A kitchen is a place where everyone goes again and again. Everyone comes into the kitchen, cook or make something and then put dirty dishes into the sink. The sink is the place where all the grimes, residues, grease, and food leftover are gathered. The sink and drain might become the dirtiest places if not cleaned properly. Here are some steps to clean the kitchen sink and drain.
Things Needed for Cleaning Kitchen Sink and Drain
- Non-abrasive scrubber
- Rubber Gloves
- Baking Soda
- White vinegar
- Dish soap
- Any essential oil (for fragrance)
- Salt
- Lemon
Step 1: Scrub and Rinse the Sink Thoroughly
First of all, make sure that the sink is free from all the dishes. After that, remove all the food particles or leftovers from the sink. Make a routine of rinsing your sink after you did dishes so that no food leftover, grease, or grime can be there. By doing this, you can save your sinks from long-term damage plus this will make the deep cleaning easy. For regular cleaning, scrub the sink with a soft sponge using dish soap and then rinse it off with water.
Step 2: Sanitize Your Sink
Once you have finished rinsing your sink, now it’s time to sanitize the sink. Sanitizing is important especially in this Covid-19 where there are more chances of spreading viruses and infections. Therefore, to avoid the spread of viruses and germs, and for a spotless clean sink, you have to do deep cleaning of your sink.
- Stainless Steel-Sprinkle Baking Soda
Most of kitchens have stainless steel sinks and they are more prone to stains, spots, and rust. Plus, acidic products don’t work well on stainless steel appliances. Therefore, use some baking soda and white vinegar on these items. Both are used as all-purpose cleaners and are very effective for cleaning surfaces and appliances.
After rinsing the sink, spread a few teaspoons of baking soda over the whole sink. For better results, you can sprinkle a few teaspoons of white vinegar over this baking soda, it will give a shiny look to your sink. Now put your gloves on your hands, take a soft sponge or non-abrasive scrubber and scrub this down and end up washing it with water.
- Porcelain Sink-Hydrogen Peroxide
Porcelain sinks are more durable, attractive, sustainable, and stain-free sinks. If your kitchen has a porcelain sink, then hydrogen peroxide is better to use for cleaning. Wash the porcelain sink to remove any food leftovers and sprinkle some baking soda and hydrogen peroxide. Take a soft sponge or non-abrasive scrubber and scrub the sink. For a shinier look, take a half piece of lemon, sprinkle some salt on it and then scrub the sink with this salty lemon. Finish this by washing the porcelain sink with warm water.
Step 2: Clean Faucets, Nooks, and Crannies
When you clean your kitchen sink, don’t forget to clean and wash faucets, nooks, and crannies, these are also germs-infested areas. For their cleaning, mild dish soap and a soft sponge can work great. For nooks and crannies, apply some dish soap using an old toothbrush
- If your faucet has hard water build-up on its edge, you can use a mixture of baking soda and some teaspoons of vinegar. Apply this paste on the faucet edge where hard water buildup and leave it for 10 to 15 minutes and then scrub it away with a non-abrasive scrubber. You can also use lemon for this purpose. Take a half piece of lemon and put this on the faucet edge and cover it with a plastic bag. Leave it for about 20 to 30 minutes and then scrub it with a scrubber.
After cleaning them, use vinegar to sanitize them. Take a microfiber cloth or soft sponge, damp it with white vinegar, and wipe it down on the faucet, its handles, nooks, and crannies.
Step 3: Clean Their Tools
Only cleaning the sink is not enough. Cleaning its tools like dish sponge, sponge holder, sink mat, and dish brush is also important. Don’t forget to clean them. When your dish sponge starts to stink, discard it and take a new one. You can run other tools in the dishwasher too for washing.
Step 4: Deodorize the Drain
If drains are not cleaned properly, it produces a bad odor. Therefore, the drain and disposal should be cleaned properly at least once a week. There are different methods of cleaning drains. Here is a most effective tip to clean and deodorize the drain.
White vinegar and baking soda are the best combinations to clean the drain. Pour 1/3 cup of baking soda into the drain. Then slowly pour half a cup of white vinegar down the drain. Wait for 5 to 10 minutes and then pour hot water to get a clean drain. This will sanitize and deodorize your sink drain and will remove its smell. If your drain is clogged, you can also use this method to unclog it.
Most of the time, food leftovers, grease, and some other things are stuck in the drain and cause clogging of the drain. Therefore, try to put dishes in the sink after removing all the food leftovers, grease, oils, coffee grounds, rice, pasta, eggshells, fruit or vegetable peels, etc.
For avoiding clogging the drain, place an old can or jar near your sink and put all the food leftovers into this can. When it gets full, dispose it of. By following these steps, you will get a clean and fresh sink and drain. And if your drain continuously shows signs of clogging, you can take the help of professional cleaners because they better know how to unclog the drain.
If you want to get a clean and fresh-looking sink, then make a habit of cleaning it after every use. For regular cleaning, you can only use mild dish soap and a soft sponge and scrub the whole sink with it. For deep cleaning, you can use baking soda and white vinegar.