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Tuesday, October 26, 2010

Kitchen Cleaning Tips

http://www.oph-good-housekeeping.com/kitchen-cleaning.html


A clutter free kitchen is much easier to work in and less likely to harbor germs that may impair your health.


Get into the habit of putting items back where they belong immediately after use. this is esasier to do if items that are used more frequently are stored in more accessible places whilst items used once in a while can inhabit those out of the way places such as high or low level cupboards.


Identify areas in your kitchen that accumulate clutter. Target these areas in particular and make a point of clearing. Start the day well. It's so much easier to get up in the morning to a clean and tidy kitchen. Dirty pots (supposedly soaking) left in the sink or on draining boards over night will not necessarily be easier to clean. below are some good housekeeping and homemaking tips on removing stubborn food remnants from pots and pans and other kitchen equipment.


Pan Cleaning


To remove burned food from pans add a squirt of washing up liquid to a half in of water, then bring to the boil. Allow the liquid to cool in the pan, then simply wipe clean.


Oven Cleaning


Removing spilled over food from the oven bottom couldn't be easier. Simply sprinkle a handful of salt over the spillage. The smoke will reduce and the spill will be easier to clean once the oven cools down.


Microwave Oven cleaning


To clean your microwave oven use 2 tablespoons of lemon juice or vinegar in 2 cups of water in a microwave safe container large enough to hold 4 cups and microwave on high for 3 minutes. carefully remove the bowl and wipe the oven clean with paper towels. Reapeat if necessary to remove more stubborn food splashes.
This kitchen cleaning tip comes in handy when dealing with your microwave. Before you start to clean it place a damp cloth inside, put the timer on 40 seconds and turn on. The steam from the damp cloth should now have loosened the grime within the microwave, thus making it easier to remove grime.


Other Kitchen Equipment


If plastic from the bread wrapper melts onto your toaster, allow it cool down then use nail polish remover to get it off.


Coffee makers can be cleaned by running through the brew cycle using equal parts of white vinegar and water. Repeat this process two or three times but using fresh water.
Clean your blenderwith washing up liquid and water. Fill to the half way line and blend away the mess. Rinse through with warm water to clear any residue.
Another good kitchen cleaning tip where the washing machine is concerned, is to run the machine on empty using one cup of lemon juice and one cup of hot water, this is a very good trick for keeping the drum clean.
To clean the washing powder dispenser, leave it to soak in hot water and then clean the smaller parts with a cotton bud.


To keep the fridge smelling fresh and odour-free, this kitchen cleaning tip comes in handy, what you need to do is get a piece of cotton wool and put droplets of vanilla essence onto it, and place it in the middle of the fridge, this will stop the odours in their tracks.



To keep your bin odour-free pour a good helping of talcum powder or baking soda into the bottom of it. This will then keep those evil smells at bay.
This is a gem of a cleaning tip, we all hate the site of what greets us when we remove the lid from our kettles, right? All that lime scale, yuck!! Well, this doesn’t have to be the case. What you need to do, in order to remove the lime scale is to fill the kettle with 2/3 hot water and 1/3 brown vinegar and then leave it to soak for roughly 60 minutes. When you have done this pour the vinegar water mix away and fill the kettle again, as normal, and boil, pour the boiled water away and all the lime scale will be removed.
A good tip to keep the element lime scale free is to use a oyster shell, yes an oyster shell, you did hear me right. What you need to do is boil the shell in order to remove any germs from it, and just pop it into the kettle and leave it there. The theory behind this, and it does actually work, is that the lime scale will attach itself to this rather than the element.
If you have any little cracks or holes in your linoleum a good tip is to get a crayon similar in colour to the linoleum, pop it in the microwave to make it soft and smear it over the crack, and wipe it with a cloth to make it straight. The theory behind this is that, the crayon will fill in the crack when it dries.
Stainless steel sinks can be freed of limescale and mineral deposits by placing paper towels soaked in vinegar around the sink. leave for an hour or so then buff with adry paper towels for a clean and shiny effect.
Sluggish drains may be cleaned using white vinegar and baking soda. Pour half a cup of baking soda down the drain then add half a cup of white vinegar and cover. Allow the mixture to foam for a few minutes then pour down 8 mor so cups of boiling water. NB Do not use this mixture after using any other commercial cleaner.
Waste disposal systems can be freshened up by putting lime or lemon pieces down them every few days. for added freshness sprinkle a couple of tablespoons of baking soda down the drain then add a couple of ice cubes and switch it on, running the hot water for a few minutes whilst the system is working.


Non commercial cleaning products


Dry baking powder makes an excellent polish for chrome. Clean porcelain with a mix of cream of tartar and water dissolve 1/4 cup of baking soda in 2 pints water for a good all purpose cleaner.

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