10 Kitchen Items You’re Probably Forgetting to Clean This Summer
Now’s the perfect time to scrub all the spots you’ve been neglecting.
Chances are, your kitchen is the central hub of your household. It’s where you cook, eat, come together as a family, entertain, and, in many cases, store all those miscellaneous items that don’t have anywhere else to go (think paperwork, backpacks, and car keys). As the heart of your home, your kitchen gets a lot of daily use, which means, it tracks dirt, dust, debris, crumbs, and grime in shocking amounts and with surprising frequency.
Since summer is a season dedicated to slowing down, traveling, and soaking up all the extra family time, it’s easy to overlook all the hidden corners, hard-to-reach crevices, and other forgotten spots during routine cleanings. But even though these kitchen items are out of sight or smaller in size, neglecting them can lead to a grimy buildup that makes your whole kitchen (and entire house) feel messy and chaotic. “Many homeowners feel overwhelmed by everything that has accumulated over the summer: dust, grime, clutter,” says Doris Erazo Cramer, office manager of Lucie's Home Services in Durham, North Carolina.
Before school resumes session and the holidays roll around, summer is the perfect time for a kitchen reset—particularly for those easily forgotten spots. To knock out this chore in the most efficient and effective way, we asked Erazo Cramer to reveal the often-overlooked kitchen items due for a deep clean this summer—and how to clean each one. By tackling these sneaky sites, you’ll get to enjoy a fresher, tidier home well into fall.
Tackle these often-overlooked household chores next:
Dishwasher Filter
Your dishwasher filter catches all the food particles and greasy residue that helps your dishes come out looking clean. But, over time, your filter can get clogged, which leads to smelly odors and less effective cleaning. Following your appliance’s recommendations, remove the filter, rinse it under warm water, and scrub the buildup with a brush before reinstalling it.
Microwave Turntable
Whenever you reheat leftovers, soften butter, or make a mug cake, your microwave’s turntable catches all the oil splatters—meaning, buildup can happen fast. Since this overlooked kitchen item is removable, it’s easy to clean with warm, soapy water. While you’re at it, wipe down the interior of your microwave, too.
Garbage Disposal
Your garbage disposal is great at trapping food scraps and grease, but when these particles stick to the blades and rubber splash guard, they can cause unpleasant lingering smells. To zap the stuck-on grime, scrub away the buildup with a dish brush and dish soap before flushing the disposal with cold water.
Refrigerator Shelves
As you stock up your fridge with summer produce, seasonal condiments, and refreshing drinks, it’s easy for sticky spills and lingering crumbs to take over the shelves. After emptying out your fridge and tossing all the expired items, wipe down the surface (including the drawers) with a food-safe cleaner. Then, reorganize the contents.
Oven Range Hood
Every time you roast zucchini or bake salmon for simple summer dinners, your range hood catches the grease, smoke, and cooking odors. To keep the ventilation system working efficiently and the appliance looking as clean as possible, wipe down the exterior with a degreasing cleaner and replace the filter according to the manufacturer’s instructions.
Toaster Crumb Tray
Your toaster is great for turning bread, bagels, and waffles into something warm and crispy, but these foods leave behinds loads of crumbs that quickly fill the tray beneath the toaster. This summer, you can reduce burnt smells and scattered crumbs by removing the tray, dumping the contents, soaking it in hot, soapy water, and scrubbing it clean.
Cabinet Exteriors
You and your family are probably in and out of the kitchen cabinets all summer, meaning the exterior has greasy fingerprints all over it. What’s more, since the cabinets are situated next to your stove, oven, and counters, they also pick up splatters and spills. All you need is a damp microfiber cloth and a cleaner designed for the material for your cabinets to look as good as new again.
Trash Can
As you discard food scraps and uneaten portions throughout the warmer months, sticky residue and gross smells can stay behind. Cleaning your trash can entails emptying it, scrubbing the interior and exterior with warm, soapy water, and letting it air dry before adding a new trash bag. To minimize future odors, you can even sprinkle a little baking soda at the bottom of the can.
Ceiling Fan
Since they aren’t in our line of sight, kitchen ceiling fans are easy to miss. But the blades track loads of dust, which can cause respiratory issues whenever they’re in use. “When these areas become dusty, they can affect your home's air quality by circulating dust throughout the house,” Erazo Cramer explains. An extendable duster or microfiber wand will instantly freshen up the dusty blades.
Light Switches
“Light switches are one of the highest-touch surfaces in your home, collecting fingerprints, dirt, and germs every day,” Erazo Cramer says. With guests coming and going all summer, these kitchen items get even more use—and, therefore, accumulate even more dirt. To limit the spread of bacteria and keep your home neat and tidy, sanitize the fixtures with a disinfectant wipe.
Lilly Blomquist is the associate editor at The Pioneer Woman, where she writes lifestyle stories across a wide range of topics—including news, entertainment, holidays, food, and more.
How to Get Rid of Grass Stains
Mildew Hides Here in Hot Summer Weather
Why Your Towels Smell in Summer—And How to Fix It
The Easy Way to Wash Fresh Fruit and Veggies
