7 Clever Kitchen Cleaning Hacks to Boost the Mood of Your Apartment

When you walk into your apartment at the end of the day, how do you feel?

Is it a place that embraces you with welcome? Or does it seem gloomy, dragging your mood down?

The fact is that your home’s mood is based on how well you take care of it. Your decorating scheme and the way you clean (or don’t clean) it can be felt as soon as you walk in the door.

If you want to boost the mood of your apartment, start with your kitchen. Try these seven clever cleaning hacks to spread a bit of happiness and positivity through your home.

1. Brighten Your Backsplash Tile

Did you even know you had backsplash behind your sink? It’s okay if you didn’t. This area of the kitchen is almost always forgotten about, but it gets disgusting if you don’t clean it.

The backsplash tile is the stopping point where grease, food, and other gunk comes to rest when you’ve splashed a little too hard with your dishes. It’s got a big job with few rewards.

Yet, if too much gunk piles up on your backsplash, it can ruin the aesthetics of your kitchen.

To clean up your backsplash, try this little hack:

1. Sprinkle baking soda over your tiles.
2. Fill a spray bottle with cleaning vinegar and spray it over the baking powder.
3. Leave it to fizzle for just a few minutes.
4. Use a toothbrush to scrub away the dirt on and between the tiles.

Some stains, like oil, are notoriously difficult to eliminate. To remove these stains, add a mixture of hydrogen peroxide and baking soda. Along with some warm water, dish soap, and a little bit of elbow grease, this should do the trick!

2. Make Your Sink Shine

Now that your backsplash is spick and span, let’s clean the sink.

Do this handy hack weekly or monthly to keep your sink looking shiny and new:

1. Create a baking soda paste and wipe down your sink.
2. Rinse it out with some white vinegar to remove hard water stains.
3. Dry your sink with a towel to keep water from evaporating and leaving behind spots.

For some extra shine, use a few drops of olive oil on a cloth to buff the stainless steel.

Clogged drains require a little extra TLC. If your drain is slow, pour some vinegar in, sprinkle baking soda on top, and plug the drain until it stops fizzing.

Then, unplug it and let it sit for a half-hour. Pour boiling water down the drain to get rid of the baking soda residue.

Not only will your sink be clean, but you’ll save a lot of money on potential plumbing expenses!

3. Tackle That Greasy Stovetop

No, those stains don’t have to be permanent, even if it’s a flat-top stove. You just need the right cleaner and a bit of muscle power!

This stove cleaning hack takes some patience, but it’s worth it:

1. Brush off any loose debris.
2. Sprinkle baking soda all over the stovetop, then drizzle hydrogen peroxide over it to break down any baked-on food.
3. Once that’s done, rinse and dry the newly-cleaned surface.
4. Don’t forget the burners if you have them! Put 1/4 cup of ammonia in a large, sealable plastic bag.
5. Place the burner inside and lock it tight. Leave it overnight.
6. The next day, wipe the grease away with a sponge or towel. Voila!

With this hack, you’ll never have to look at a greasy stovetop again. Your apartment will begin to glimmer with hope!

4. Remove Grease from Your Kitchen Cabinets

Like your backsplash, the doors on your kitchen cabinets are catchalls for spills and splatters. Grease is a common culprit.

To remove these stubborn stains, follow these steps:

1. Fill your sink with water and dish soap.
2. Soak a washcloth in this soapy solution, and use it to scrub the grease away.
3. Dampen another cloth with white vinegar. Wipe down the cabinet.
4. Rinse the vinegar cloth with warm water and wring it out, then wipe down the cabinet again. You may have to clean some spots more than once.

You can preserve your cabinets by using wood oil or lemon twice a month to coat the surface and prevent grease stains.

5. Clean Any Stainless Steel Surface

Stainless steel appliances are popular in many apartment buildings. But unfortunately, they can be tough to clean.

With these tips, you can give your stainless steel surfaces a brand-new shine:

• Use cotton cleaning cloths on your appliances to avoid leaving lint behind.
• Like wood, steel has little lines embedded in it. This is called the grain. When cleaning stainless steel, always wipe in the direction of the grain.
• Dish soap does wonders for steel. Put a small amount on your rag and dampen it with water before you wipe down a surface.
• Spray white vinegar onto the surface and allow it to sit for a minute before wiping it away. Repeat as many times as needed to make your appliances shine.

Other common hacks include using baby oil, mineral oil, or olive oil to buff and shine the steel once it’s clean. A few drops are plenty!

6. Freshen Up Wooden Cutting Boards

Cutting boards are surprisingly gross. Because wood is a porous surface, dirt and bacteria tend to live in the board’s crevices.

Fortunately, you can kill these bacteria by cleaning your cutting boards with lemon and salt.

This hack eliminates germs and makes your wood look like new.

By combining lemon juice and coarse salt, you will create a grainy scrub that clears away stuck-on food and helps sanitize the surface. You don’t even need a sponge; you can use the lemon peel to scrub!

Also:

Don’t soak your cutting board in water or put it in the dishwasher. Moisture will become trapped in the wood’s pores and cause your board to crack over time.

7. Eliminate Unwanted Odors From Your Fridge

Nothing ruins the mood of your home quite like a bad smell. And if you have an ugly stench floating through your apartment, there’s a chance it could be coming from the fridge.

There are a bunch of natural methods for getting rid of bad fridge smells. Here are some quick and easy tricks:

• Fill a glass with your trusty baking soda and place it on the top shelf.
• Put potato peels in your fridge to absorb the smells.
• Use a combination of lemon or orange and cloves to ward off bad odors.

A rotten fridge leads to a rotten mood for everyone, so eliminate those unwanted odors immediately.

In Conclusion

Your home should be your refuge after a long day. But if it’s dirty and disorganized, you’ll feel a dark mood every time you walk in.

So if you want to boost the mood of  your apartment, put these seven cleaning hacks to use. Before long, the thought of walking into your home will bring a smile to your face!

Author Bio:

Ryan Sundling is a Group Marketing Manager at Cardinal Group Management. He has over ten years of experience in the conventional housing industry and works with West 38 on a daily basis to help them with their marketing efforts.