With Dashain parties and visitors coming over all throughout the day, our kitchens might have seen better days. It’s a small price to pay for reconnecting with loved ones but now it’s time to get rid of the grime and we’re sure you aren’t looking forward to it just like us. The thing with cleaning hacks is that sometimes they don’t work and leave you with a bigger mess than you started out with. Which is why we are sharing some of our tried and tested ones with you today. 

Baking soda to the rescue

You can clean all kinds of messes and stains with baking soda. Clean your sink with baking soda and lemon. Sprinkle some baking soda on your kitchen sink and let it sit for a few minutes. Use half a lemon to scrub the sink after that and wash with water. Your stainless steel sink will look brand new as you will easily be able to get rid of water marks and stains with this easy cleaning trick. You can also make a paste of baking soda with water and apply it to cookware, ovens, and stovetops and let that sit for 15 to 30 minutes before scrubbing it clean. Baking soda with dish soap or vinegar is also a great cleaning agent. Baking soda also helps get rid of bad odor.

Use a toothbrush to get to difficult places

Oven racks, blender blades, kitchen tile joints—there are some places in the kitchen that are hard to reach and thus usually a little dirty. But they don’t need to be. All you need is an old toothbrush and some cleaning solution and you can have these difficult areas shiny and new in no time. To clean the oven rack and blender blades, tie two toothbrushes together with the bristles facing each other. This way the bristles will cover the wire from all sides and it will be easier to scrub. You can also run a toothbrush over the tile joints in your kitchen and give them a thorough scrub to get rid of the grit and grime.

Make things sparkle with lemon and vinegar

You don’t need strong chemical agents to clean anything in your kitchen. All of us have lemon and vinegar in our pantries and just these two ingredients are enough to get rid of the strongest stains and odors. Microwave lemon in a bowl of water to clean your oven. Let it run for three minutes and then keep the oven door closed for an additional five minutes. The steam will help loosen the gunk attached to the walls as well as make it smell fresh. Give it a good wipe down when done and your oven will look brand new. Use lemon and salt to clean your cutting boards. Simply sprinkle some salt on the board and scrub it with half a lemon. Place lemon peels on the fridge door to get rid of odor. Mix equal parts of white vinegar and water to create an all purpose spray for the kitchen. This solution can be used to clean countertops and cabinets.