Keeping any home clean requires a lot of hard work and time. But the job becomes infinitely more challenging when a large family lives there… and even more so when parents have full-time jobs.
The room that usually requires the most attention is the kitchen. This is where we cook and entertain, but for many people it’s the main reception room too. As a result, it doesn’t take long before your best cleaning efforts are reversed.
But things don’t have to be quite as difficult in the kitchen — if you clean smarter. Use these seven kitchen cleaning hacks, and you should be able to free up more time to spend with your family.
1. Clean your washing machine once a week
OK, so you thought this article was all about reducing cleaning in the home, but this tip could save you time in the long run. Have you ever taken clothes out of your washer and thought to yourself that they smell worse than they did before they were washed? If so, there’s a chance that your washing machine needs a good wash itself.
Add a cup of white vinegar to the detergent drawer, and set it away on the hottest wash. Clean the door seal and the trays, and allow everything to air dry. Doing this once a week should ensure you never have to re-wash clothes.
2. Switch to an induction hob
When grease, sauces, gravy and other cooking-related substances hit a hot hob, they instantly harden — making them very difficult to remove. If you’re spending lots of time cleaning your hob every time you cook, it could be time to switch to one that heats through induction. Electromagnetic waves are used to deliver heat the contents of the pans you use — the hob itself remains cool. A simple wipe-down with a damp cloth is enough to leave it spotless.
3. Purchase a premium extraction hood
A fridge is a fridge, right? Yes, you can get fancy models that do everything short of cooking a meal, but they all perform the same function — keeping food cold. But the same can’t be said about extraction hoods. Some are little more than design features, so take the time to research what’s available before you make a purchase. Having a powerful hood over your cooker takes moisture, odours and grease out of the air before they can settle on your kitchen surfaces.
4. Buy a self-cleaning oven
Cleaning a dirty oven is one of the most dreaded cleaning jobs any householder must tackle. Not only is it laborious, painstaking work, it usually involves the use of some very unpleasant cleaning agents. Invest in a self-cleaning oven, and you’ll never had to take on this most feared of all cleaning jobs again. With the touch of a button, your pyrolytic oven will do all of the hard work for you.
5. Buy a self-defrosting freezer
No one looks forward to the bi-annual defrost day. This dreaded task involves running food down, waste, mess and lots of elbow grease. In fact, it’s not unusual for the entire process to take two days to complete. However, a frost-free freezer ensures there’s never a build-up of frost to deal with. Yes, this type of freezer costs a little more than standard models, but you can use the extra time you save to work — or spend with your family. That’s surely a great trade-off.
6. Buy a steam cleaner
There’s nothing a steam cleaner can’t clean. If you go with a steam mop, you’ll be able to clean kitchen floors in just a couple of minutes — without the need for cleaning agents. A handheld steam cleaner can be used to clean everything, including worktops, ovens, fridges, windows, certain appliances, pans, sinks and cupboards. Not only does a jet of superheated steam cut through dirt and grease with ease, it also kills 99.9% of bacteria.
7. Always have lemons and baking soda at hand
If you have some lemons and baking soda in your kitchen at all times, there’s no stain or greasy mess you can’t deal with. For example, lemon can be used to remove limescale for taps, dishwashers and kettles. Just squeeze juice onto the affected area and wait. Baking soda is great for absorbing bad odours, cutting through grease and removing stubborn stains. And when you’re really up against it in the kitchen, you can combine both to make a very powerful cleaning paste.
Don’t spend more time cleaning in the kitchen than you really have to. Clean smarter, and you should find yourself cleaning less.