What is your secret to a mess free kitchen?

Kitchen Cleaning

The kitchen is the hub of the home. For a lot of us, it’s also a constant messy zone! When food preparation, cooking and dish washing all take place in the same area, the bench top, sink, stove stop, oven, and even the fridge will need regular attention to keep surfaces clean, dry and free from grease.

The best way to tackle kitchen cleaning is to maintain as much as you can – wipe down your benches, hot plates and sink after cooking so that food doesn’t stick to them and grease doesn’t build up. For more thorough kitchen cleaning, scrub down bench tops and the kitchen sink using hot water mixed with a few drops of lemon or vinegar. Run over benches with a VIVA Paper Towel after cleaning them to leave them streak free and dry. If there are any bad odours lingering around, give your bench tops a quick swipe with a VIVA Paper Towel moistened with a few drops of eucalyptus oil.

If your stove top is in need of some work, sprinkle bicarb soda onto the surface and then scrub it a little with a damp VIVA Paper Towel. Grease and grime tends to build up between the stove top and the wall or splashback, so make sure you give this area a good scrub too when you’re doing your kitchen cleaning. As long as your oven’s not too dirty, you can clean it out using bicarb soda, vinegar, salt and a bit of elbow grease. Remember that a still-warm oven is easier to clean (but make sure you don’t burn yourself!) And if your oven door is looking grimy, drench a VIVA Paper Towel in brown vinegar and leave it on the glass door for an hour, then wipe away with a dry paper towel.

After you’ve emptied out the fridge and cleaned it with warm soapy water, give the inside a quick swipe with vanilla essence to leave it smelling fresh and pleasant. If you have a stainless steel fridge, use VIVA Stainless Steel Wipes to remove any fingermarks or streaks and leave it in showroom condition. For extra protection, you can even line your fridge shelves with paper towels to catch any drips, spills and leaks.

Top tips for a clean kitchen

  • A cheap alternative to using dishwasher detergent is to use the ever useful bicarb soda – it gives a wonderful and environmentally-friendly clean.
  • A drop of eucalyptus oil on bits of cotton wool placed in dark cupboard corners can keep the ants and bugs away naturally.
  • Add 1 cup of white vinegar to your empty dishwasher and start a ‘normal’ wash. This will eliminate smells and lime scales from the stainless steel interior.
  • Bake orange peels in the oven at 350 degrees to remove kitchen smells.
  • Bay leaves in drawers help keep insects away.
  • Boil rhubarb leaves in pans that have burnt during cooking for 3-5 minutes. Drain and wipe away any residue.
  • Clean the inside of the fridge with vanilla essence and water.
  • Lemon – use it to clean your kitchen sinks, it works wonders!
  • Place a small amount of bicarb soda in an open container and leave it in the fridge. It will absorb odours.
  • To clean around stove hotplates, sprinkle bicarb soda onto the surface and then scrub a little with a damp VIVA Paper Towel.
  • To clean dirty chopping boards, squeeze lemon juice onto them and put them out in the sun.
  • To clean a kettle or jug, boil it with water and white vinegar. This will clean all the scale from inside.
  • To clean the inside of bottles your sponge can’t get into, pour in some raw rice, detergent and water and shake vigorously.
  • To clean your microwave, fill a bowl with boiling water, add a squeeze of lemon juice, microwave for 2 mins, and then wipe.
  • To get your microwave sparkling, heat a cup of water with a teaspoon of vanilla essence until boiling, then clean after building a good steam.
  • To make glass oven-doors shine like new, drench a VIVA Paper Towel with brown vinegar and leave on the glass for an hour, then wipe dry.
  • To remove the stains from your stovetop, use white vinegar and baking soda. No scrubbing needed.
  • To rid your cutting board of onion, fish or garlic smells, cut a lemon or lime in two and rub the surface with the fruit.
  • Use baking soda and salt when scrubbing pots and pans or cleaning the oven.
  • Use eucalyptus oil to clean your kitchen benches and get rid of bad odours.

Where to Buy

  • IGA
  • Coles
  • Woolworths
  • Franklins
  • Bi Lo
  • Big W
  • Kmart