Deep-Clean an Apartment Kitchen

It is important to clean the kitchen every day, but it is necessary to exceed a standard kitchen cleaning once each week to keep your daily cleanings minimal. If you’re expecting company or if your kitchen needs a little more love than usual, this list will help you get your kitchen looking ship-shape. Budget about an hour and a half to thoroughly clean your kitchen.

Assemble Supplies

Hopefully you have all your general kitchen cleaning supplies underneath the kitchen sink, but you will want to locate a few other things to be able to clean as quick as possible. You are going to need to grab a dust mop, stepladder, rags, a small bucket, sponges, vacuum, multi-surface and glass cleaner, dish soap, oven cleaner, and wet mop.

Pick Up

Before you start cleaning, pick up around the kitchen. Move anything out of your way to eliminate obstacles that will make cleaning difficult. Use a shoe box or basket for mail, pencils and pens, and other paperwork and belongings that will obstruct an efficient cleaning.

Begin with the Top of the Walls and Work Down

Start with the dust-mop. Begin at the center of the ceiling and work toward the corners of the walls, as spider webs and dust build up here. Don’t forget to dust mop all air vents and fans to improve your air quality. Clean any spots on the walls as needed and be mindful to clean doorknobs and light switches as well.

Art, Photos, and Other Wall Décor

Since you took the time to clean the walls, make sure everything you hang on your walls is also clean. All decorations, including art and photos, in your kitchen will need to be dusted, as the clean walls will exaggerate any dirt on your décor. Spraying cleaning solution straight to glass or a frame is risky as it may run into the art or photo and ruin it. It is better to spray the solution onto a cloth and wipe off the frames of your art and photos.

Window Coverings

If you don’t have windows in your kitchen, you can skip to the next step. If you do have windows in your kitchen, you most likely have window coverings, either drapes, shades, or curtains. Window coverings need to be placed with the rest of your dirty laundry. You will be surprised at how dirty they can get. With the window coverings removed, take the opportunity to clean the window and windowsill.

Oven and Refrigerator

Your oven most likely has an “oven cleaner” setting, so let it run its course and in the meantime you can clean the refrigerator. Your oven may make some unpleasant smells, so turn the kitchen fan on and open a couple windows for cross ventilation. You will want to pull your refrigerator forward and clean behind it, as there is probably a ton of food, hair, and dirt and debris that has gotten trapped. You may need to dust mop near the top, sweep up the floor, and then vacuum, as you might find rather large pieces of food and trash that will clog the vacuum. You can push your refrigerator back into place before removing the shelves and drawers. You may want to wipe your counter down so all food you take out of the shelves and drawers will have a clean surface to sit on while you wash and wipe the drawers and then the inside of your refrigerator. If your refrigerator smells bad, place an open box of baking soda inside to combat it. After you finish the refrigerator, your oven has probably completed its “oven cleaner” cycle is ready for you to clean according to the oven cleaner’s instructions.

Stove

Take anything off the stovetop you can and wipe it down. Burners and spill catchers are relatively easy to remove, but if you can take the buttons off and wipe them or soak them in a bowl of hot soapy water, you can do that instead. Collect every crumb and be sure to get all the hard-to-reach places. Electric stoves normally have a glass covering on top, which can be cleaned easily with glass cleaner.

Small Appliances

It is common to forget about the microwave, toaster, and blender. Give all these appliances a good wipe and flip the toaster over the trash can to get all the crumbs out. Any food stuck on the inside of your microwave can be beat by boiling a cup of water in the microwave followed by a solid scrub. If your microwave smells bad, boil a cup of lemon juice to get rid of the odor.

Clean the Dishwasher

Dishwashers have food traps, so be sure to empty it before you clean. Dishwashers can be cleaned simply by using the strongest setting on an empty dishwasher. To enhance the cleaning power, add vinegar and baking soda.

Drawers and Cabinets

Messy drawers and cabinets will make any kitchen appear significantly dirtier than it actually is. Everyone knows how it feels to open a cupboard and end up covered Tupperware. Wipe down your counter, remove everything from your drawers and cupboards and wipe them down before setting them on your clean counter. With everything out on the counter, wipe out the drawers and cupboards. Before you put everything back, consider utilizing organizers to create a better system of arranging your drawers and cupboards.

Floors

Sweep, vacuum, and mop the floors. If mopping doesn’t remove a stain, you will have to get down on your hands and knees and work at it using a rag or sponge. After you wash the floors, be sure to clean the baseboards, dirty baseboards will stick out like a sore thumb compared to a freshly cleansed floor.