The Brilliant Way I Clean Hard-to-Reach Crevices Between Appliances in My Kitchen (It’s So Easy!)

I love a clever cleaning hack — and it’s even better when it involves using something I already own, usually for a purpose I’d never before considered! And that’s how you find yourself plugging in the 1,875-watt Conair blow-dryer just inches from the trim kit of the kitchen microwave (thank you, TikTok!).

I recently stumbled upon a TikTok video showing the power of using a hair dryer to clean underneath a dusty bed. If it could blast out the dust bunnies there, why not try it with impossible kitchen crevices?  

The microwave trim kit was my perfect kitchen candidate (closely followed by underneath the fridge and that space where the bottom of the dishwasher meets the kitchen tile). These areas are a cleaning nightmare. Narrow black angled slats that are way too sharp (ask me how I know), yet another reason I’ve not so subtly given my husband as to why it’s time for a kitchen upgrade. You can see the gray flecks of dust in there, and I can only get so much of it out with a dampened paper towel and stubborn determination (nothing else will wedge between those slats!).

Given how tough this area was to clean before, I didn’t have high hopes for this method. But with an open mind, I switched on the hair dryer (on the cool setting) and cranked it up to its strongest airspeed. Holding the dryer about an inch from the trim kit, I slowly made my way from right to left, keeping the airflow focused on the center of the slats, repeating once.

The blow-dryer definitely dislodged those stubborn dust flecks, which was enough to make me want to try for an even deeper clean. Of course, if you had a stronger dryer, it’d work even better on the first pass. 

I took a plastic knife and wrapped it in a slightly dampened paper towel, then slowly wiggled it from right to left and top to bottom, working through each of the smaller sections (which I hadn’t even realized existed until my attempt to sweep the paper towel from right to left didn’t work because of internal dividers you otherwise cannot see). 

This scraping motion got the dust residue loose, allowing me to wipe the outside slats and then step back to see a delightfully debris-free trim kit. The remaining spots are due to aging and wear and tear (aren’t 1990s kitchens just delightful?), but I can live with that, so long as it’s clean, although I’m still pushing hard for that kitchen remodel.

Have you used a blow-dryer to clean kitchen crevices? Let us know in the comments below!