No doubt, we all want to give our home a fresh and clean look. The good news is you don't have to spend hours vacuuming and scrubbing to deep clean your home. All you need is to know the proper cleaning techniques and which supplies to use to cut through dust and dirt. Here are some tips to get your kitchen sparkling clean: * Use a microfibre cloth dipped in very hot water to cut oily, dusty kitchen grime. This is an easy way to clean the layer of cooking oil-infused dust that accumulates on surfaces. The idea is to use the heat to soften the caked-on oil, so the hotter the water the better. * Use a toothpick or pointy-ended skewer to clean out all those nasty dry bits that get stuck in the crevices of stand mixers. It's satisfying to excavate all the materials of baking projects past and present and then wipe them away with a damp cloth. Make sure you unscrew the little knob where you fix attachments to the mixer. * Simmer white vinegar on the stovetop to banish unwanted kitchen smells. * To get rid of fruit flies, halve two to three pieces of a citrus fruit and place them in the oven, directly on the rack. Leave the oven door propped open for a few hours or overnight. In the morning, toss the citrus with boiling water and wipe out the base of the oven. * To regain the white colour of your sink, sprinkle some baking soda in it and use a lemon left over from cooking or juicing as a scrubber. By doing this, you will also save your sponge from picking up nasty sink germs. * To clean the grout of tiles in your shower or on your kitchen counter, sprinkle baking soda along the grout lines and then pour or spray white vinegar over it. If the tiles are vertical, make a thick paste of baking soda with a little water and apply it to the grout. Let it sit and then spray with vinegar. After letting it sit for a few more minutes, use a toothbrush to scrub the grout clean. * To clean grease from kitchen cabinet doors, first try this gentle method before moving on to a more aggressive solution: mix two tablespoons of soap with two of warm water and then scrub the cabinet with a clean cloth, following the grain of the wood. Rinse with a sponge and dry the cabinet with a clean towel. * For a more aggressive solution, sprinkle baking soda onto a clean damp cloth and scrub the cabinet. Rinse and dry with a clean towel. Or add one cup of white vinegar to two tablespoons of dish soap and one cup of water. Scrub the doors using the mixture. Then rinse and dry with a clean towel. * If you need to be still more aggressive, add half a cup of borax to the soap, vinegar and water mix. Repeat the scrubbing action with a soft cloth and wipe with a dry cloth. Finish any of the above methods by wiping the cabinets down with a small amount of orange oil, lemon oil or even mineral oil.
