How clean is your kitchen?

Morning Glory

Obsessive cook
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Maidstone, Kent, UK
Time to 'fess up if you (like me) do the minimum to get by. Time to feel smug if your kitchen is spotless - or perhaps time to admit you are an OCD cleaner.

I cleaned the exterior of my kitchen cupboards and the kitchen tiles a few days ago. I think the last time I did that was... well to be honest I can't remember. Maybe 9 months or a year ago? The insides of the cupboards still needs doing and I seriously can't remember when I last did that. The inside of the fridges get done more often (maybe once every 3 to 4 weeks?) depending on spillages or food that has gone rotten. But I wouldn't say they had a thorough clean - I just wipe over surfaces a bit.

The kitchen counters get cleaned a lot but that is because I'm always using them. The kitchen sink also gets cleaned quite often because its white ceramic and I don't like to see it stained. The oven is something I don't wish to discuss...:ohmy:

What about you? How often do you clean your kitchen?
 
Things get wiped down with water and washing up liquid from the bowl every night because of a previous ant issue. Disinfected? Maybe once a week. I'm not a huge believer in the disinfect the life out of everything approach but no meat or fish is present here. Also all that bleach and disinfectant would kill my septic tank. you have to be careful with them to keep the right balance so you get no odour.

The kitchen cabinets and fridge are all white doors so they do get wiped but not necessarily disinfected on a frequent basis.

Kitchen cloths (hand made) are just washed in the weekly laundry. Every Monday I remove all hand towels, tea towels and kitchen cloths no matter if they have been replaced during the week. So they will have been used for a maximum off a week, usually less. I keep them all white so I can see when they need replacing, for a reason!

As for the floor? It might have been done twice since we moved in. We live rurally and on a sheep farm with chickens as well so the floor won't be very clean. I always change my shoes for slippers when I come in, but hubby doesn't.

But neither of us has ever gotten ill from the eating food off the floor. We just have one rule. If you handle or hand feed the chickens (same applies for the sheep but it's much less frequent) then you wash your hands immediately when you come in. But we don't bother for handling their eggs.
 
The worktops and sink are wiped down daily (if not multiple times a day) usually before or after I've prepared something.....it really depends on what I've been cooking and how messy I've been :p:

My hob is usually in need of cleaning but I really hate cleaning it ....its a stainless steel gas hob so you have to remove the pan supports to clean it, and its quite difficult to get a streak-free finish on the metal parts so it tends to get cleaned once a week or so.

My cabinets are white gloss so they get wiped down pretty frequently because they do show any spillages, but I also wash them down every few months because I want them to look pretty :D The glass splashbacks are done whenever I remember to do them.

I get someone in to clean the oven once a year - its a nasty and time-consuming job and to be honest it doesn't cost much to get someone in to clean it and they make a much better job of it than I can because they have all the right stuff to clean it with.

I use a general-purpose cleaner or washing up liquid for cleaning.....never disinfectant or anti-bacterial products because I don't believe its good for us to live in a totally sanitised environment. No-one has ever got ill from eating in my kitchen so I guess I'm doing something right.
 
Disinfected? Maybe once a week

I can honestly say I've never ever used disinfectant in any form in my kitchen (or any previous kitchens). Its never even occurred to me to be necessary. I'd be worried about it tainting foodstuff anyway as I often put food such as vegetables directly on the counter.

.never disinfectant or anti-bacterial products because I don't believe its good for us to live in a totally sanitised environment. No-one has ever got ill from eating in my kitchen so I guess I'm doing something right.

I'm with you on that one. Having got to the age I am and having had four kids who all grew up safely in my not quite clean kitchens - I feel quite confident about that!
 
I can honestly say I've never ever used disinfectant in any form in my kitchen (or any previous kitchens). Its never even occurred to me to be necessary. I'd be worried about it tainting foodstuff anyway as I often put food such as vegetables directly on the counter.
We've found that we don't have the same immunity to bugs in soil that we have in the northern hemisphere here in Australia. Plus the cockroaches, ants and other wonderful bugs found here... enough said.
Yes it's not good for you, that's why it's once a week if that with a Dettol antibacterial cleaner. It works wonders for keeping the tiny pesky ants away day and night. Much better than putting ant poison down in my opinion .
 
I try to keep up with things, but I live in a house full of slobs. And, unfortunately, I'm not a neat freak, either. I will clean when I'm done with my prep work, and the whole area will look cleaner than it did before. But, baked-in stains (spatter from pans and such) are things I can only contain if I see them before they get set.

The kitchen counter is also where people will put things they need to do something about at some later date. For example, invitations to my daughter's graduation party. So, the kitchen isn't strictly a place where food is prepared, stored, and eaten.

And, like I said, I'm not fanatical about it myself. I don't get home most nights before 7 pm, and the last thing I want to do is start cleaning. I suspect this will change when (if?) I ever retire: I will have more time and fewer excuses.
 
Clinell wipes, green pack. That's what I use.
 
I started cleaning the doors on my cupboards a couple of weeks ago. I do the ones under the hob and the drawers under the main countertop (two of them are spice drawers) because food is likely to get spilt on them or the knobs get mucky more quickly. The others can wait a bit longer. The main countertop gets washed every time I use it mainly because I spill things on it, and because of the dog and cats. The "food prep" end of the long countertop under the window gets cleaned at the same time, but the other end of it (past the sink) has my herbs and other plants on it, so can be covered in leaves!I actually washed the kitchen floor on Wednesday afternoon (first time in ages) but it does get hoovered quite often (if not with the vacuum cleaner, then by the dog). The fridge gets cleaned when it needs it. People don't talk about my oven either, but since I use it mainly to bake my sourdough bread which needs the highest temperature it's started to self-clean properly - the actual temperature they recommend for self-cleaning is useless. @morning glory I think your kitchen and mine would probably get on very well together.
 
Are you talking the whole kitchen? Exterior of all cupboards, floor, interior of cupboards, interior of fridge and so on?

Oh no way, i live with a bunch of people and that would be a night mare haha.

Every day the dishes are done, stove tops cleaned and fridge organised.

Cupboards, floor, and actually cleaning the interior of the fridge are lucky to be done once a month.... :S

haha.
 
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