If you have some bicarbonate of soda, lemon and vinegar, you can clean your fridge, your freezer, your microwave and dishwasher and save money. You don’t need expensive cleaning products.
I’d love to say this applies to your oven as well, but unless you clean it every single time you use it, bicarb and/or vinegar, simply won’t cut it, so we need a slightly different approach for baked on grime.
Fridge
image of an open fridge
If your fridge looks like this, it’s way overdue a spring clean. As well as bringing it back to a gleaming state after a good clean (not to mention odour-free and hygienic), you’ll also be liberating precious space by chucking out all those out of date jars and packets.
Take everything out and clear away the rubbish and old food. The fridge has to be empty to clean.
You need a solution of bicarbonate of soda and warm water to wipe clean all the surfaces. If your fridge has glass shelves, take them out and give them a clean with a weak solution of white vinegar and water, polished off with newspapers – as newsprint gives glass a great shine.
Wash your plastic salad drawers in the bicarb solution.
Top tip: as you clean out old jars, think about whether you can clean and use them again for jams and pickles you might make later in the year – or empty jars with a hole in the middle of the lid make great spill-proof brush rinsing containers for children when they paint.
> > Want to know more? Watch this video for step by step instructions
Kitchen Cleaning: How To Clean A Fridge
Microwave
You definitely want to avoid using chemical cleaners in your microwave. They can really contaminate the taste of food. Instead, just use a lemon!
Put about 300ml of water in a small bowl or jug. Squeeze in the juice of a lemon. Put it in your microwave, set to high for about 5 minutes. The steam softens any dirt. Then clean off with a soft cloth. Take out the glass plate and the turnstile and wash and dry separately. The lemon makes your microwave (and kitchen) smell fantastic.
Finally, clean the outside. Use warm water with a few drops of washing up liquid to get rid of greasy marks and then dry with a soft cloth.
Top tip: If your microwave has a stainless steel finish, put a tiny amount of baby oil on a soft dry cloth and wipe all over. It’ll bring the surface back to life.
Dishwasher
Image of jug of white vinegar
Cleaning your dishwasher without expensive and harmful chemicals couldn’t be easier. All you need is white vinegar. Just put about 250 ml into the bottom of your empty dishwasher, set to the hottest cycle and switch on. When the cycle is finished, you’ll have a sparkling clean dishwasher.
Clean like this once a month and you’ll never have limescale problems either. Don’t forget to take the filter out and rinse any residue away and wash in warm soapy water – remember to do this on a regular basis to prevent blockages and dirty dishes.
Top Tip: If you want the dishwasher (and your dishes) to smell fresh too just put half a lemon on the top shelf when you next run the machine.
Ovens
It’s supposed to be impossible to clean a dirty oven without heavy duty specialist oven cleaners. There is however one general purpose product which does do the trick and is more natural and less harmful – we LOVE this one – and you can use it clean the glass of your woodburing stove or to polish up your ceramic hob! Astonish Household Antibacterial Cleaning Paste 500Gm
If howver you want to stick with the bicarbonate of soda – make a paste with some water and vinegar and leave it on the oven overnight, making sure it doesn’t dry out. This cuts through the grease on glass doors, lights etc. Try keeping your oven really clean so you don’t have a big horrible job to do.
Line the oven floor with tin foil to make life easier next time you come to clean it.
Related links
>> Make your own natural cleaning materials
>> Cleaning fabrics and carpets
>> Spring cleaning – any time of year
>> Cleaning cupboards
>> Cleaning candle wax off glass tables
