10 Ways to Spend LESS TIME Cleaning the Bathroom
March 13, 2023
Just as the bed sets the tone of the bedroom, the kitchen sink does to the kitchen. If it is dirty and piled high with dishes, the kitchen will look like a mess, even if the whole rest of the room is clean.
But keeping the sink clean and shiny is a tall order, since, let’s face it: The sink is usually the repository for every dirty dish in the house. With that in mind, here are a few handy tips to help you keep your sink empty, clean, AND shiny!
Here at Clean My Space, we love talking about kitchen cleaning hacks. Here’s our article on How to Clean an Oven!
This sounds like circular logic, but it is worth stating: If you want your sink to look uncluttered, then don’t clutter it up. Start putting dishes directly in the dishwasher and not in the sink as some sort of holding station. If you don’t have a dishwasher, you will have to develop the new habit of washing your dishes after each use. After just a few weeks of doing this, it will become second nature—it won’t even seem to take any time. Before you argue that this option is not appealing, think of the alternative: having food rot away at room temperature for days at a time. Mm hmm. I thought so.
Now that the dishes are gone, you can see the layer of grime that has developed on the sink itself. Whether your sink is stainless steel, porcelain, or plastic, cleaning it is easy. You need some sort of detergent or soap to clean, and some sort of mildly abrasive product to scrub away any buildup. Remove debris from the sink traps and then spray the sink with all-purpose cleaner, or dish soap and water, or even vinegar and water. Once the sink is sprayed down, sprinkle baking soda all over and leave it for a few minutes. Scrub with a sponge and rinse with hot water. Buff with a dry cloth.
If you notice brown stains forming in or around your drain, create a paste of dish soap and baking soda and apply to the area. Leave it for a few minutes, then scrub gently with a cleaning toothbrush. (If you have a high-polish sink, be extra careful not to scratch it by using a soft sponge only.)
Your sink traps can get disgusting…have you ever smelled one? Ugh, I don’t recommend it. To freshen it up, take the trap apart on a monthly basis, soak it overnight in soapy water and baking soda, then rinse and replace. Get into all of the nooks and crannies with a cleaning toothbrush, and rinse well.
A sparkling sink is the hallmark of a clean kitchen. There are a few ways to shine a stainless steel sink, but my favorite is a mixture of 1 part rubbing alcohol to 1 part water, mixed together in a spray bottle. Spritz the sink down, then buff everything with a completely dry cloth. Boom. Sparkle.
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If your sink drains slowly—or if you have noticed a little funk wafting up from it—you may have some buildup that you need to flush out. Take about a cup of baking soda and dump it in the drain, and let it sit for an hour. Boil about 3 cups of vinegar in a kettle (you actually descale your kettle at the same time!), then pour it down your sink. And your sink won’t stink no mo’.
The same method you use for the drain works wonders here—just make sure you run the garbage disposal while pouring in your hot vinegar.
To keep odors at bay anytime, cut up a lemon, lime, grapefruit, or orange, and pop the chunks into the disposal while it runs.
For chrome and nickel faucets, use that same 50/50 vinegar and water mix that you used to shine the sink. Spray on the faucet, let sit for a minute, and wipe clean with a dry microfiber cloth.
If you have a copper, stainless steel, brass, or bronze faucet, consult the instructions from the manufacturer.
If YOU have a cleaning question, leave us a comment in the box down below—that’s where we get all of the ideas of these videos!
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