7 Kitchen Cleaning Tricks You’ll Wish You’d Known Sooner

These easy TikTok hacks will have you working smarter, not harder.

Having a clean kitchen is paramount to having a healthy home. This high-traffic area likely gets dirtier faster and more often than any room in your house so staying on top of cleaning is necessary.

Given you're preparing food and eating in this area, ensuring that it's clean will help you eliminate harmful microorganisms and maintain good hygiene while preparing meals – no foodborne illnesses here thanks!

And while for many, cleaning isn't a particualrly enjoyable activity, having a clean home makes you feel so much better, and it's much easier to do if you have a few tricks up your sleeve.

From a DIY oven cleaner to removing stains from food containers, these effective kitchen cleaning tricks will make the process quicker and easier.

1. Wiping down surfaces

One of the most common mistakes with using a disinfectant spray is not letting it sit long enough. Once you've sprayed down your countertops and other surfaces allow the spray to sit for approximately five minutes. This allows the disinfectant to break down grime and actually kill germs. Let the sray sit on a surface in order to be most effective – this might be anywhere between 5-10 minutes so read the product label.

2. Gas stovetop cleaner

Ah, the dreaded stovetop. This is one area of the kitchen that is particularly frustrating to clean. In this video, Chantel Mila shares how she gets it done. Start by removing the grates and soaking them in hot water and dish soap to soften the built-up grease. Next, remove the burners and soak them for one hour in 1/2 cup of baking soda, lemon, and boiling water. While you wait, make a paste of dish soap and baking soda to clean the stovetop. Next, wash, rinse, and dry your grates and burners. Put the stovetop back together and voila!

3. Cleaning oven rack

Most of us are guilty of having oven racks that are covered in burnt bits. And when we do go to scrub them clean, it can require a bit of elbow grease and time. Cleaning guru Chantel Mila has a much easier solution that requires very little effort.

Simply lay an old towel in a bath (you could use your shower or a large sink) and soak the oven racks in hot water. Add one scoop of laundry powder and leave them to soak overnight. Voilà! Now you’re left with shining oven racks.

4. Cleaning stained plastic containers

Do you have plastic containers that are stained from previous foods, which you simply can't remove no matter how many times you wash them? @adikempler might have the answer to your woes.

All you need to do is pour some washing liquid into the container, add some warm water along with a few bits of paper towel (yes, you read that correctly), and pop the lid on. Then, vigorously shake the container for about a minute. Take the lid off, rinse out the water and your container should look good as new.

5. DIY oven cleaner

Your oven should be deep cleaned approximately once every three months. It can be stubborn to clean but this technique will make things a bit easier. Mix up a paste of baking soda, dish soap, and water. Pop on some gloves and apply the paste to the inside of your oven. Leave this to sit overnight and in the morning scrub the paste off with your hands. Next, spray the surfaces with vinegar and wipe down. You're now left with a sparkling oven.

6. Kettle cleaner

When was the last time you cleaned the inside of your kettle? Maybe you've never thought to. If you peer into the appliance, you might see there's a chalky limescale build-up at the bottom of it. To remove this you can simply pour some vinegar and water into the vessel and boil it. Once done, pour out the liquid and rinse several times. Then, boil a round of water and rinse again. Goodbye limescale!

7. Oven gap cleaner

If you have a gap between your freestanding oven and countertop, chances are you don't bother cleaning that area – understandably. You can, however, use a butter knife and a clean cloth to gently slide into the gap and give it a wipe down as shown in this video.

Another sneaky little spot that often doesn't get cleaned is the edge of electric stove tops. If You can use a toothpick wrapped in paper towel to clean around the edge.

These easy TikTok hacks will have you working smarter, not harder.