Kitchen Cleaning Checklist: 11 Tips for a Clean Kitchen

Got tough stains on your plastic laminate countertops? Using the right cleaner and having some patience will make even the most stubborn stains go away. Follow our advice and you'll get rid of those ugly stains for good.

Plus: Secret Cleaning Tips From the Pros

Running your vent hood grease filter through the dishwasher can yield disappointing results. Likewise with 'grease cutting' household cleaners. Get great results with a water-based degreaser from the auto parts store. Fill the sink with hot water and degreaser, drop in the filter and let the degreaser do all the work. The filter will come out sparkling clean in just a few minutes. Then just rinse it off.

Now that discount and dollar stores carry cheap electric toothbrushes, you can add a modern twist to routine cleaning. Rapid vibration will quickly scrub out stubborn dirt, while the long handle can get to hard-to-reach places without all the elbow grease.

Plus: How to Clean a Bathroom Faster and Better

Your disposer will smell better if you clean the splash guard. Lift the flaps and scrub them (especially the under side) with a toothbrush and grease-cutting cleaner.

It's a mystery how baking slop gets deposited between oven door glass panels. But it's clear that you can't remove it without disassembling the door. Get the instructions for removing the door and clean that grungy glass in less than an hour.

Plus: Appliance Care and Maintenance Tips to Make Appliances Last

Clean off shoe scuff marks from vinyl flooring with a clean, dry tennis ball. A light rub and heel marks are 'erased.' Get more ingenious cleaning tips like this one.

When the permanent marker has ended up in the wrong hands, vegetable oil can clean it off lots of surfaces—even skin! Then just wipe up with a damp cloth and you're done.

 See why lemon is such a popular scent with cleaning products.

If you're still using a regular old mop for everyday cleanup of your hard-surface floors, there's a better way. Save the mop for really dirty or muddy floors and simply spot-clean using the tool the pros use.

Plus: Carpet Care Tips to Make Your Carpet Last

If your disposer has developed an odor, it may contain bits of rotted food. Here's how to clean them out:

1. With the water running at about half throttle, drop in orange or lemon peels. Run the disposer for five seconds. Citric acid from the peels softens crusty waste and attacks smelly bacteria. Give the acid about 15 minutes to do its work.
2. Turn on the water and the disposer and drop in a few ice cubes. Flying shards of ice work like a sandblaster inside the disposer.
3. Run the water until the bowl is about half full. Then pull the stopper and turn on the disposer to flush it out.

 

Plus: Bad Smell in the House?

You don't have to live with a stinky fridge. Follow these instructions for using newspaper and charcoal and the odors will be gone within several days.

Plus: 14 Cleaning Tips Every Dog or Cat Owner Should Know