5 Things in the Kitchen (and Laundry Room) You Need to Clean More Often

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Our cleaning routines often become rote—just like we want them to. Chore charts and checklists keep our homes humming without having to reinvent the wheel week after week. But when you’re operating on autopilot, you can miss things that are plainly visible to anyone in a more present state of mind.

Mopping the kitchen floors could happen twice a week, but how often is the oven cleaned? Counters are cleared nightly, but when is the coffee maker detailed? And even if you keep your laundry area tidy, when was the last time you cleaned the washer and dryer?

This weekend we’ll take the opportunity to dig in on one of those oft-forgotten spots.

Here are some suggestions for what to clean and some resources for how to do it:

The first step in cleaning any laundry machine is reading the manual that came with it. If you don’t have it or can’t find it, try searching online with the name of the make and model plus “manual.” Read and follow the dos and don’ts found in the instructions. One thing to note in particular is whether your washer has a self-cleaning cycle.

If you can’t locate the manual, a smart and safe washer-cleaning routine involves just a few green cleaners: Run two loads, first with white vinegar, then with baking soda. You can also use the vinegar and a scrub brush to clean around details and rubber gaskets.

• How To Clean a Top-Loading Washing Machine
• How To Clean a Front-Loading Washing Machine

For another option (this is something that I personally do monthly), you can just toss a special cleaning tablet into your washer and a cycle. Affresh tablets can be used with both front- and top-loading machines, and includes instructions for washers with and without self-cleaning settings.

The dryer is less complicated to clean than your washer. Again, if you can, locate the manual that came with your machine and follow whatever instructions it provides.

Otherwise, for a periodic cleaning, you can wipe down the outside and doors with a rag moistened with your favorite all-purpose cleaner. Make sure to clean the lint trap thoroughly: unplug your machine and use a nozzle attachment to vacuum it out. You can also wash the lint trap screen to get rid of detergent build up by soaking it in a sink of warm, soapy water.

Perhaps most important, consider scheduling a professional cleaning of your dryer duct. Blocked vents are a major source of house fires.

Though it seems counterintuitive to have to clean the things that clean things for us, on second thought, it makes perfect sense. Over time, our cleaning machines, specifically our dishwashers, accumulate some of the gunk they remove from our dishes and may also begin to show the effects of being regularly damp.

Getting your dishwasher in ship-shape involves removing the racks, and getting up close and personal with your appliance’s intricate components. You can get it all done with a one-two punch of white vinegar and baking soda.

• How To Clean Your Dishwasher, the Right Way

You should get up close and personal with your dishwasher at least once a year. But if you just want a quick clean, there’s a dishwasher cleaning tablet for that.

Sometimes our oven is our otherwise-clean-kitchen’s dirty little secret. Rarely will anyone besides us see its interior and cleaning the oven ranks high on any list of dreaded household chores. If it’s been a while since your oven has been spic-and-span, now’s the time to remedy that.

We don’t recommend using your oven’s self-cleaning cycle as your first recourse and many commercial oven cleaners are harsh (although we’d try this fume-free one if you prefer to go the chemical route). Instead, clean your oven with a baking soda paste—and leave yourself plenty of time for the paste to sit on the oven and soak in.

• How To Clean an Oven Without Harsh Chemicals

If your oven racks and range-top grills are especially grimey, take them out and let them soak in the bathtub (put a towel or shower curtain liner down first) for a while in warm, soapy water (or just add a couple dryer sheets!).

If your larger appliances are pretty clean, turn your attention to a few smaller appliances, such as your toaster or toaster oven, coffee maker, stand mixer, or microwave.

• Cleaning Lessons: How To Clean the Toaster
• Cleaning Lessons: How To Clean a Coffee Maker
• Cleaning Lessons: How To Clean a Keurig Coffee Machine
• How To (Steam!) Clean a Microwave Quickly & Easily

Gather some detailing supplies, such as toothpicks and cotton swabs, to clean out tiny crevices, empty out crumbs where applicable, and spray a vinegar and water solution before wiping down, inside and out.

You can catch up with weekend projects right here. Share your progress with us and others by posting updates and photos on Instagram and Twitter with the hashtag #atweekendproject.

Remember: This is about improvement, not perfection. Each week you can either choose to work on the assignment we’ve sent you, or tackle another project you’ve been meaning to get to. It’s also completely okay to skip a weekend if you’re busy or not feeling the assignment.