Kitchen is a special place of our house. Very rarely people living in a house or an apartment limit themselves to only preparing food in the kitchen.
As a rule kitchen becomes a place of family communication. Intimate conversations, the preparation of homework under mother’s supervision, while there is cooking is in process, and even watching television often take place exactly in this room. That is why the special requirements are put forward for cleanness of this area.
Therefore, kitchen cleaning turns into a daily exhausting process, but sometimes there comes a point when you need to carry out a tremendous cleaning of all secluded places and surfaces.
The chemical industry is working hard to make the work on cleaning the premises as light and pleasant as possible. A variety of agents were created and developed for washing and cleaning of any surface. But sometimes there is a situation when the use of household chemicals is not possible, because small children or allergic people may be in the family, or you are just a supporter of ecological cleaning.
In this article we will help you, to conduct a deep cleaning in the kitchen using natural home means.
Cleaning is best to be done from the top down.
1. Start with the ceiling
Sweep the cobweb and soot micro particles, settled during cooking with the whisk or a duster.
2. Washing the walls
If the walls are surfaced with tiles or plastic panels, soda, vinegar, citric acid, ammonia and chalk will help to wash them from the solidified droplets of grease and dirt, as well as from the lime deposit.
• Soda is an all-purpose detergent with a light abrasive effect and can be used on all surfaces that cannot be hurt by scratches. In a small plate we put some soda and gradually add water to make a thick cream. With a stiff side of a sponge we put a lot of this soda paste on tiles and clean with circular movements. To enhance the effect of cleaning tile joints, go over it with an old toothbrush with stiff bristles. Then collect the remains of soda and dirt with a microfibre cloth, rinse with clean water and wipe the tiles dry.
• If the tiles are very dirty, add some citric acid into soda.
• Loose chalk or tooth powder is also a mild abrasive cleaning agent. Add a little water to chalk and rub the tiles with the received paste. Then rinse with clean water and wipe the tiles. This method is particularly well suited for the white joints between tiles.
• Vinegar is a good fat solvent. If you do not mind its pungent odor, tiles can be washed with a solution of vinegar and water. For a glass of water, take a quarter cup of vinegar. Moisten the sponge in the solution and apply to the tiles. Wait for fifteen-twenty minutes. In areas of heavy contamination rub the tile using more intense movements. Then rinse vinegar thoroughly with clean water and wipe tiles dry.
• On the tiles near the sink the limescale is often formed. Citric acid perfectly copes with it. On a wet sponge, put the powder and apply it on places polluted with limescale. Leave it for a while and then thoroughly rub. Citric acid will make the limestone soft, and it can easily be washed off with water.
• Ammonia will wash plastic panels clean. For cleaning plastic, use only a soft cloth to avoid scratches formation. Apply ammonia only with your windows open.
If the walls are covered with washable wallpaper, you can clean it with ordinary liquid dishwashing detergent. Make substantial soap foam in a bowl with water. Dampen a soft cloth, gently press it and wash your wallpaper. Then use a dry cloth to wipe them. Start washing wallpapers with places hidden from view. If the wallpaper is well washed and does not change its structure and colors, you can continue cleaning the entire surface.
3. Proceed to washing the windows
To wash windows with folk remedies, perhaps, almost anyone is able. There is actually one little secret. To start with, vacuum the frame, without putting the nozzle on. By this you remove dust and fine debris from the grooves, latches and slots.
Then clean frame. Wooden frames are well-washed with soap solution. And to wash the plastic profile, you can use an aqueous solution of sal-ammoniac. The proportion of ammonia and water should be the one to fifty.
The glass is also well washed with ammonia, but you can use vinegar as well. Six percent vinegar is added to water. For a glass of water take a little more than a quarter cup of vinegar. In this case it using of spray device is much more convenient. But if there is no such one in the house, moisten a soft cloth in the solution and thoroughly wipe the glass and then rub up to shine, it is possible for this purpose to use a newspaper.
Clean the window sills in the same way as window profile. Do not forget about the drip strips. They should also be cleaned.
4. Cleaning the kitchen hood, stove and oven
• There are usually some difficulties with cleaning the filters of the kitchen hood, because they are not easy to be cleaned. Try to soak them in a hot salt solution. While the filters are soaking, you may clean the hood’s carcass and the stove. The hood’s carcass can be easily cleaned from fat with soda. To enhance its effect, previously wipe the surface with vinegar solution.
• Stove and oven should be wiped with a cloth, well soaked in ammonia. Then rinse them with clean water and wipe dry.
• It is easy to get rid of fat in the oven with the help of ordinary table salt. Apply it with a thick layer on all surfaces and heat the oven to hundred degrees. Thirty minutes continue baking salt; it will absorb all the fat. Once the oven is cooled, sweep the salt, wash the oven with water and wipe it dry.
5. Proceed to kitchen furniture
• Take out from the cabinets all their contents. All utensils should be washed. Look through the cereals and other products. Spoiled once or expired should be thrown away.
• To dissolve fat droplets on the furniture you can use sal ammoniac, lemon juice or diluted alcohol. Use a soft cloth to wash the furniture to avoid damaging the surface.
6. Cleaning of a sink and faucet
Most of our faucets suffer from limescale. In a spray bottle, pour a mixture of water, vinegar and of ammonia. Vinegar and water we take in the ratio of half and half, and add a little bit of ammonia. Spray the mixture on the faucet and the metal sink, in thirty minutes rub a little with a stiff side of a sponge, and then rinse with water.
7. The final stage – floor
• First of all, sweep or vacuum the floor.
• The floors are recommended to be washed starting from the corners. Salt will make the cleaning easier and will help to get rid of stains. Add it in the wash water. For a bucket of water you need fifty grams of salt. Wash the floor again with clean water so that the floor had no whitish streaks. Let the floor dry thoroughly.
Well, that’s all – the kitchen shines with cleanliness.