Kitchen counters might be some of the messiest surfaces in any home. They’re where you prep meals, spill ingredients and drip things off your dinnerware. If you can’t stand another minute of scrubbing at tough spots and messes, use these countertop cleaning hacks to simplify your routine.
You’ll create a custom strategy for your counters that may work better than any product you’ve tried before.
1. Let Dried Food Soak
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, people spend 37 minutes per day cleaning their homes. Household chores may feel like they take even longer while you’re scrubbing the same dried food on your counter. When that spot of tomato sauce or cheese won’t budge, grab your preferred cleaning solution and apply enough to soak the area.
Even the driest particles will absorb the liquid resting on top of them. Set a 10-minute timer and finish other chores while you wait. When you return to those stubborn food bits, you can remove them from your counter much more easily with a paper towel or sponge. If you’re still having a hard time, try using a metal spatula to gently lift the softened mess away and carry it over to your trash can.
2. Use Soap Designed to Cut Through Grease
Many kitchen messes have an oil base. Meals featuring vegetable oils, bacon grease, sauces and vinaigrettes can be the most frustrating to clean off your counters. When your counter still feels oily after you scrub or wipe at a spill, add a bit of dish soap designed for greasy foods.
If you rub it into the mess with a splash of warm water, the soap can break down your trouble spots faster than other options like antibacterial cleaning sprays.
3. Consider Your Countertop Material
Numerous countertop options are available. Some people want the smooth look of a laminate surface, while other homeowners dream about marble’s high-end, natural appearance. They all serve the same purpose, but you can’t clean them in identical ways. You may be using the wrong strategy for your counters if you haven’t considered their material before.
Low-maintenance laminate counters only require soap and water. Others may need more focused care. Granite is porous due to its natural formation. Stains and food particles can sink into those tiny pores, resulting in messes that are extra challenging to remove. Consult the contractor who installed your countertop if you’re unsure about the materials. You could also schedule a consultation with a local kitchen remodeling business if you don’t know who built your house.
4. Banish Odors With Lemons
Surfaces with microscopic spaces absorb messes and retain odors that give your kitchen a lingering, unpleasant smell. The problem is especially frustrating for people with wood or natural stone counters. Get into the pores without expensive cleaning supplies by slicing a lemon in half.
Squeeze a lemon into a small bowl and mix it with an equal amount of water. Spray or rub it onto your counters and let it dry. The organic, acidic liquid will soak into those spaces and kill the odor-causing bacteria. However, you shouldn’t use this approach on marble, since the stone is more sensitive to lemon juice’s pH balance. Look for specialized cleaning products to eliminate odors within those surfaces and prolong their lifespan.
5. Try a Splash of Vinegar
White vinegar is another countertop cleaning hack many people already have in their pantry. The weak acid can break down organic substances without harming laminate, engineered quartz or stainless steel counters. Vinegar is so powerful that it even cleans car windows when polishing wax gets onto them.
Add an equal amount of white vinegar and water to a spray bottle and get to work on your toughest countertop messes. A damp rag will remove anything under your vinegar solution. If you have any left over, you can even use the DIY cleaning mixture to wipe down the inside of your refrigerator and microwave. They’ll look and smell better without requiring products that make your grocery bill skyrocket.
6. Mix Baking Soda and Water
Grab a box of baking soda next time you see a lingering stain after scraping food off your counter. Mix a tablespoon with enough water to form a paste, not a liquid. Wipe it onto the dried mess or stain and let it sit for five minutes. Scrub gently after your timer goes off to work everything out of your counter.
Baking soda is an abrasive solution compared to vinegar or lemon juice. The tiny granules amplify your scrubbing abilities, so it’s effective on stainless steel, laminate and wood counters. You shouldn’t use it on sealed marble, granite or quartz counters. The texture can remove the sealant and leave tiny scratches behind. Food and odors will cling to those surfaces more effectively if small tears are in your counters.
Make Your Countertops Cleaner Than Ever
Harsh chemicals from your grocery store’s cleaning aisle aren’t your only options for removing dried messes on your counters. Try one or more of these DIY cleaning hacks to streamline your household chores.
You’ll spend less time scrubbing, improve your kitchen’s smell and eliminate stains without breaking a sweat. If you know your countertop’s material, you can match your approach to what it needs.
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