Cleaning my kitchen

I always get asked so many times which products I use to clean my kitchen with and what I’d recommend so I’ve written up this post which shows everything I use and where I use it.

Hope you can find it helpful, please leave a comment below if you’ve enjoyed reading or found something useful or interesting. Always remember to use gloves where you can when cleaning to protect yourself.

This is everything I use in the kitchen, its not as much as you might think and its not all used every day. A lot of these are used once a week. I have one favourite which I use daily to keep on top of it and then once a week give the kitchen a really good clean.

Worktops & Surfaces:

So first up is my favourite cleaning product out there and that is Zoflora. From the first day I tried it I was an absolute convert. The main reason I love it so much is because I can use it for so many different things and it comes in about 20 different scents! A lot of people use it and some don’t as they’re not sure where they can, so hopefully you can find some tips below helpful.

I have a spray bottle with 2 cap fulls diluted in water and this is used every day. This is diluted ready to just spray and Ill use this on the worktops after every meal. Unfortunately you can only get these bottles sent to you from Zoflora, but before I was lucky enough to get one I had a little black one from Home Bargains for just 69p. You just spray, wait a few minutes then wipe away with a cloth, then your surfaces are completely disinfected. With having lots of shiny surfaces in the kitchen I’ve found lots of other products leave it streaky and need buffing afterwards, Zoflora is the only one that doesn’t which saves time & energy.

When I want to do a little more cleaning then I wont use the bottle, I’ll fill the sink with some warm water and add 1-2 cap fulls to the water. This is great for filling the kitchen with a lovely fresh scent and using the water in the sink to wipe everything down. I’ve found the best ones for a strong smell are Apple Orchard, Linen Fresh & The Festive Cranberry one.

With this water I’ll dunk in my cloth, squeeze it out and then use this to wipe down EVERYTHING in my kitchen. It leaves a lovely smell & disinfects everything.

I use it to wipe down:

• Worktops
• Cupboard Doors / Insides (With the high gloss no handle ones, I just wipe along the handle line and then all over the door, no need to buff afterwards)
• Windowsills / Up stands
• Anything on the surfaces (All these things get greasy) My Glass biscuit jars, vases, trays, candles, top of the microwave and the front door.
• My Splash back and the cooker hood
• Top of the hob. Just remove the hob tops and wipe down
• Window frames
• Fridge door and handles (You can even use it on the inside to wipe shelves down)
• Radiators (the design of mine have little grooves that the dust sits in)
• Skirting Boards
• Bin lid and sides which get grubby (I also add boiling water to the inside of the bin with a cap of Zoflora to clean it out. Just leave it to sit for a while, swish around and empty out to drain.

 

Sink:

Flash with Bleach is one of my favourite products. I’ve got a few different things I use it for. Number one is my sink…. I spray the whole sink, leave it a while and then scrub the sink down with a non scratch scourer, and rinse it all away with water.

I do sometimes spray it with stainless steel cleaner, but I don’t see the point really because it’ll only be used soon as as long as its clean I’m not too bothered about it shining, I do use one spray on the tap and clean with a cloth to bring that up nice. I’ve had this same bottle for months and have only used half.

Windows:

I love this Method Glass cleaner. It has a nice smell of mint to it and if you don’t use too much for the area it cleans glass/windows lovely with no smears. This is a job I’ll only do once a week, they don’t need to be cleaned daily.

Handles & switches:

Door handles and switches are some of the most used things in your home and not just the kitchen. Once a week I’ll go around and give everything a spray with this stuff. You just spray and leave to dry and it kills 99.9% of bacteria. I’ll work my way around the whole house spraying all door handles & switches. Don’t forget your front door handle, inside & out. That gets many hands touching it and spreading germs.

Floors:

This has got to be one of my most asked questions…..’How do you keep your tiles so shiny’ And the answer is….. With great difficulty!! Now it has taken me a long time to find something I’m happy with but at the moment this is my favourite mop to use LINK HERE The Powerglide Mop from Aircraft, And lately I’ve been trying out Rinse aid diluted in the water tank, and so far its proving to give really good results. You add it to your dishwasher to leave your glass wear shiny so why not your floor too?!

This mop is brilliant for cleaning and buffing at the same time. If your surface Isn’t high gloss than you’ll love the results. If they are high gloss than you will also love the results but don’t go thinking it will leave your tiles shiny & streak free for days because it wont. That’s no fault of the mop that’s just how it is. With high gloss tiles it only takes someone to walk in with bare feet/ sweaty feet or just have a lot of traffic and they will start to smear. It’s a daily job to keep on top of them, but cleaning them daily with this mop and rinse aid does leave them looking fab.

Grout is another frequently asked question. Yes white grout is a pain but I’ve found this stuff to be the best. I’ve tried so many ‘grout cleaners’ and they don’t really do much at all. This stuff I spray on, leave a little and then rub and clean away, it brings them up lovely and white again. I don’t really do the whole kitchen that often, more so just spots that get grubby. Around the dishwasher and where we cook is usually where you’ll find patches.

The kick boards all seem to get these grubby lines on them, I still don’t know exactly what they’re from but I think its the hoover, when I bash it into them. Whatever it is though it doesn’t come off easily. I’ve tried all sorts and then came across Flash Magic erasers! What a life saver these are. You just wet them, squeeze out and rub them off. God knows how they work but they do. They’re usually £1 in most shops.

Hob:

I only really use two things for the hob: Cleaning wipes & Zoflora.

The hob tops I take off and will just wipe down in the sink or if really grubby/greasy then I stick them in the dishwasher. Once you’ve taken them off,  If its had a really big use and its very grubby then I go over it first with the wipes just to clean away as much grease as I can and get any bits that are there. I love being able to wipe down and then just chuck them away, that’s why I use this first before the cloth to get the most of it off. Then I just spray the diluted Zoflora from the bottle all over, leave a few minutes and then wipe away. It brings my top up lovely. There’s no way I’m adding baby oil on mine to make it shine even more. Who has got time for that and there’s a 95% chance I’ll be cooking tea on it that night and it’ll just get dirty again.

For the hob rings I have the Astonish Oven and cookwear cleaner which is a paste you rub on, leave and wash off and it brings them up lovely. (I didn’t have any left, hence no photo of it and these actually need doing) I’ve heard that ‘The Pink stuff’ is also good. I’ve never tried it but may get this next time to compare.

I also use the Zoflora to wipe down all the handles and doors on the front of my range as they hold dust and grime on the tops.

Dishwasher: 

My dishwasher is my absolute life saver and I wouldn’t be without it. Even if it was just us two I’d still have one, but If you’re a family planning on designing/getting a new kitchen, If it’s a possibility for you space/money wise then I 100% suggest you get one. It keeps the kitchen so tidy as you don’t get piles of plates mounting up on the side until you have enough to run a sink of water. Everything goes straight in and as soon as its full set it away. It takes 2 minutes to empty then you start again. It’s actually proven you use less water setting a dishwasher away once a day than filling the sink a couple of times.

I use the Finish dishwasher cleaner maybe once a month, If you can never remember when it needs doing (like me) you’ll notice when the dishes aren’t coming out as clean its time for a good internal clean and one of these.

I know a lot of dishwashers recommend Finish tables but I personally think they’re rubbish. I much prefer Fairy tablets and usually always find them cheapest in Home Bargains.

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That’s everything I use in my kitchen to give it a clean. If there’s anything I’ve forgotten or you would like me to mention as I’m sure there will be something than please just leave me a comment below. Would love to know your thoughts.

Happy Cleaning – Danielle x