Welcome toComing Clean, a monthly column where writer Lauren Viera finds the best products for the toughest-to-clean parts of the kitchen. Along the way, she just might convince you (and herself) to actually enjoy this whole cleaning thing.
Everyone has that one spot in the kitchen that almost defies cleaning. It’s out of reach, out of sight, or just straight up annoying to clean, so you skip it. And through that neglect, it gets grosser and grosser until it falls so behind the typical cleaning routine that it’s flagged for that hellish activity of which we seldom speak: Deep Cleaning (shudder). For Commerce EditorEmily Johnson, it’s a window sill that sitsbelowher stove, which traps that terrible combination of grease and dust. For me, it’s the top of therefrigerator. And for pretty much everyone on earth who has a kitchen, it’s those gaps between the stove and the cabinets.
No matter what your least favorite spot is, I’m here to tell you that you have the power to overcome its disgustingness. Once it’s cleaned properly, you may even realize that it’s not so bad, and decide to clean it on the regular.
How to clean above and around the hood
Range hoods are magical in theory: With the flip of a switch and the whir of a fan, clouds of grease and smoke disappear! Except they don’t. Especially if you have a ductless hood, oven exhaust is simply recirculated back into the room after passing through a filter—and then it settles on your surfaces, including the top of the hood and the areas around it. To rid your hood of this greasy film, it’s going to take more than soap and water (though that’s a great first step). After a thorough soap-and-water wipe down with a microfiber cloth, spray the affected areas with a grease-cutting cleaner likeMrs. Meyer’s Multi-Surface Everyday Cleaner. For a deeper clean, let the sprayed surface sit for a minute before wiping.
Want to go even deeper? Clean the filter and the inside of the hood. Experts generally recommending cleaning this area every one to three months. First, remove the filter from the range hood; most filters are removable via either a sliding motion, or they can be popped out. Make a big bowl of hot, soapy water, and let the filter soak for 10 minutes. It's best to use a powerful degreasing soap, like Dawn, here. After you’ve soaked the filter, use a stream of water from a sink sprayer attachment to rinse it, or dunk it several times in a bowl of warm water without soap. Let it air dry before installing it in the hood again.
To clean the underside of the hood, use a degreasing cleaning product, like Zep Heavy Duty Foaming Citrus Degreaser. Spray it on and let it sit for a few minutes, then wipe away the grease with a clean cloth.
How to clean the top of your cabinets
Cabinets tend to take the brunt of all that airborne grease, since it likes to float upward and settle on the highest surfaces. Grab a step stool, roll up your sleeves, and load up your kitchen-cleaning utility belt withMethod Heavy Duty Degreaserand a few microfiber cloths. (Mrs. Meyer’s works great here, too, but I prefer Method for cabinets.) While this product doesn’t really work for the “heavy duty” jobs it advertises (stovetop and oven cleaning), it smells amazing and is perfect for this type of surface. It’s more effective than Mrs. Meyer’s, and unlike most natural cleaners, it actually works.
How to clean the top of your fridge
Unless your fridge is tucked neatly into a nook, the top of it can get pretty gross. The main issue, again, is grease droplets settling on the surface, combined with dust that settles into those grease droplets and dries into a caked-on film. Skip the duster (it’s not going to pick up all that grease). Instead, reach for your microfiber cloths and a mild surface cleaner. The good news? Unless you have a commercial-grade fridge, its surface area is manageable. If, like many of us, the top of your fridge doubles as an open storage space, you’ve got two options: live with that cumulative layer of grease on whatever you’re storing up there and make a note to clean before use, or commit to removing everything every so often to degrease with soap and water.
Those gross gaps between the sides of your stove and cabinets
This is such a scary spot. I’ve avoided writing about it for years despite my editor’s pleas. Before you begin, understand that these bottomless ravines of food debris are only as gross as they are wide. If your gap is wide enough to accommodate astand-up broomstick, start there, removing as much debris as your broom can physically reach. Facing the gap, insert your broom horizontally, lower the bristles down once you hit the back wall, and slowly drag them toward the front. Repeat a few times to get as much as you can. Yes, this will probably be gross. But it will also be very, very satisfying. Alternatively, a powerful handheld vacuum held at the floor-level opening of your gap can work wonders for sucking up junk, even if the gap is too narrow to fit a broom.
