Fall in Love with Your Kitchen All Over Again

Our editor is expecting a family visitor next week and has been getting ready for “the royal visit” by tackling one room at a time. Yesterday she gave her kitchen a spring-clean and has fallen in love with the room all over again.

Here are her top tips:

Start with your vacuum cleaner. Put it to use removing any flaky food bits from the bottom of your oven, pantry shelves, and refrigerator drawers before wiping them down.

One of the most challenging parts of deep cleaning a kitchen is removing grease residue. This residue may be on top of cupboards, on shelves and in kitchen fan extractors. You’ll need to thoroughly wipe all of these surfaces with a degreaser, and then wipe them again with warm water to avoid streaking.

Don’t forget to clean your kitchen window. Kitchen widows are often situated above sinks and get accidentally splashed with all kinds of liquids. Use a glass cleaner, then buff with scrunched up newspaper or kitchen towel.

Descale coffee machines and kettles, especially if you live in a place with ‘hard water’. Although you can’t see it the outside, lime and calcium build-up can affect the quality and taste of the water, and the longevity of the appliance.

Clean your microwave by steaming it. All you need to do is put two cups of water, two tablespoons of vinegar and half a lemon in a microwaveable bowl. Microwave it on high for five minutes, then leave the door closed and let it steam for a few minutes. Remove the bowl and turntable, then wipe down the inside of the microwave with a sponge. Wash the turntable in the sink. Use a dry cloth to finish cleaning.

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