June 9th, 2020 by Sarah Miles

Deep cleaning requires some time and some real effort and therefore it’s often something that we put off for another day. That said, it’s not only a wonderful thing to do in terms of the hygienic benefits, but it’s a really satisfying project to throw yourself into for a day and a really productive use of time (which you may find you have a glut of at the moment!).

Here is our guide to deep cleaning your kitchen including all the jobs that wouldn’t normally get done during the course of general kitchen cleanliness.

Clean the oven

Most of us are pretty diligent about keeping visible areas of the kitchen clean but less enthusiastic about cleaning the dreaded oven! Food spills and splashes become burnt on and seem like a big job to remove. Actually, there are some really good oven cleaning products out there that you simply spray on and then leave while they dissolve it all away so that you can just wipe it off. Do this first so it can be working while you tackle the rest of the kitchen.

Descale your appliances

We mainly think of kettles and irons needing descaling every now and then but actually, any appliance that uses water can potentially suffer from a build-up of limescale, especially if you live in a hard water area. This includes dishwashers, washing machines, and coffee machines. Luckily a multi-purpose descaler can be used on all these appliances. The benefit of descaling these gadgets will be better performance and a longer lifespan. In a throwaway society where it might seem easier to just replace some items like kettles and irons when they become furred up with limescale, looking after them and making them last is much more environmentally friendly than having them end up in landfill and the descaling process is actually really easy to do.

Pro-Kleen Multi-Purpose Descaler 5L

Price: £19.96

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Clear out the cupboards

No kitchen deep clean is complete without cleaning the insides of the cupboards. This may not have been done for a really long time because of all the food, crockery and cookware stored in them. We know that it seems like a mammoth task but it’s so rewarding to do: getting rid of all the out of date spices and 5-year-old half jars of pickles will free up lots of space and you can take the opportunity to really organise your store cupboards so everything is much easier to find. You will probably be pretty disgusted to see how dirty the cupboards really are once they’re empty so it will feel great to give them a good clean. Why not use it as an opportunity for good? Any unopened non-perishable food that is still in date but you’re unlikely to eat could be donated to a food bank and if you have cookware or crockery that’s still in decent condition but you just don’t use, why not donate this to charity?

Clear out the fridge and freezer

Yes, we know; not a pleasant job, but a necessary one. Fridges can be a hotbed of sticky marks, crumbs and discarded jars of goodness-knows-what lurking at the back. Getting everything out, throwing away the nasty, or just unlikely-to-be-used, items will free up precious fridge space and vastly reduce the risk of food poisoning! Again, you may be slightly appalled to see just how dirty it is once empty. Your freezer is no doubt harbouring long-forgotten portions of cottage pie, bags of spinach that seemed like a good idea at the time and pots of unidentifiable substances. You might even find some gems like a couple of steaks you’d forgotten about and other food you can plan meals around (great for when you’re on a budget and looking to save money on your weekly shop). As with cupboards, take the opportunity to organise the contents so you can immediately find what you need.

Give the sink and drains a blast

The kitchen sink plughole is one of the hardest working areas of your kitchen and most people allow more food waste down them than is really recommended, especially fats and grease which can solidify in your drains. You can tell when things start to clog up as water will take longer to drain away and, if left untreated, can eventually cause much bigger problems and require the services of a plumber. Even if you’re very careful and your drains appear to be working well, it is a really good idea to treat them with a drain unblocker product periodically. This uses chemicals to dissolve fats, food, hair, and soap in the drains and keep them clear. Remember, appliances such as washing machines and dishwashers often use the same pipes for their wastewater and treating them will help clean the whole line, where you can’t see.

Clean high and low

While work surfaces are subject to daily scrutiny, areas that are high up (such as on top of cupboards) or very low (skirting boards and kickboard plinths) are often overlooked. You may even be guilty of storing items on the top of cupboard units that you can’t find space for anywhere else. These areas can be real dust and dirt magnets so even though you don’t notice them, you will feel better for getting up high and down low and giving them a good clean.

Clean the floor

Your floor is obviously subject to heavy use, especially if your kitchen leads directly outside, which most do. As well as footfall related dirt, your floor will be subjected to spills, crumbs, and pet hair so it really needs a good clean quite regularly. We’d recommend leaving this job to last so that any crumbs and spills from other cleaning tasks can be taken care of. However, you do it is a personal choice: some swear by their steam cleaner while others prefer a good old fashioned mop and bucket. Choose a detergent that is tough on dirt but won’t damage your floor surface, whether it be wood, laminate, tiles, or lino.

5L Pro-Kleen Pro+ Citrus Splash Steam Detergent Solution

Price: £14.99

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Hopefully, all that will keep you busy for a day and will be very rewarding once done. Get your music on, roll your sleeves up and you might even find that you quite enjoy it!