The place where you prepare your food can get downright grimy. Here’s your guide to clean kitchen appliances.
Besides wiping down your counters. Your appliances need a thorough scrub, too.
Your Sink and Garbage Disposal
When you walk by your sink, do you detect a foul odor? If you do, it could signal food debris caught and rotting in your garbage disposal. You don’t want to stick your hand in there, so what can you do?
One natural method involves using baking soda and vinegar to make a miniature Vesuvius. Pour in half a cup of baking soda and top it with white distilled vinegar until your drain begins to foam out the top. If you like, you can follow this by adding a handful of ice cubes and running the appliance to scrub any remaining bits from the drain. If you want a light, citrusy scent in your kitchen, save your lemon and orange peels to run through the disposal once per week.
Your Dishwasher
SOURCE: PIXABAY
Do your dishes come out of the wash with an unsightly film? The problem might be your detergent, or it could be a sign of something more. For example, most water heaters have a 12-year lifecycle, and less-than-squeaky dishes can signal that yours is about to go on the fritz. You could also have a buildup of debris inside the appliance itself.
To clean and disinfect this appliance, place a full cup of distilled white vinegar on the top rack and run it on the hottest cycle. Keep a careful eye on the next load you wash. If your dishes still have a film after disinfecting, your water might not be getting hot enough.
Your Microwave
No matter how careful you try to be, occasionally, your reheated teacup boils over. Worse, you blow up leftover spaghetti in the microwave. If you don’t wipe it up right away, it becomes encrusted.
To loosen tough dirt, place a cup of water with some lemon wedges in the microwave and run it on high for three to four minutes. The steam from the boiling liquid will loosen the food bits so you can wipe them away in a snap. And the lemon will have it smelling fresh again.
Your Oven
Even if you have a self-cleaning oven, you need to give it some TLC — at least, if you don’t want to stink up your house. Fortunately, you don’t have to invest in costly and toxic chemicals to do the job. Blend 3 tablespoons of baking soda with approximately half as much water to make a paste. Let it sit for about 20 minutes. Then, take a damp rag and wipe away those spills from the casserole you filled too close to the brim.
Your Refrigerator
Your refrigerator can get dirty, and flourishing bacteria can rot food more quickly. That means throwing money away when you go to the grocery. When your fridge grows unsightly, take everything out, and wipe down all your shelves and drawers. Check out this article for in-depth tips on how to clean your fridge.
Keep Your Kitchen Appliances Clean
SOURCE: UNSPLASH
Unclean kitchen appliances harbor germs that can harm your family. Keep your cooking space sparkling with these tips.
AUTHOR: KACEY BRADLEY
Kacey Bradley is the blogger behind The Drifter Collective, an eclectic lifestyle blog that expresses various forms of style through the influence of culture and the world around us. Along with writing for her blog, she has written for sites like U.S. News, SUCCESS, Guides for Brides, Hotel Online and more!
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