Knoxville Home How To: Cleaning Your Kitchen Appliances

The appliances in your kitchen do a lot of dirty work.

It’s important that you keep these items clean. In this week’s Knoxville Home How To, we’ll take a look at cleaning your kitchen appliances.

Refrigerator

A clean fridge will help keep bad odors at bay and helps keep food fresh

What You’ll Need —

• Sponge
• Warm Water
• Clean Rag
• Baking Soda

What You’ll Need To Do —

1. First, remove all items from your fridge. As you remove items, ensure that all items are not past their expiration date.
2. Remove shelves and drawers.
3. Wipe down the interior of your fridge with a mixture of 2 tablespoons baking soda and one quart hot water. Rinse the mixture clean damp sponge, then dry with a clean rag. Baking soda will help deodorize and will not leave behind any odors.
4. Then, soak shelves and drawers in the mixture of baking soda and hot water. Before returning these items to your fridge, ensure that they are properly rinsed and dried.
5. Replace all items back in the fridge.

Help Keep Your Fridge Clean By —

• Wiping up any spills as they happen.
• Keeping lids tightly contained on leftovers.
• Placing a box of baking soda in your fridge and changing it monthly to keep odors at bay.
• Disposing of food as it passes it’s expiration date.

Microwave

Your microwave can fall victim to many spills. Help keep this useful appliance clean by following these directions.

What You’ll Need —

• Vinegar
• Water
• Microwave Safe Bowl
• Sponge
• Clean Rag

What You’ll Need To Do —

1. First, put equal parts vinegar and water in a microwave safe bowl. Depending on how dirty your microwave is, you’ll want to put more water and vinegar in depending on the amount of grime. Usually, one cup of water and one cup of vinegar does a good job.
2. Heat the liquid mixture for 5 minutes or until the water in the bowl starts to boil (can take up to 10 minutes).
3. Allow the mixture to sit in the microwave for 10 minutes so the solution has enough time to steam up the microwave and clean away grime.
4. Then, remove the bowl from the microwave. Be careful the bowl can still be a bit warm.
5. Wipe down the inside of your microwave with clean sponge. To get the microwave extra clean, dip the sponge in the liquid mixture in the bowl.
6. Once the microwave is clean, wipe down any excess liquid with a dry rag.

Help Keep Your Microwave Clean —

• Cover items up that you warm in the microwave.
• Wipe up spills when they happen.

Dishwaster

Your dishwasher can have a dirty job. Taking care of washing dirty dishes week in and week out, can cause some dirt and mess to be left behind.

What You’ll Need —

• White Vinegar
• Baking Soda
• Lemon Juice
• Rags
• Toothbrush
• Toothpicks

What You’ll Need To Do —

1. First, take care of running your dishwasher. Once the cycle is done, empty the dishwasher completely removing all dishes, racks, and utensil treys.
2. Once your dishwasher is empty, check the spinning arms to ensure there is nothing blocking the water coming through. Use a toothpick to clear out any debris caught up in the holes, just be careful not to scratch the finish.
3. Now, it’s time to clean out the bottom of the dishwasher. In many dishwashers, there is a place at the front of the dishwasher where water doesn’t go, which often is a place that collect debris. In addition, the grate or grill of your dishwasher also will collect debris. Remove any visible debris from this area by wiping down with a damp rag.
4. You’re able to give the bottom of your dishwasher a deeper clean by creating a paste from the vinegar and baking soda. Use this paste to scrub the bottom of your dishwasher, particularly the area around the drain.
5. Then, scrub around the seal of your dishwasher with a damp rag soaked in vinegar and a few squirts of lemon juice. For areas that need more scrubbing, use a toothbrush.
6. Clean up utensil holders and racks by soaking in warm soapy water. If racks are really dirty, soak them in water overnight.
7. To give the inside of your dishwasher a deep clean, pour a cup of vinegar at the bottom of your dishwasher along with 1/4 a cup of baking soda. This solution can help breakdown any build up that still remains at the bottom of your dishwasher. Then, rush your dishwasher on a quick wash or sanitize cycle.
8. Finally, once the cycle is complete, wipe down the inside of your dishwasher with paper towels.

Keep Your Dishwasher Clean —

• Complete this process every few months.
• Be sure to fully rinse plates before place them in the dishwasher.