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Deep Cleaning Hidden Spots In The Kitchen

Who has heard the phrase that the kitchen is the heart of the home? Or perhaps you’ve watched The Block and heard contestants and judges repeat ad nauseam that ‘kitchens sell houses’. Your kitchen is probably one of the most used rooms in your home and as we prepare, and possibly consume, a great deal of our meals there it is a room that will need some extra deep cleaning if you are putting you home up for sale. So The Agent Finder reached out to our friends at Helpling for some expert advice on how to get your kitchen looking and smelling great.
First stop is your oven hood. Your oven hood not only absorbs odors, it’s also a magnet for fat. And if the fat isn’t cleaned regularly, it builds up and makes the eventual cleaning effort much more difficult. To keep on top of this, you can run the filters through the dishwasher every so often. Place the filters horizontally in the upper compartment, then run the cycle with the rest of the machine empty, so as not to get food residue and crumbs stuck in the filters.
If you have to clean the hood manually, place the filters in a sink full of hot, soapy water. Leave them to soak, then scrub them thoroughly with a brush and clean again. Don’t forget to clean inside the cooker hood – a lot of fat can build up here. Finally, dry thoroughly with a cloth. Helpling recommend you use 100% cotton towels, as they will be lint free.
If buyers are really interested in your property, they’ll want to check out every appliance while they are at your open house. So don’t overlook your dishwasher as part of your kitchen that will need cleaning. When handwashing dishes, we replace sponges fairly regularly as they become worn and grubby. But how often do you clean the dishwasher in your home? Thanks to its warm temperature and moisture, if it isn’t cleaned properly at regular intervals, it can become the ideal breeding ground for bacteria.
Firstly, remove everything you can from the inside – the racks, fluid caps, filter etc. Then clean the inside of the appliance thoroughly with a fresh sponge and water and vinegar solution. Remember to clean the filter as well. This often catches crumbs and bits of leftover food. Once you’ve finished scrubbing, reattach all the parts you removed to clean the inside. Then finally, add a cup of vinegar to the capsule compartment and allow the machine to rinse empty at the highest temperature. And don’t worry, your plates won’t taste like vinegar the next time you use them!
Finally, when it is time to move this will be a great opportunity to clean your freezer as, unless you’re leaving it behind, you’ll need to turn it off to move it. Two thirds of food poisoning cases originate from the fridge or freezer’s walls. However, the freezer walls often escape our attention during a big clean up. There’s a common misconception that bacteria die below freezing temperature, while many bacteria only hibernate, not die. For this reason, it’s best to store food in insulated bags.
To clean, turn off the freezer, remove the shelves and put some towels inside and around the base of the freezer to soak up water, then leave it to defrost overnight. To get rid of the dormant bacteria, spray a mixture of water and vinegar onto a cloth, then wipe the freezer walls and shelves, then rinse.
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These tips were provided by Helpling, a platform for booking registered and insured cleaners in Sydney and Melbourne

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