Kitchen Cleaning Habits That Keep the Deep Clean Rare

1. The five minutes at night

Done while the kitchen is still warm, which is when everything comes off easily.

• Wipe the hob and the tiles behind it after the last cooking, not the next morning. Warm oil wipes off with a cloth; cold oil needs a degreaser.
• Wipe the counter properly — the film, not just the crumbs.
• Empty the sink and dry it. Standing water overnight is what attracts pests.
• Bin out or lidded, every night in summer.
• Run the chimney for ten minutes after you finish cooking, not just during. It clears the vapour still in the air, which is what otherwise settles overnight.

Our kitchen pest tips cover why the last three of these matter more than they look.

2. Weekly and monthly

Weekly:

• Wipe cabinet fronts — particularly the ones either side of the hob and the ones you open with oily hands.
• Clean the sink drain mouth and the area around the tap, where Delhi hard water leaves scale.
• Pull out the dustbin and clean underneath it.

Monthly, or every three to four weeks:

• Degrease the chimney filters in very hot water with a strong detergent. Hot is the important word — grease does not shift in lukewarm water however hard you scrub. Our chimney tips cover the schedule by filter type.
• Wipe the wall and ceiling directly above the hob. Nobody looks up, and that is where the vapour goes.
• Clean the fridge door seal with warm soapy water, and check it still grips.
• Empty one cabinet and wipe it out — rotating through them means the whole kitchen gets done over a few months without ever being a project.

3. The places nobody cleans

These are what a professional deep clean is really being paid for, and they are all reachable if you get to them occasionally.

• The top of the cabinets and the top edge of every shutter. Thick, sticky, and completely out of sight.
• The gap beside and behind the fridge. One of the dirtiest spots in any flat and a favourite pest run.
• Under the hob unit, and behind it if it pulls out.
• The inside of the sink cabinet, where pipes pass through — damp, dark and rarely opened.
• The exhaust fan grille, if the kitchen has one as well as a chimney.
• Switch plates and the tile grout near the hob, where the film builds unnoticed.

4. Things not to do

• Do not use acidic descalers on marble or granite counters. They etch stone permanently. Use them on chrome and tiles, not on natural stone — our marble guide covers what that damage is.
• Do not pour oil or grease down the sink. It solidifies in the pipe and it is the commonest cause of a slow kitchen drain. Wipe pans with a tissue before washing — see our blocked drain guide.
• Do not use steel wool on non-stick or a stainless steel sink that you want to keep looking like one.
• Do not store cardboard cartons under the sink or on top of cabinets. It is the single most reliable way to invite cockroaches.
• Do not leave the chimney filters “until they look bad”. By the time a baffle filter looks bad it has been costing you suction for weeks.

When it has got past habits, our kitchen deep cleaning guide covers what a professional job includes and what it costs.