Let's face it: Our kitchens take a beating. But that doesn't mean that cleaning them up has to be complicated, expensive, or difficult. Here are five common kitchen materials and simple ways to make them shine again:
- 1. Plastic Laminate Countertops: As Faith suggested here, it's best to clean textured laminate countertops with a brush and perhaps a mild soap. Stains can be lifted with a 3:1 baking soda / water mixture and it's best to dry the countertop after washing to avoid water damage at the seams.
- 2. Marble Countertops: It's a traditional countertop material but is often scorned for staining. However, we read up on cleaning marble countertops at the Petch House and found that if you don't mind a little imperfection here and there (isn't that the charm of marble), the material isn't all that finicky. Did you know you can shine a marble countertop with chalk? Just crush a bit of it, dip a damp cloth in the powder, and rub it all over the surface, following with a water rinse.
- 3. Ceramic Tile Flooring: Sweep regularly and damp mop with a mild detergent. Rinse with warm water. Then, for best shine, wipe dry with a soft cloth.
- 4. Wood Cabinets: Cabinets are often overlooked when it comes to cleaning, but take a close look and you'll probably find splatters and fingerprints all over them. Clean wood cabinets with a mild hand dishwashing soap and warm water. Afterward, follow up with an oil soap. Then, wipe dry with a soft cloth in the direction of the grain.
- 5. Stainless Steel: There's really no need for a special, uni-task, aerosol stainless steel cleanser. Just use a damp cloth for everyday, add mild detergent for more serious cleanups, and finish with a vinegar/water mixture to rid the surface of fingerprints.
Please let us know below how you best clean your common kitchen surfaces: Countertop, floor, cabinets, and appliances.
Related: What Is the Best Way To: Clean Laminate Countertops?
(Images: Wilsonart, ecvv.com, Carpet Exchange & Floors, Access Baths, SpectraMetal)
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We recently purchased a new kitchen island. I was wondering how I was supposed to take care of it? It didn't come with any care instructions. I've noticed that it has started to feel a bit rougher on the top towards the center. Its almost as if I can feel the wood grain now, like the seal is gone. We've only had it for two weeks so I'm worried that perhaps I am cleaning it wrong and that is why it feels this way.
The island we bought is http://www.crateandbarrel.com/family.aspx?c=914&f=32921
Can I get some tips on how to clean the DREADED linoleum flooring? After living in my apartment for four years (and cooking a few times a week), it's getting to be quite disgusting seeing these unsightly black marks (from shoes?) that don't seem to get removed from anything I use. Tips please????
Treat butcher block tops with mineral oil. Rub a towel with mineral oil about every two weeks.
@veggiesho: I bet something mildly abrasive, like baking soda paste or Bon Ami would get the shoe marks up easily. If not, Mr. Clean Erasers sure do get up all of the difficult to remove marks on doors, floorboards, etc. when I use them.
Veggiesho: if the black marks are from shoes, do like we do at school. Put an old tennis ball on the handle of a broom and rub the marks forcefully with the tennis ball. The kids love to clean the hall with the tennisball poles and clean up the hallway.
Mr. Clean Magic Erasers are actually magic on metal surfaces. They're the most effective cleaning product I have for stainless and chrome -- that's kitchen accessories, hood, faucets, etc., as I don't have stainless appliances. I'd be interested to know what's in them that makes them so Magic. I don't use up them very quickly at all. A box of four lasts at least six months.
Mr Clean Magic Erasers are also great on those shoe marks on the floor too.
And what makes them magic? They're essentially foamed melamine, which crumbles into particles that act like a scouring powder. But in this case, the bits are slightly squishy, so they don't scratch and can clean textured surfaces easily.
To avoid streaks, I cannot praise blue microfiber cloths enough! They absorb the liquid very efficiently and the surface dries so quickly that streaks never stand a chance.
For the record, I'm a big fan of Mrs. Meyer's counter top spray.
I know, I know, I'm a horrible horrible anti-eco too-friendly-with-cancer sort of person for saying this, but my favorite way to clean just about anything is with a bleach solution. Nothing too strong, but enough to clean and disinfect. I'll fill the sink with hot water and about a 3/4 cup of bleach and go at the counters with it then use the same sink-full to mop the floors.
We inherited an apartment with a fairly nasty kitchen and became fast friends with bleach and vinegar for a while and I've sworn by it ever since. It works wonders on my floors (dumb landlord won't seal my tile kitchen floors).
@veggiesho- is it actual linoleum or vinyl flooring? Linoleum really cleans up the best with straight ammonia (I know, ugh) pour it on a small section and let it set for a few minutes, then lots of elbow grease, hot water and knubby towels to really get in the grooves. Follow it up a true floor wax (about twice a year). You have my condolences if you have Linoleum! It is so much more of a pain to maintain than vinyl.
I was a cleaning lady for ten years-pardon the novel~
My not-so-secret weapons are windex (granite, stainless steel, windows and mirrors) Magic Erasers (scuff marks, fridge handles, soap scummy shower stalls, bathtubs, fixtures, practically everything) and.......plain old hot water!
Half the time things have layers of leftover cleaning product on them that actually attracts dirt! (Like if you put too much product in your hair-exactly)
Lastly I'd say that people need to look into resealing any stone in your house- it should be done every 2-3 years- not too many people know that and it makes such a big difference. (Granite countertops, slate flooring, etc)
Good luck to all :)
Wow, thanks all for your suggestions! So it looks like I have an upcoming weekend ahead of me filled with Mr. Clean Erasers, Bon Ami, baking soda paste, tennis balls, and ammonia...and elbow grease of course.
@lilbetty: I think it's actually linoleum. I was googling the differences yesterday, and the main one seemed to be that vinyl is applied in big squares. The stuff I have is just one sheet all the way across the floor...oh, and curling on the edges. Gotta love apartment living!
@veggiesho - i know you've gotten a bunch of responses to your shoe problem, but i've found that a plain old rubber eraser helps to get rid of those scuff marks (as well as accidental "sharpie on dry erase board" moments)
Since I have a small kitchen, I find that a few Clorox disinfecting wipes (in the green, not yellow, tub) go a long way. They're textured, so they scrub, and the magic cleaning liquid on the cloths dissolve any gunk that has built up. I use them indiscriminately on the "marble" top we have by the sink as well as our ikea islands (that I sealed with polyurethane since they came unfinished).
@Bobette - Your island is treated with mineral oil. If you want to get rid of the raised grain you're going to need to sand it back down, if you don't mind it then leave it as is.
Either way, mineral/butcher block oil is not a permanent finish. You need to reapply often, I would say weekly. This application keeps the surface semi-waterproof and keeps the wood from drying out. When the wood starts to dry out you could start getting large cracks the length of your countertop.
The nice thing about mineral oil though is that it you can repair scratches and things easier and it's the most food-safe finish. The bad part is that it's not as good at protecting the wood, so you must reapply the oil and you can more easily stain the wood with spilled wine and such.
If you decide you don't want to reapply oil every week, you have the option of changing the finish to something more durable. Many people choose polyurethane, which is water-proof, easy to apply, and doesn’t require maintenance. If you do use polyurethane be warned that you shouldn't do prep on it for about a month to let it fully cure (it will only take a few hours to dry, but the surface won’t be food-safe yet). After that you can do basic food prep like rolling out dough or kneading, but you can't cut vegetables on it or anything (this would leave irreparable scratches in the counter-top).
@Bobette - Also check out: http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/ny/at-email/how-to-resurface-your-butcher-block-quickly-111667
Any tips on cleaning white enamel? My kitchen has this (original, I guess?) monster-size hollow white enamel (sort of tinny?) double-sink and not so much a counter as a fitted lid to cover one of the two sinks. Stains, often yellowish, have accumulated on the lid, and scrubbing with a sponge does hardly anything. Help?!
Chalk or Talc has been posted to be useful for cleaning or polishing marble counters across the web. This is absolutely false, as Talc is the softest mineral on the Mohs Scale at "1". The Mohs scale is used to understand relative hardness of minerals. Marble countertops are generally in the 3-6 range and it takes a Harder mineral to polish a softer mineral.
Marble can be used effectively in a kitchen if you understand that acids and alkaline foods or liquids can burn or dull the polish. Honed (smooth but not shiny) finish for marble is best for kitchens.
And use a quality impregnating sealer to protect, and a pH neutral cleaner like P24 Stone Soap.