10 Things You Forget To Clean In The Kitchen

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Need to deep clean your kitchen? Check out these things you forget to clean in the kitchen, like under the oven, above the fridge, and more.

For more help, check out all of our cleaning posts.

There are certain things you forget when you're cleaning your kitchen. Check out these Ten Things You Forget To Clean In The Kitchen on www.drugstoredivas.net.

Let’s all be honest. You clean better for company than you do in your regular life. And that’s fine. No one wants to spend an excessive amount of time cleaning. Which is how you end up with these ten things you forget to clean in the kitchen.

It’s not that you forget them on purpose.

It’s just that, in the hours you spend cleaning on the weekends, you overlook them. And then you overlook them so often, you forget that you’re supposed to clean them.

So, I’m put this post together with the five things you forget to clean in the kitchen.

My goal is to do this with every room of the house, and post a new room weekly, every Monday, until Thanksgiving. So you home is entirely clean and tidy … in time for company to come and make a mess.

Ten Things You Forget To Clean In The Kitchen

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Don’t look at this as a checklist and start with the first item of the list of things you forget to clean in the kitchen, then clean the second in the future. Do them all the next time you clean your kitchen. Please.

The aerator in the sink’s faucet

The aerator in the sink’s faucet is so disgusting if you don’t clean it. But guess what? So many people don’t even think about cleaning it.

Honestly, people don’t even know what the aerator is.

So, if you think about your faucet, think about where the drops of water come out. Now, look at it (mostly in your mind, but also, when you’re cleaning). There’s so much gunk and water build up there. And it’s gross if you don’t clean it.

Especially when you think that all your clean water comes out through that area and cleans your dishes — or goes straight into your glass if you drink tap water. So clean it. And clean it often.

The best way to clean the aerator in the sink’s faucet

Personally, the best way I’ve found to clean the aerator in the sink’s faucet is to first use the blunt end of a toothpick to clean between the spouts where the water comes out. Then use a soapy cotton swab to clean around the aerator. Finally, use a dish cloth with detergent on it to wipe it all down.

Range hood filters

We cook a lot. I work at home, so I cook breakfast and lunch for myself daily, and then every night I cook dinner. And of course, Pete makes huge pots of sauce here. So we really put our oven through a lot of work.

We clean our stovetop every night, which I’m sure you do too. But how often do you clean your range hood filters? Did you even know they’re a thing?

If you look above the stovetop, under the range, there are filters there that capture and remove debris, grease, and smoke and prevent them from going into the air ducts. Without the filters, you greatly increase the chance of a fire. So they’re important. And it’s important to clean them.

The best way to clean range hood filters

Remove the range hood filters. Soak the filters in a mixture of water, dish soap, and baking soda for 10 minutes. Use a dish cloth to scrub any remaining grease or debris, then dry them completely before returning them.

Bottoms of the cabinets

Every Sunday, I clean the cabinets in our kitchen. Like actually clean them, not just the daily wipe down (we have white cabinets in the kitchen, which look beautiful but require a lot of cleaning). Every couple days or so, I wipe them down, clean the front of the cabinet door, and wipe down the handles. I think most people do.

But, how often do you clean the bottoms of the cabinets? I don’t mean the underside of the cabinet. The bottom refers to the floor of the cabinet. Crumbs and dust accumulate on the bottom, as well as drips from spills, but no one thinks to clean in there.

The best way to clean the bottoms of the cabinets

Remove everything from the cabinet (all pots, shelf liners, etc.). Use a small brush to sweep the bottoms of the cabinets and remove dirt, crumbs, debris, etc.

Dip a rag in a solution of water and dish detergent, then wash the cabinet floor (and sides). Be careful not to oversaturate the rag. Dry with a towel.

Dish rags and sponges

You wash your dishes with your dish rags and sponges. So, since they’re always covered in dish soap, you just expect that they’re clean. And no one thinks about cleaning the things that clean things. But you should.

Bacteria love things that are wet, and your dish rags and sponges are often wet. So they can be home for bacteria. And that’s not exactly how you want to be washing your forks and plates.

The best way to clean dish rags and sponges

You can throw dish rags in your washing machine with other towels. Wash them on hot and then dry them completely, also on hot. Don’t let them air dry.

For sponges, put them on the top rack of the dishwasher and it’ll get clean during the dishwasher’s cycle.

Dishwasher filter

Speaking of the dishwasher, the filter in the bottom of the dishwasher is so disgusting. Just thinking about people not cleaning it on a regular basis is making me gag.

But it’s one of those things that people don’t even think about cleaning. Like, your dishwasher cleans your dishes. So shouldn’t it clean itself at the same time? No. You need to clean your dishwasher monthly (find out how here) — and that includes cleaning the filter.

The best way to clean the dishwasher filter

The dishwasher filter is located in the bottom of the dishwasher, under the spray arm. So pull out the bottom rack and you’ll be able to access it. Unscrew the filter and pull it out. You’ll see gunk and food particles all inside the filter.

Wash the dishwasher filter using hot water and dish soap, making sure to clean the outside and inside of the filter, plus the plastic pieces of the filter.

Garbage disposal splash guard

Every place I’ve lived in on my own has had a garbage disposal, but I didn’t grow up with one. So I generally don’t see the point of using one. Just scrape your food into the garbage itself. But, our home has a garbage disposal, as most homes do now, so you actually need to run it often in order to not ruin it. Always run cold water down the garbage disposal while you’re running it to keep in properly.

The point of the garbage disposal is to break up large food items so they don’t end up clogging your pipes. There’s a splash guard there so those food items don’t fly back into your face, but the food does hit the bottom of that guard. And it needs to be cleaned.

The best way to clean the garbage disposal splash guard

Put gloves on. Grab an old toothbrush and dip it in a degreaser. Then, scrub the underside of the garbage disposal splash guard with the toothbrush. Rinse it, and then do the same with the upper side of the garbage disposal splash guard.

On top of the fridge

The things above were all things that maybe you didn’t realize you need to clean. On top of the fridge? Well, you know you need to clean it, but you’re probably just lazy about it. I mean, no one sees on top of the fridge, so why do you have to clean it?

But it can get gross up there. The top of the fridge in our house just gets dusty, but in the apartment, it would get sticky and filled with grease. So gross.

The best way to clean on top of the fridge

Use a dry cloth to dust on top of the fridge. Then, spray disinfectant on top of the fridge and wipe that down with another dry cloth.

Under the oven

We all know we should clean the oven. I don’t know how often you scrap the burnt stuff out of the bottom of your oven or how often you run the self cleaner. That’s between you and God.

But, what’s on this list is under the oven. When you remove the drawer that holds all your pans. Like actually remove it from its track and clean the kitchen floor that’s under the oven. That’s what people forget (but not me. Honestly, I clean that floor more often than the bottom of the oven).

The best way to clean under the oven

Completely remove the bottom drawer of your oven. Take it off its track and set it aside. Sweep the floor with a broom. If you feel compelled, wash the floor with a floor-safe cleaner and wait until it’s dry to return the drawer.

Under the crisper drawer

I don’t know how often you deep clean your fridge, but you really should pull out all your food and drawers and clean your fridge. This is a really good time to look and make sure you’re not hoarding any old or expired food.

It’s also a good idea pull out your crisper drawers. Okay, small aside: The crisper drawers are the ones at the bottom that pull out, where you put your vegetables. Go through the food in those, and clean under them. I assure you, the floor under where they rest is filled with crumbs, no matter if you ever put crumbs in the fridge or not.

The best way to clean under the crisper drawer

Pull the crisper drawer out. Use a handheld vacuum to vacuum up any crumbs that have fallen. Take a cloth, dip it in water and dish soap, and wipe under the crisper drawer. Dry with a dry cloth.

Microwave ceiling

We wipe down our microwave all the time. Plus, we use a microwave plate cover every time we microwave something, so it really reduces the splatter. But I’ve seen some microwaves where people haven’t cleaned the microwave ceiling in ages. And all I can think is the microwave heating up, heating that dried food on the ceiling, and then droplets of it falling into your food.

Gag me. Then clean your microwave.

The best way to clean your microwave ceiling

Put one cup of water in a bowl with a few tablespoons of vinegar. If you don’t have vinegar, a few slices of squeezed citrus (lemon, lime, or orange works). Microwave on high until the water boils and steam forms. Let the microwave sit closed for five minutes. Wipe down everything with a damp cloth.

Which of these ten things you forget to clean in the kitchen do you forget most? Let us know in the comments.