KITCHEN CLEANING

OVEN CLEANING

2- 5% caustic soda in a solution of warm water and this is left on the surface for
about a half hour. Then this is washed off with another solution of washing up liquid in warm water.
Leaving the cooker to soak gets it quickly and efficiently free from grease. Emulsify (dissolve) the removed grease with a solution of washing-up liquid in hot water. Tip all down drain (and clean your drains at the same time) finally rinse all off with clean water. Everything works faster if the cooker surfaces are warm before the first soaking.

NOTE WELL

Caustic soda burns the skin (and should never be inhaled), so always wear gloves when using it - however it gives a good result and fast Never, ever use any caustic detergents in a spray can or bottle or anywhere where you are forced into inhaling its vapour at close range, or where it will get into your eyes. You have been warned. It burns because it reacts vigorously with the water and fats in your skin. That goes for your lungs as well.
(Caustic soda is one of the best cleaning agents out there, and is in constant and frequent use throughout the food and other industries. All it requires is a little common sense as to its use).
Steam can be used to clean a cooker but will need mopping up as fast as the water appears - this carries grease. Steam softens but doesn't remove the grease. Clean your cooker with washing-up solution in hot water after each use, not once a year. That way you can eliminate any use of caustic soda, if it worries you.
We have seen organic solvents used as alternative cooker cleaners, but cannot say whether they would be as good - as a cleaning business, we have never taken the solvent route to cleaning - we find water cleans anything well. Where there is food, keep to water.
Keep ammonia and bleach well away from cookers.

WASHING CROCKERY, CUTLERY AND DISHES - BY HAND

Make sure you wash up in a clean sink and drainer.
Washing-up liquid solution is as good as anything else. The remains of last night's meal which has dried to a crust on the plates and pans can be removed by a soak, before washing in a new, clean solution. Change your washing-up water at frequent intervals before it gets too greasy. Rinse in clean water before leaving it to dry naturally. You do not need to use drying cloths, and indeed they are the best source of bacterial infection we can think of, as are dish cloths.

HYGIENE IN THE KITCHEN

Where do we start? With the last stomach upset you had? Re-read the section on washing crockery first.
Keep your kitchen areas cleaned daily.
Keep cooked food well away from raw food, preferably a long way away, and their containers should have lids on.
Wash your hands before handling either, and also after you have used the toilet.
Get rid of the rubbish to the outside
Keep your wash cloths clean. Try boiling them or washing them in the washing machine and then drying in direct sunlight. It is not really necessary to use drying cloths, but if you still insist on them, treat them the same way.
Keep the cooking area clean, especially underfoot.
Keep the cooker hood extractor fan blades and housing cleaned, and clean the blinds well.
Get into the habit of washing surfaces after use and then rinsing off. This way you do not need to apply sanitisers - you'll just be permanently clean. Never ever replace cleaning with sanitising. The two are not mutually exclusive, so keep those sanitisers out of it.
Study your kitchen corners, especially where you keep, store or prepare food. Always keep the corners well cleaned out. Treat with a descaler if you have very hard water -scale builds up in corners.
Wash walls often.

FRIDGE CLEANING

Keep the fridge clean and washed out with detergent, rinse well and deodorise after washing with bicarbonate of soda in the final rinsing water, if needed. Pay particular attention to the rubber seals on the doors.
When you are cleaning out the insides of the fridge, don't forget to clean that patch of floor the fridge is usually standing on, and also the external casings of the fridge. Not just the door.
Keep stored food in containers, and keep these containers clean - inside and out. Do not store cooked food in contact with raw food. This is where most cross-contamination occurs.
Keep the fridge at the manufacturers recommended storage temperature

MOPPING

Download our guide to a perfect mopping technique
Change your water very regularly
Rinse the floor after cleaning
Wash your mop in detergent solution, after use
Keep your mop as dry as you can.
All that black water over the floor, a smelly mop, all the puffing and panting that goes with throwing a heavy mop around, and those are the cleaning companies we have come across. Heaven only knows what the householders are like. And you complain that the floor looks dirty five minutes after?
Use a light cotton mop, so it is easy for you to handle, keep it clean and washed after use, and halve your mopping time by keeping the floor as dry as you can, by wringing it out properly. push your mop, don't drag it.
Now you know how to mop.
Just in case you are tempted by flat mops or mops made of any other material other than cotton, these can be expensive, are very heavy to use, and do not produce such a good effect. A cheap cotton mop is as good as anything else on the market.