Tips For Cleaning Between Countertops and Appliances

If you miss some spots in the kitchen when cleaning, then you could be puting yourself and your family at risk. Improper cleaning breeds harmful organisms – from molds and grouts to spiders and cockroaches. They inhabit the back of your appliances, the areas under your cabinets, and the those hard-to-reach in-betweens.

Problem areas

Among the trickiest areas to clean are those between countertops and appliances.; A lot of free-standing ranges are set between two kitchen cabinets or countertops – and these stoves and oven ranges are the number one mess-makers. Oil splashes, spills, food particles, peelings, liquids, stains, and other cooking residues always find their way there.; Because they are hidden from your sight, they are to easy to forget about; but you will soon find that the longer you let those residues stay there, the harder they will be to get out.

Everyday cleaning

What you need to do is clean between countertops and appliances after every time you use it – only with such regular cleaning rituals can you make sure that you will never have to share your beautiful kitchen with parasites. Avoid putting off cleaning problem areas. When you “clean as you go,” you make your life much easier.

Important tools

Invest in two types of feather duster: the genuine feather duster and the one made out of spongy material.;

• The genuine feather duster is great for dusting in-between countertops that have no wet particles (such as food, spills, oils, and so on). This type of feather duster can really get in-between small spaces – it will help keep out dust from building and is great for everyday use and general cleaning. It can also be used for dusting appliances on the surface, and dusting at the back of refrigerators and stoves. The genuine feather duster can hold dust and will wash off with warm sudsy water in minutes.
• The feather duster made of spongy material is great for instantly cleaning spots, splashes, and spills. After cooking on your the stove, wet this feather duster with some soap and water and just brush it between the countertops and the appliances. It is important that you do this immediately after using the stove, when the residues can still be wiped off easily since they have not yet hardened.; The long handle makes it easy for you to clean since you will no longer have to reach in between and scrub the dirt out – just stick in the spongy feathery duster. Feather dusters made of spongy materials are also easy to clean – usually, you will only need to dip them in a pail of sudsy water. Some of these dusters even have their own squeeze-out device to squeeze out all the water and dry themselves.

General cleaning

When you are doing a general cleaning of your kitchen, it is best to start at the top and work your way downwards. This is because all the dirt and food residue will drop down the floor when you clean the tops areas – so when you start with the floor first, you will be doing the work twice.;

First, clean all the appliances in and out. Some of the dust or dirt may go to the tabletops, thus after which, you'll work on the surfaces, such as stove tops, and countertops using a clean rag, and changing the water as often as you need to.

When this is done, work on the in-betweens and hard-to-reach areas.;;

• For cleaning grout in between tiles, use a mild abrasive such as a toothbrush with a long handle.; There are a lot of grout cleaners available for the material of you countertop.
• To remove mildew, dip the mild abrasive in laundry bleach.; Do not use harsh abrasives as this may scratch and ruin the surface of the countertop.

Countertop cleaning solution

A good homemade cleaning solution for most countertops (including ceramic tile , acrylic, plastic laminate, and cultured marble) is a mix of 1 gallon hot water, ½ cup vinegar, 1 cup ammonia, and ¼ cup baking soda. Make sure you ear rubber gloves and that the kitchen is well-ventilated because this is quite a powerful solution. Apply this with a sponge and rinse it with clear water and then buff to polish. Voila! Your countertops are like brand new.