Kitchen Cleaning Checklist: What Professionals Clean That You Might Skip

The kitchen is the hardest-working room in the house, and the one that shows dirt first. Daily wiping keeps it presentable, but grease, crumbs and bacteria collect in places most people forget. Use this checklist to keep the basics under control and to see which jobs are worth handing to a professional.

Daily (5 minutes)

• Wipe counters and the stovetop after cooking.
• Rinse the sink and wipe the faucet.
• Load or run the dishwasher.
• Sweep crumbs from the floor.
• Take out food waste, so odors do not build up.

Weekly

• Disinfect sink, faucet handles, and cutting board areas.
• Wipe the front of the refrigerator, dishwasher and oven, where fingerprints collect.
• Clean the inside of the microwave. Steam a bowl of water with lemon for 3 minutes, then wipe.
• Throw out old food from the refrigerator and wipe up spills.
• Mop the floor.
• Wash the trash can if it has residue.

Monthly

• Clean the range hood and replace or wash its filter. Grease here is a fire risk as well as a mess.
• Wipe cabinet fronts and handles.
• Clean the dishwasher filter and run a cleaning cycle.
• Wash refrigerator shelves and door seals.
• Clean small appliances: toaster crumbs, coffee maker, air fryer.

Deep-clean list (a few times a year)

• Inside the oven: racks, door glass and the floor of the oven.
• Inside cabinets and drawers, plus the tops of upper cabinets.
• Behind and under the refrigerator and stove, where possible.
• Backsplash tile and grout.
• Light fixtures, vents and the ceiling above the stove.
• Baseboards and the floor edges.

The spots people forget

• The rubber seal of the refrigerator door.
• The drain and the underside of the sink rim.
• The knobs and the buttons on the stove and the oven.
• The top of the refrigerator.
• The handle of the faucet and the inside of the dishwasher door.

A few safety tips

• Never mix cleaning products, especially bleach and ammonia.
• Use a cleaner suitable for the surface: granite and natural stone need pH-neutral products.
• Avoid abrasive pads on stainless steel and glass cooktops.

Where a professional helps

Oven interiors, built-up grease and grout are time-consuming. If you would rather spend the weekend elsewhere, a deep cleaning covers all of these in one visit, and a recurring schedule keeps the kitchen from getting back to that point. Nomad Cleaning serves Auburn, Kent, Puyallup, Seattle and nearby cities. Call or text (425) 738-2823.