Did you know that sinks are among the dirtiest spots of an entire house? Kitchen sinks and drains need to be cleaned regularly. The daily accumulation of dirt, food particles and humidity will cause your sink and drain pipes to become a breeding ground for bacteria and fungi. What can you do to stop it?
Regular cleaning helps preserve your kitchen sinks, as they can get rusted or stained over time. See below for a few tips about how to properly clean your old or modern sink and its drain pipes.
It is important to start with superficial cleaning by scrubbing and removing food particles and grime. Keep in mind that you cannot use abrasive scrubs or brushes especially with stainless steel, as this will scratch the surface of your kitchen sink. You can add a mixture of baking soda and water to help with cleaning, but you should avoid using vinegar on stones, enamel and porcelain sinks, as this is an acidic material that can cause stains.
Remember that you have to do a deep clean to remove all germs. Using an old toothbrush can help you reach difficult and small corners, especially behind and under the tap, nozzles and valves. Along with the sink itself, you should also clean everything that is around the sink, such as your dish brush, soap holders, strainers, etc. It is also important to replace sponges and brushes as they become older since they can also be a bacteria hotspot if used for a long time.
After cleaning your kitchen sink surface, you should now focus on the drain area. The drain can release foul smells or become clogged if not properly cleaned from time to time, especially in non-modern kitchen sinks.
A simple solution can be to use boiling water. Every time you boil water for cooking and don’t use it all, pour the excess down the drains to take care of mild gunk and smell. For worse cases you can mix boiling water to one cup of baking soda and two cups of vinegar. The hotter the water, the quicker it will act.
Another famous home recipe for kitchen sink drain cleaning is to replace vinegar for lemon juice to create a stronger cleaning substance. A few drops of essential oils, such as eucalyptus, mint and tea can also help it emit an enjoyable scent for a few hours after cleaning.
After eliminating the bad odours, you can keep it clean by periodically sprinkling baking soda down the drain. It will help absorb most odours after washing the dishes and can be very useful if you are planning on going away for a few days and not using your kitchen sink for a while.
Modern kitchen sinks usually have garbage disposals that will require regular cleaning and maintenance to operate properly without releasing bad odors. Recipes for garbage disposal cleaning are very similar to regular drain sanitation, you will only have to add soap, ice cubes and salt that will help to un-stick old food bits from the surface of the grinder. Let it run for a few minutes with constant water flow and you’ll see the magic happen before your eyes!
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