How to Clean Kitchen Appliances

Cleaning kitchen appliances is necessary when we use one or many on a daily basis. They come into contact with food or hands every day.

Quite often we don’t always think about cleaning smaller appliances or even some of our larger appliances until they become bigger cleaning jobs.

The trick is to clean kitchen appliances as you use them. If you don’t clean as you go, don’t worry – we have tips on how to make cleaning easier, even if it’s a caked-on mess!

Cleaning the Dishwasher

The dishwasher does a lot of the dirty work for you but occasionally even it still needs to be cleaned. Simply run an empty cycle with vinegar.

Put one cup white vinegar in something like a glass measuring cup. Place this on the top rack and run the hottest cycle you can.

For extra cleaning and removing odors, you can also run another cycle with one cup baking soda.

Cleaning the Coffee Maker

To clean your coffee maker, fill the water reservoir with:

• One part water and one part white vinegar.
• Add a clean coffee filter in the basket.
• Run the solution through the coffee pot.
• Fill the reservoir with plain water and run a couple more cycles to remove any trace of vinegar.

If you have a Keurig coffee maker, follow the same steps only you will have to make quite a few large coffee cups through until the water is gone.

Cleaning the Microwave

For cleaning the microwave, start by precleaning it by putting some water in a microwave-safe bowl and heat for about three minutes on high. This steam from this will help soften food splatters so you can easily wipe it away. Leave the door closed for an additional few minutes.

Carefully remove the dish with hot water; it will be hot so use pot holders or oven mitts. Remove the turntable and wash that in the sink and wipe down the inside.

Cleaning the Toaster

I use the toaster almost daily, but when do we ever think of cleaning it? Not often enough. Bring it over by the sink then remove, empty and wash the crumb tray. Now turn the toaster upside down and give it a few good shakes to get more crumbs out.

Next take an unused narrow paintbrush to clean out and dislodge crumbs trapped down in the toaster slots. Shake the toaster over the sink again. Wipe down the outside of the toaster with a little white vinegar. Polish with soft cloth.

Cleaning Can Openers

Let’s not forget about cleaning kitchen appliances such as the can opener. Yes, can openers can cut you, but there’s a better chance of them poisoning you! Think about the different things you open with your can opener – dog food, tuna, fruits, vegetables, and soups. Those foods and others grow bacteria that can make you sick the next time you use your can opener.

You should really clean it every time you use it by simply rinsing it off then wiping off the blade with a soapy, damp dishrag or dish sponge. If the blade on your electric can opener isn’t removable, use a toothbrush to clean the blades; keep the toothbrush to use the next time and only for cleaning the can opener. Then you should be able to clean off the rest with your soapy dishrag.

Cleaning Refrigerator Coils

This is probably one of the least cleaned areas. When was the last time you cleaned yours? I mean how often do you think of looking under the refrigerator or moving it away from the wall?

To clean, carefully pull the refrigerator away from the wall. Unplug it and with the brush attachment on the vacuum cleaner, carefully vacuum away dust and grime and vacuum any mess on the floor.

If the coils are located at the bottom of the refrigerator, remove the face plate and carefully vacuum with the crevice tool.

Plug the refrigerator back in push it back against the wall and vacuum in front of the refrigerator.

Cleaning the Range Hood

The next is only applicable if your range hood has removable filters (these are not the paper filters like your coffee pot uses).

The filters we have are metal; you can give them a good soak in the sink with hot soapy water and dishwashing liquid like Dawn dish soap. Carefully use a scrubby if needed to remove excess gunk. Rinse with more hot water, let air dry and reinstall.

Before reinstalling, wipe down the underside of the range hood. After putting the filters back on, wipe down the outside of the range hood.

If cleaning kitchen appliances is done regularly, it won’t be a problem when it’s time to clean.