will thank you! Here, we’ve got the goods on how to de-gross, sanitize and spiff up your kitchen.
Pipe clean your way to a sparkling plastic container
The quintessential crafting staple is no slouch when it comes to kitchen cleaning hacks. You can fold it and use to reach to those awkward corners of your plastic containers or slide them through your reusable straws. Pipe cleaners are also incredibly handy when cleaning your knife block– yep, you should be cleaning it!
Work your blender with this miracle wash
We love a good smoothie, but the mess deep down in the grooves of the blade afterward? Not so much. To clean it more effectively than your dishwasher or even a long soak in the sink can do, rinse it out and fill it right back up with two cups of warm soapy water. Run the blender for 10 to 20 seconds. This trick works for all types of blenders.
Need a deep clean? Check out our complete blender guide.
Spray before you grate
If you’ve ever torn your cleaning sponge trying to clean your cheese grater (speaking of, you need to try this buzz-worthy TikTok cheese grater), we feel you. Ditto to those who have opened the dishwasher to find hardened on cheese fragments—eww. Avoid it all with this one simple step before you grate.
A generous coating of cooking spray will make grating an easier task, and all those errant pieces will have nothing to cling to and slide right off. And that’s just the start of genius uses for cooking spray.
Steam out the microwave mess
When nobody follows your rule about covering food before nuking it, we all know what comes next. A stinky, sticky microwave interior that nobody wants to be stuck cleaning. If that happens to be you, (in my house it’s always me), save yourself some serious elbow grease with this cleaning trick.
Mix 1/2 to 3/4 cup water with two tablespoons of baking soda, and heat it in the microwave until boiling (usually between four and five minutes). Psst! You can also clean sponges in the microwave using this method!
To mix it up with a different scent, substitute baking soda for sliced lemons, limes or oranges. And if you’ve got vanilla extract on hand, you can add a few droplets to the cup of water for yet another fresh smelling alternative.
Give your appliances the baby treatment
For a fast and efficient way to de-grease your appliances, grab a soft cloth, dish soap and a bottle of baby oil. It’s a two-step process but the finished product is well worth the effort. Dampen the cloth with water and dish soap and take care to rub with the grain of the material. Follow this step with a soft cloth dipped in baby oil and you’ll remove any smudges, grease spots, or fingerprints while also replenishing the surface.
Buff your metal faucets with laundry sheets (and club soda)
Get rid of those unsightly hard water stains and mineral deposits with a dryer sheet! No really—even the used ones that come will work just fine. Just fold them up and buff your faucets for a like-new sheen.
If you’ve got stainless steel sinks, try club soda! A clean sponge dampened with the carbonated beverage is all it takes to make your sink gleam.
Brush away toaster crumbs
If you’ve got a toaster, you’ve got crumbs. Both the upright and toaster oven types are notorious for trapping minuscule crumbs that make the whole appliance look, well, gross. Invest in a cleaning-only pastry brush—here is one option.
Pastry brushes are the perfect length for cleaning crumbs out of those hard to reach spots. We like it better than the oft-recommended toothbrush—the bristles on a pastry brush are longer and stiffer, making it more effective to sweep out old pieces of food. (And don’t forget to empty the crumb tray regularly!)
Scrape your stovetop edge to spic and span perfection
You know that teeny tiny opening between your counter and stovetop? It’s a magnet for the bitty pieces of meals past. Yuck. Get it out of there and into the trash with a damp cloth and a sharp knife. Wrap the damp cloth around the knife and carefully scrape in those crevices. We don’t recommend using a kitchen knife as it can dull or bend the blade. Read about the ways you’re abusing your kitchen knives without knowing it.
Boil away any kitchen odor
When one too many meals prepped has your kitchen smelling less than fresh, grab the vinegar and hit up your spice rack. Mix one cup of vinegar with a tablespoon of cloves and heat to boiling; your kitchen will smell fresh and clean in 10 minutes. Cloves not your thing? Try any of these other simmering potporris—they’re even better than your favorite scented candle.
Banish your burnt pan scrubbing routine with rhubarb
Who among us hasn’t dealt with her fair share of burnt pans? They are a nightmare to clean—unless you have rhubarb. No, that is not a typo. For best results, chop it up and boil for 10 minutes. Allow it to cool, then dump out the contents, rinse, and relish in this new cleaning hack!
Ketchup clean your way to stain-free cookware
If you’ve got stainless steel cookware marked by stubborn stains, all is not lost. The answer, in fact, is in your refrigerator condiment section.
With a bit of ketchup (yep!) and steel wool, you can coax those pans back to shine. Who knew that the acid in tomato ketchup had such stellar cleaning properties? Here are other ways you can clean with ketchup!
Originally Published: November 01, 2018
