Cleaning with the Pros: Appliances
Between Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year’s Eve celebrations – your kitchen (and you!) has been working overtime. Now that the new year is here, there’s no better time to start fresh with a deep cleaning. By focusing on your main appliances, like your oven, stove, and refrigerator, you can make a huge difference in a short period of time.
Our #1 rule of thumb, for any room, is to always start from the top and work your way down. This way, dust, dirt, and debris won’t fall onto clean surfaces below.
The self-cleaning function on your oven is much-loved by some, and so-very hated by others. While it requires much less effort on your part, that burning smell is something a lot of people don’t want to put up with. If you really want to have a clean oven sans-smell, you’re going to have to put in some work yourself!
The products we recommend using you probably already have on hand – plus, they’re safe, effective, and don’t release any harmful fumes. Grab some baking soda, vinegar, water, a heavy-duty scrub brush, and some clean dish cloths or rags from your pantry and let’s begin!
Step one, remove and clean the oven racks. Just scrubbing them with some warm soapy water should do the trick but if there’s a lot of caked on grease, a soaking will work! To soak them, douse the racks with baking soda and vinegar to create that fun science experiment foaming reaction – this will help break down the grease.
Step 2, tackle the inside. The best way we’ve found bring your oven back to its former glory is to create a baking soda and vinegar paste. Using about 1 cup of baking soda and ½ a cup of vinegar, slather the paste onto the inside of the oven and let it sit for about 5 hours. Once the 5 hours is up, use a damp sponge or rag and some elbow grease to remove it.
Step 3, the easy part. Do one final wipe down of any buttons, knobs, and handles with a damp cloth. Ta-da!
When tackling your refrigerator, the first step is the best step. Empty that bad boy out! It’s the perfect time to throw away any old or expired foods, toss any leftovers, or get an idea of what you need to grab on the next grocery run.
Now that you can see all the filth and grime, it’s time to clean it. Remove any drawers or shelves and toss them to the side for now – we recommend storing them in the sink for the time being. Now, grab a large bowl and create a soapy mixture of warm water and your favorite dish soap. Grab a sponge or a dish scrubber and gently scrub all the surface areas within your fridge with this mixture. Once the inside is nice and soapy, grab a clean dish cloth and wipe dry, removing any crumbs and moisture.
Now, head over to the sink and grab the shelves and drawers you set aside. Take that same soapy mixture you used on the inside of the refrigerator and use it to clean all the gunk off your shelves and drawers. We recommend tossing them into the sink and turning on some warm water to minimize the mess and inevitable splashing.
Now here comes the fun part, once every piece is clean and dry put them back in their rightful home and admire your sparkling, clean refrigerator!
The last area of the kitchen we’re tackling today is your stove-top, home to all the spills, splatters, and stains.
Once again, we’re gonna grab our trusty baking soda and vinegar duo. Be sure that you haven’t recently used your oven or stove and that the top is cool to the touch. We recommend pouring your vinegar into our Bottle Service Refillable Glass Spray Bottle to make it easier to spritz across the top of your stove top.
Once you’ve sprayed the vinegar, generously sprinkle baking soda on top of it. While the mixture is working its magic, take a large dish cloth or towel and wet it with some hot water. Wring out any excess water and then place the towel across the stove top for around 10-15 minutes. We’re basically creating an exfoliating, stove facial.
After 15 minutes, remove the towel and use it to wipe up any leftover vinegar and baking soda. Repeat this until all your baked on residue is gone! Voila!
Our #1 rule of thumb, for any room, is to always start from the top and work your way down. This way, dust, dirt, and debris won’t fall onto clean surfaces below.
The self-cleaning function on your oven is much-loved by some, and so-very hated by others. While it requires much less effort on your part, that burning smell is something a lot of people don’t want to put up with. If you really want to have a clean oven sans-smell, you’re going to have to put in some work yourself!
The products we recommend using you probably already have on hand – plus, they’re safe, effective, and don’t release any harmful fumes. Grab some baking soda, vinegar, water, a heavy-duty scrub brush, and some clean dish cloths or rags from your pantry and let’s begin!
Step one, remove and clean the oven racks. Just scrubbing them with some warm soapy water should do the trick but if there’s a lot of caked on grease, a soaking will work! To soak them, douse the racks with baking soda and vinegar to create that fun science experiment foaming reaction – this will help break down the grease.
Step 2, tackle the inside. The best way we’ve found bring your oven back to its former glory is to create a baking soda and vinegar paste. Using about 1 cup of baking soda and ½ a cup of vinegar, slather the paste onto the inside of the oven and let it sit for about 5 hours. Once the 5 hours is up, use a damp sponge or rag and some elbow grease to remove it.
Step 3, the easy part. Do one final wipe down of any buttons, knobs, and handles with a damp cloth. Ta-da!
When tackling your refrigerator, the first step is the best step. Empty that bad boy out! It’s the perfect time to throw away any old or expired foods, toss any leftovers, or get an idea of what you need to grab on the next grocery run.
Now that you can see all the filth and grime, it’s time to clean it. Remove any drawers or shelves and toss them to the side for now – we recommend storing them in the sink for the time being. Now, grab a large bowl and create a soapy mixture of warm water and your favorite dish soap. Grab a sponge or a dish scrubber and gently scrub all the surface areas within your fridge with this mixture. Once the inside is nice and soapy, grab a clean dish cloth and wipe dry, removing any crumbs and moisture.
Now, head over to the sink and grab the shelves and drawers you set aside. Take that same soapy mixture you used on the inside of the refrigerator and use it to clean all the gunk off your shelves and drawers. We recommend tossing them into the sink and turning on some warm water to minimize the mess and inevitable splashing.
Now here comes the fun part, once every piece is clean and dry put them back in their rightful home and admire your sparkling, clean refrigerator!
The last area of the kitchen we’re tackling today is your stove-top, home to all the spills, splatters, and stains.
Once again, we’re gonna grab our trusty baking soda and vinegar duo. Be sure that you haven’t recently used your oven or stove and that the top is cool to the touch. We recommend pouring your vinegar into our Bottle Service Refillable Glass Spray Bottle to make it easier to spritz across the top of your stove top.
Once you’ve sprayed the vinegar, generously sprinkle baking soda on top of it. While the mixture is working its magic, take a large dish cloth or towel and wet it with some hot water. Wring out any excess water and then place the towel across the stove top for around 10-15 minutes. We’re basically creating an exfoliating, stove facial.
After 15 minutes, remove the towel and use it to wipe up any leftover vinegar and baking soda. Repeat this until all your baked on residue is gone! Voila!