The Best Kitchen Cleaning Tools You Can Get

Do you walk around the cleaning isle in your local supermarket unsure as to what kitchen cleaning products to buy and how you should use them? I know there are a lot of kitchen cleaning tools and equipment and not enough information as to what you need to do and what products you need to use for what task.

Do you stand there, and wonder is one product better than another, does the price of the product mean it’s better than a cheaper one?

I want to take the hard work away and explain what you need to clean your kitchen from the tools you need to the products you use.

Kitchen Cleaning Where To Start

The problem is not knowing what products to use and if they are any better than the next product and where should you use these products?

Let’s start in the kitchen. What do you need to clean in here?

• Oven
• Hob
• Work surfaces
• Floor
• Walls and tiles
• Plates and cutlery
• Fridge
• Microwave
• Cupboards
• Chopping boards
• Other appliances

Cleaning Your Kitchen Floor

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You need some sort of cleaner for your floor, you don’t want to make your floor sticky and some products can do this. It also depends on what equipment you want to use or have available.

Most kitchens have floors that aren’t carpet and that’s what I’m focusing on in this section.

If you have a steam mop, I like my Shark steam mop, you really don’t need any product to put in the steamer accept water, make sure the flooring is suitable for a steamer, check manufacturer’s instructions on how to clean your floor before you buy any product.

But you will need to sweep or vacuum the floor before steaming especially if you have any fury pets because you will just end up pushing this fur around.

I use a brush, just like this one and a dustpan and brush to pick up any loose fur and crumbs.

Alternatives To Steam Mops

But what if you don’t have a steam mop, then you need to think about cleaning your floor with either a mop and bucket or a scrubbing brush. I’ve used both of these methods and I prefer the scrubbing brush to a mop, but it’s a killer on the knees.

I have a thing for mops, where do you put them to dry and when they are dry how do you store them? I think some mops smell so I’m reluctant to have them indoors, but I don’t want them outside because they will end up being dirtier than the floor I’m trying to clean, and they will attract spiders too! So, when you start to wash the floor you will add spiders into your home.

I know it sounds like an irrational and weird fear and writing it down makes me want to laugh at myself but that’s why I won’t have a mop!

What Floor Cleaning Products

The floor cleaner for both of these options will be the same, you want something that is suitable for your kitchen floor, so it’s a good idea to know what you are looking for when reading the back of the floor cleaning liquid.

• What product to choose, now some companies still test their products on animals and if you are not OK with this then you need to look for products that say ‘cruelty free’ or have the bunny picture for cruelty free.
• The smell of the product I think is important, if you hate the smell then you won’t want to clean your floor very often. But if you love it that will inspire you to do more cleaning as well as making you feel your home is clean which is a good thing. If I can open a product to smell the fragrance I will.
• The price, I’m not a brand fanatic, I go for products I like the smell off and I’m put off by high price tags I don’t think some of these products are going to be better than others at cleaning the floor.
• The ingredients, I look for products that are going to clean and sanitize the floor, it needs to be strong enough to lift of the dirt and powerful enough to kill the germs that might be on the floor too. But also, non-toxic you don’t want to put harmful chemicals around your home.

There are so many products on the market what products would I buy?

If I’m using my steam mop, I don’t use any product apart from water, this cleans and sanitizes the floor in one go.

I’ve tried a few products over the years and some of the products that I think fit the bill really well are:

• Astonish floor cleaner, there are two scents available for this product and it fits really well with the above list of what to look for in a product.
• Fabulosa is good not only does it disinfect but it also cleans as well unlike Zoflora and there are some nice smelling ones. Don’t just pick them up without smelling them first because we each have different views on smells and you want to pick one that’s right for your floor.

General Purpose Cleaners For Your Kitchen

You need a general-purpose cleaner to clean your work surfaces, microwave, cupboards, fridge and other appliances.

You want something that is safe to use in food preparation areas and there are so many products that you can use here and some you might not think about.

• Hot soapy water is good for cleaning, it will remove the dirt and the germs and is safe to use in your kitchen. It’s relatively cheap and does the job. But it doesn’t smell like some cleaning products you can buy.
• Astonish do a lemon scented kitchen cleaner, these products are cruelty free and vegan safe and it will give you that lemon scent as you clean. This item is really inexpensive, it’s a spray bottle which is convenient.
• Diluted white vinegar will also do the job and is really cheap too. It cleans and disinfects the area, but the disadvantage is the smell, some people just don’t like the smell of vinegar, but it doesn’t hang around for long so there is no long-lasting odour from using this product.
• You can use an anti-bacterial spray here, but often these products need time to work and often people don’t leave it on the surface for long enough before wiping away.

You need to read the back of the product to see how long to leave a product on the surface before scrubbing away for it to work effectively.

It’s so important when buying a product is to read the instructions as this will tell you how to use the product to the best of its ability.

What To Use Washing Dishes

If you don’t have a dishwasher you will need some type of dishwashing liquid and there are so many of these on the market that you won’t have trouble picking one of these up.

Again, I think it’s important to read the instructions as many people use too much product for the task they intend to do.

I’m not a fan of any particular brand, I normally go for a cheap shop brand, I do have a dishwasher, so I don’t use that much washing up liquid normally.

Dishwasher Cleaning Products

If you are using a dishwasher, I do have an article on how to make your own dishwasher powder and I think it’s great, but I also use commercial made dishwasher tablets for convenience.

• I’ve been using the Astonish dishwasher tablets and they are fairly cheap, and they work well.
• I do like homemade dishwasher powder, but it takes time, not a lot but it depends on my work commitments as to what time I have available.

Chopping boards are used for a variety of different tasks and keeping them clean is something you need to think about.

I use a mixture of plastic and wood chopping boards, we always had plastic chopping boards and when they get too beat up, I binned them. I wash these in the dishwasher or just with hot soapy water.

The wooden one is different, it’s something I’m learning to use and to take care off, it’s not used for cutting up any sort of meat, just normally cheese or veg and I wipe it down with hot soapy water and drain immediately, I don’t soak it at all as this would ruin the wood.

Oven Cleaning Without Harmful Chemicals

If you are looking for products to clean your oven and hob then you need to think about what type of cleaning, you want to do here.

There are ways to keep it clean after each time you use it or do a deeper clean about once a month.

The products that you can use vary depending on the appliance, always check the manufacturers instructions for the recommended cleaning practices.

I have used a lot of products over the years, we have moved a lot and the ovens needed to be cleaned before we moved out, so I think I’ve seen my fair share of the inside of ovens.

How To Actually Clean The Oven

The actual oven is one of the most challenging areas you will come across. You can use natural products, or you can purchase products specifically for cleaning ovens, I’ve used both.

 I’ve used bicarbonate of soda in a paste on my oven for a few years and then Astonish have an oven cleaner that is non-toxic, not tested on animals and vegan friendly. So, I thought I would give it a go on my son’s oven.

He was moving homes and needed his oven cleaned. He has lived in this house on his own for about 4 years and has never cleaned the oven!

I was so impressed with the Astonish oven cleaner, it got through the dirt and grease really easily and cleaned the inside of the oven really well.

I never got around to the shelves of his oven so I brought them home and intend to use the same Astonish oven cleaner on them, but have put them in the bath with hot water and fabric softener just so it’s even easier to clean later today.

Because it’s cheap to buy and not toxic it gets my vote and something I will start to use on my oven.

As for products that are highly toxic for cleaning the oven, I would steer clear of as my health is more important than a clean oven. Yes, some of these are really bad!

Let’s Recap…

If you are looking for cleaning products and tools for your kitchen you need to consider what chemicals that are in the cleaning products and how much you want to pay for the products too.

You need to look for products that are suitable for the application that you are going to attempt. Don’t be fooled by high prices means better products, in the cleaning world this really isn’t true.

Read the instructions on the back of the packaging as many people are overusing the cleaning product and not following the instructions.

Look for recommendations from friends and family if you are just starting your cleaning journey as this will help you in the beginning and once you start you will find products that you like and love.

Cleaning your kitchen is something you just have to do, finding the products that you love makes these tasks so much easier in the long run.