You prepare your vegetables there by peeling and cutting them, you cut your meat there, you roll out your dough: your kitchen worktop has a lot to do on a daily basis. Once you have cooked all this, you need to clean your oven or your plate and then your work surface. In this article, see how to keep your worktop clean by maintaining it optimally.
1 – Adapt the cleaning of your worktop according to your material
The worktop in a kitchen is without a doubt one of the most frequently used spaces in the house. You are using your plate to cook and now splatters are forming on its surface. This soiling during cooking is completely normal and cannot always be avoided, even with great care. It is obviously important that you quickly remove these food residues so that they do not remain encrusted. The optimal cleaning of your worktop depends on its material. It is possible to distinguish worktops made of plastic, real wood, stainless steel or even stone.
2 – Easily clean a worktop containing plastic
The vast majority of work surfaces in kitchens are made from a combination of pressed wood and plastic coating. Plastic surfaces offer excellent maintenance properties and are available in a variety of different looks and colours. It is usually enough to wipe down your plastic worktop with a damp sponge and a little washing-up liquid. The “scrubbing” side of your sponge can be used for the toughest stains.
3 – Use oil or wax for a wooden worktop
Solid wood worktops bring a traditional touch to the kitchen, but take longer to maintain. Wooden panels are usually treated with special oil or wax to prevent, for example, colored food from penetrating. Nevertheless, the dirt must be removed quickly. Mild soap or soap flakes can be used for gentle cleaning (no detergent, please!). Make sure wooden surfaces are dry after cleaning, as moisture can penetrate and the wood can warp. In addition, the wooden worktop should be treated regularly with furniture oil in order to preserve the protective properties of the natural material.
4 – Very simply maintain a stainless steel worktop
Do you think stainless steel is reserved for the large kitchens of gourmet restaurants? Yet many private kitchens feature shiny surfaces: stainless steel worktops. They are still smooth even after years of use and offer little chance for bacteria to settle and grow there. They are therefore considered particularly hygienic. Cleaning stainless steel is very simple: wipe the work area with warm water and a little washing-up liquid, then dry it. Because standing water on the surface causes unsightly limescale stains. You can get rid of lime deposits quickly and easily with a few drops of vinegar cleaner.
5 – Thoroughly clean a stone worktop
Some materials are rarely used in the kitchen because of difficulty in maintenance. This is the case of stone or granite, which is a material although pre-treated – the stone is impregnated before delivery to prevent liquids from penetrating into the pores of its surface – which must not be damaged during its cleaning. Use lukewarm water to clean and a soft cloth to dry the surface. Various maintenance sprays for stone worktops are available on the market, which can be used for cleaning and extending the durability of the impregnation.
6 – Easily disinfect a work surface
The question of how to disinfect work surfaces often arises, especially in households with children. Since children touch many surfaces in daily life, they can spread bacteria and viruses more easily. In the cold winter months, when many diseases circulate, it is always advisable to disinfect door handles and locks. Whether or not kitchen worktops are disinfected depends on the work being done there. If your worktop comes into contact with raw meat or fish, for example, it should always be wiped down. This way you declare war on pathogenic bacteria such as salmonella in the kitchen. The active ingredients and ingredients of commercially available disinfectants are based on different mechanisms of action.
These include substances and compounds based on alcohol, chlorine, ammonium and phenol. The use of these disinfectants can cause irreparable damage to furniture and kitchen worktops which can manifest itself in various ways, for example by discolouration, changes in the degree of gloss, swelling, cracks or loosening of the material. Surface disinfectants based on alcohol, chlorine, ammonium and phenol are therefore not suitable for use on furniture and kitchen worktops.
7 – Determine the frequency of cleaning the worktop according to use
The frequency with which kitchen worktops should be cleaned depends, of course, mainly on the frequency and degree of use. Basically, if you remove food residue and liquids immediately, you won’t have any problems with possible dried-on messes later. Avoid acidic cleaners when cleaning and depending on your countertop material, use the cleaning tips mentioned above. Countertops should be thoroughly cleaned and dusted at least every two weeks. In often overlooked areas behind toasters, coffee machines and the like, it’s not uncommon for unpleasant surprises to be hidden!