Our kitchens are essential in our lives because they provide us with the appliances and resources we need to create our meals and keep us energized throughout the day. Your kitchen is the heartbeat of your home, keeping you and your household nourished. However, grime, garbage, and unsanitary conditions can all have negative repercussions. We've created a guide on the importance of cleaning your kitchen and its appliances below to help shed light on the issue.
Benefits of Cleaning Your Kitchen
Whether you enjoy creating gourmet meals daily or just want to grab a quick snack, you'll want to keep your kitchen clean and sanitary. Keeping your kitchen in excellent condition allows it to look lovely for anybody who walks in, but it also offers many other advantages.
Avoid Foodborne Disease and Contamination
Because you're preparing food and handling raw ingredients much of the time when you're in your kitchen, keeping the area clean is of the utmost importance to prevent the risk of contamination and foodborne illnesses. You’re likely already familiar with some basics, like washing your hands before and after handling raw meat or washing and sanitizing dishes with soap and hot water. However, there are plenty of other precautions you should take to keep you and other members of your household safe.
Here are some strategies to practice around the kitchen:
- Wash your hands before and after handling food, especially raw meat.
- Wash cutting boards with hot and soapy water after each use. Throw away boards that are highly scuffed and damaged.
- Always wash your hands after touching any part of your face before handling food.
- Never place cleaning products near food preparation areas.
- Always wash utensils after each use and whenever they come into contact with perishable foods.
- Throw away spoiled and rotten food as soon as you notice it. Check for expiration dates before using ingredients and try not to hold onto leftovers for more than four days.
- Don't leave cooked foods and raw ingredients out at room temperature for more than two hours.
- Dispose of any food with peculiar smells. It's better not to take a chance.
- Use food thermometers to ensure you're not undercooking food.
Always Be Ready for Company
You get tasked at the last minute with hosting a wine and cheese tasting or a game night or another exciting activity in your home, but at the last second, you discover that your kitchen is filthy and gross, and suddenly, you're embarrassed. Luckily, you don't have to worry about people noticing things like trash accumulating from your bin, sticky stains on the counters, and food left sitting on the dining table when you implement a cleaning routine that you stick to.
Stay Organized
Organizing and safely storing your ingredients, dry goods, and spices allows you to keep track of food before it expires. Plus, you always know where a recipe part is. Keeping track of expiration dates, storing items that degrade quickly in their correct storage places, and cleaning dirty areas can keep you safe from contamination and maximize the use of your food before it spoils.
Stay Safe From Accidents
Cleaning your kitchen isn't only about appearances; there are dangers such as fire, sharp items, electricity, and slick surfaces that you can avoid by keeping the area clean and tidy. Make sure you're following sensible habits like using appliances and utensils safely, clearing spills on the ground right away to avoid slipping, and promptly removing flammable grease from all surfaces.
Importance of Keeping Appliances Clean
Dirt and grime can accumulate on various surfaces as well as nooks and crannies on your appliances, creating potential health and performance issues. Cleaning and maintaining your devices regularly and efficiently is one of the best methods for extending the devices’ life span while lowering energy bills.
Reduce Utility Costs
When components on machines like filters and vents get clogged, your appliances must work considerably harder and consume more energy to complete their tasks, putting a burden on both the equipment and your electricity bill. Cleaning them ensures that they work correctly for as long as possible.
Lower Risk of Contamination
Dirty appliances can be a breeding ground for dangerous bacteria, fungus, and bugs that can spread disease, posing a severe health risk to you and your family. Because these tiny organisms prefer warmer settings such as kitchens, keeping appliances clean can keep them at bay.
Decrease Your Workload
It's tempting to put off cleaning messes until later when you're feeling more up to it, but the longer you wait, the more difficult it’ll be to clean when you do get around to it. To ensure that you have less work in the future, break down cleaning jobs into tiny chunks and try to clean any visible stains and debris as soon as you see anything.
Cleaning Tips
- For your fridge, wipe down the interior with a mild cleanser like baking soda and warm water, and soak any removable shelves in warm water as well.
- Try to clean your oven at least once a month and brush the oven's surfaces using a mild, safe cleaning solution such as baking soda and water. Let it soak and then wash away any residual debris with warm water and vinegar.
- Set your washing machine to the warmest water cycle, add 1/2 cup of baking soda, and run it without clothing to help eliminate odors and improve its performance.
- Check your dishwasher after each use for leftover food scraps you need to wipe away, and run an empty load once with a cup of vinegar, and then once with a cup of baking soda to descale and unclog the machine.
- Avoid using harsh chemicals in your microwave and opt for a natural cleaning solution instead. For example, you can place a microwave-safe bowl with 1/3 cup of water and a tablespoon of white vinegar into the device, run the microwave for about three to five minutes, then wipe down the inside with a towel right away.
We hope this guide has helped illuminate the importance of cleaning your kitchen and its appliances. Your kitchen is an essential part of keeping you and your family happy and healthy, and the right equipment can make life simpler for you by making food preparation and other activities much easier. Town Appliance is a trusted online appliance retailer offering the best name-brand appliances on the market. Feel free to contact us with any questions about our products.
