apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

We are studying all the fun things you can get in your kitchen and from food (I'm a culinary school student) and it is pretty scary.

Keeping this stuff clean is a good start.

Cheers!

How about the top of the range hood? I have had a housekeeper from one service or another for years [finally have an independent individual] and I cannot tell you how many times I have struggled over the request to clean thne range hood. They say, "the what??" like I've asked them to clean the hoo-haw outta the thingamajig and don't forget the whatzit.

I must be weird; I always clean these things. I thought everyone did. Gross to find out they don't.

I've found the best cleaner for that icky kitchen gunk that builds up on the tops of cabinets isn't your average cleaner - it's good old hot water and dish-soap. Works even better than scarier cleaners like Grease Lightning and such. I just use a little bucket of very hot water and soap, and it cuts right through everything.

When I first moved into an apartment with a garbage disposal, I got nasty little flying fruit flies. I tried all the typical cleaning things you see online - grinding ice and lemons, mixing vinegar and baking soda, commercial cleaners like little balls you throw in, never throwing food waste down... the bugs just kept coming back.

Then I accidentally dropped a spoon down there - and while groping around, I felt the sludge that had been lurking right behind the little black rubber fringe at the top. All that time and all that cleaning hadn't done anything to the top of the disposal - just the bottom and middle!

I felt very sheepish for missing something so obvious. So now whenever I clean the sink, I make sure to give the rubber fringe a good wipe on the inside as well.

Kaete - dumb question here but how did you clean that sludge goo out of your disposal? I get killing the bugs but I've tried everything and that icky sludge stuff is still there.

I clean all these things and I don't think I'm a particularly good housekeeper, either. I also throw the sink strainer in the dishwasher; it gets gunky otherwise.

You can put some fan filters in the DW as well.

After seeing "Kitchen Nightmares" my cleaning consciousness has gone way higher... not because I didn't know you should clean EVERYTHING (some things can wait longer than others, but everything must be regularly cleaned/dusted) but because I couldn't believe people would operate kitchens in SUCH a state... jeje guess ignorance was really bliss...

Hi everyone!

Just a note -- I don't mean to imply that nobody ever cleans these things in their kitchens -- hopefully we all do! This list is just a reminder of some less obvious tasks as spring cleaning gets in gear.

@nene, you're so right -- I meant to mention that some hood filters can go in the dishwasher. Thanks for adding that tip!

Happy cleaning to all -
Susie

I clean these things reasonably regularly (I think), but I do have a kitchen-cleaning confession to make:
I have a horrible gap, maybe an inch wide, between my stove/oven and the nearest bench. It's a rented apartment and this space was disgustingly filthy with grease and crumbs when I moved in: I suspect it hasn't been cleaned in years. The grease is so encrusted that regular scrubbing doesn't seem to work -- it's a hard spot to reach, but even with determined scraping/scratching/straining, the encrusted filth doesn't want to come off.
I *hate* the thought of being elbow-deep in some unknown person's cooking dirt. But I'm desperate to get this cranny clean. Any thoughts/advice about making this task easier? All gratefully received!
Thanks,
Melba

Melba123, I had exactly the same situation in a rental a few years ago. The entire stove was gunk, in and out. I pulled the stove out and basically used the same cleaner that is used for inside the stoves, (I Know it is highly toxic, but keep all windows open when u do this job) so I sprayed and let it sit for about 2 hours. Then used a small spatulla (the ones used for plastering walls) so it is strong metal, but not too sharp. It worked really well, I cleaned everything and the stove looked like it had always been clean.

I also thought that people clean all the above things, specialy the drain exit on the sink like ur first picture shows. But now that I clean the apartments of my tenants when they leave, I always have to clean them, inside out with a small toothbrush and ajax - I want a shiny sink...

Melba
I'd first spray it with some cleaner or even hot water and let it sit for a few minutes to loosen it. Then, grab a scraper and just try chipping away - may have to repeat the process several times. I finally realized that sometimes you have to give cleaners some time to work before trying to get the unpleasant task over. Also, you can probably pull your oven out into the kitchen enough to get better access (just don't pull so far to dislodge the gas line!)

hey melba123, if it was me, i'd probably spray/dump some parson's ammonia cleaner in the opening & let it sit for a day or so. then i'd come back & slosh some water--not a lot, but enough to wet it down--in there, and use one of my microfiber cleaning tools (something like this to scrub it down. i might haul out a bottle brush to loosen some of the gunk.

i'd guess you'd have to do this several times, but it should work.

Melba123, a handheld steamer works wonders on old, crusted stuff like that.

I just decided to clean the inside of my dishwasher recently and realized that i could easily pull up the filter like thingy that sits on the floor of the dishwasher and another piece. Eew, yuk! But it was quick and easy to clean so now I'll get to it more than once every few years. Amazing what you can clean when you look for it. Sitting on the floor and looking around also is an eye opener!

like robyn, i suggest the handheld steamer - i LOVE mine!

and now that i have my gas stove with no elements in the oven, that's what i use for cleaning my oven too!

Don't forget baking soda for cleaning greasy things or areas - it works better than almost anything. However if nothing else works for the sides of stove between cupboards you might have to get to the auto supply section and get some Castrol's degreaser. I know it is likely horribly toxic but it sure does work and if you only need it once . . .

Spring cleaning? What's that? I never do any of the things on this list; they've never even occurred to me. How can the inside of the dishwasher be dirty when hot water and detergent is spraying around in there daily?

Sometimes I feel like I'm the only one who defines "doing the dishes" as washing, rinsing, drying, and putting away the dishes - and then wiping off the stove, counters and table - and then sweeping the floor clean.

i have a really old stove and so the filter for the range is really old and dirty. i tried cleaning it but i don't think i'm doing it right. at one point, it was starting to tear at the edges and i'm afraid i won't find a replacement. anyway, what's the best way to clean it?? i once found a fly. how gross!!!

Filters from stoves can usually be put in the dishwasher. (Metal, right?)

If you don't have a dishwasher, I'd fill the sink with hot soapy water and let it soak for a while, thoroughly rinse, then let air dry.

honestly, i clean every week, but I dont get that in depth. seems kinda silly really. and who has time to take out everything from the cabinets dust it and put it back? some things yes, its good to clean once a month maybe, but anymore and you're being neurotic. not to mention, that these bacteria everyone is so afraid of, can be good so your immue system can learn to fight them.

don't forget the gasket seal around the refrigerator door!

OMG - I'm inviting you all over to clean my kitchen - LOL!!! You guys are amazingly thorough and good cleaners of your kitchens. I guess I'm the only person who's going to admit to the fact that I HATE cleaning, & esp the kitchen. I thoroughly clean it about 2x a year and I really don't care. The areas that get used I clean them as I use them and there is no way I'm getting up there and wiping down the tops of cabinets, top shelves of cupboards, etc on a regular basis. But hats off to you people. My grandmother was like that, my sister is like that I am at the opposite end of the spectrum.

Like Sydney I tend to clean all of these things when I clean my kitchen. I'm a bit of a clean freak as it is, although cleaning the kitchen is my LEAST favorite of all.

I'd throw everything in the dishwasher or the washing machine if I could get away with it! But I have to say that the best product to use in the kitchen is good old Bicarbonate of Soda (Baking Soda). It cuts through all the grime on the inside of the microwave; cleans the inside of my breadmaker without scratching in it; polishes my sink and leaves my stove top like new.

i definitely get the gasket seal around the fridge.

You know what you guys failed to mention - You NEED to pop the stove top up and clean the area where the burners are housed. I lifted that thing and nearly gagged when I saw the remnants of everything that has ever boiled over, it was gross. Although this area never touches food, you wouldn't want something that nasty so near your food.

@LuluParis, god, me too! I do the basics, like wiping off the counter and stove but the cabinets? Yah, so not happening regularly. As for the range hood, Haha! What range hood? (Seriously, I don't have one. I'd like one because I'd set off the fire alarm less often that way) I do scrub out the sink, though, not that it helps. The porceline is in such bad shape I can't get the brown out without bleach.

I would add pulling out the fridge and stove/oven and cleaning behind, under and on the sides. You might even find some long lost treasures here!

I do these things once a week and clean the entire fridge once a month but I like the satisfaction of a very clean kitchen.

When I was doing a final "walk through" of my new apartment with my landlord before signing the lease last year, I shoved the fridge and stove out to look under them and it was FILTHY.

She was kind of taken aback that I did that, but She had just given me a list of what needed to be cleaned before I moved out, and the charges associated with them if I didn't do it.

So she took $75 off my first month's rent because of it, lol