How to take care of your kitchen: tips on cleaning products and grime

The kitchen is no longer a separate room of the house that nobody is allowed to access but the cook. It is the heart of the home, the place where we make food, work, study, entertain and care for our loved ones. It is where home life happens. It is a vital, elegant piece of furniture that shows your style and, as such, needs to be showed off. It’s more important than ever, then, to take good care of its surfaces to preserve its beauty and functionality.

Getting rid of tough grime
Getting rid of grime is much easier when done immediately since some elements, in particular cooking oils and greases, may harden and adhere to the surfaces of your kitchen once they have dried and been oxidized by the oxygen in the atmosphere. Generally, marks are the result of traces of grime that weren’t treated with a sufficient amount of detergent so that, rather than being rinsed away, the grease was spread across the surface.

• Some marks may be caused by the lime present in water. In this case, try mixing a liquid cleaning product with white wine vinegar.
• Always dry surfaces thoroughly after rinsing to avoid the formation of marks.
• Keep in mind that surfaces made of natural stone, marble or granite are sensitive to vinegar and lemon juice, and can be stained permanently by wine and oil.

For very dirty surfaces, we recommend the following: 

• Apply a sufficient amount of concentrated liquid detergent to the grime using a damp and soft non-abrasive cloth, then clean the rest of the surface with the detergent as well.
• For especially greasy grime, try a liquid gel with ammonia.
• Allow the detergent to take effect (1 minute should be enough), then rinse the entire surface with a sponge cloth and moderately warm water.
• Dry with a soft and clean cotton cloth.
• Repeat if needed.

Cleaning products do’s and don’ts
As a rule of thumb, to be safe always test new products on a concealed part of the surface to be cleaned.

• Avoid aggressive or corrosive cleaning products, abrasive solvents and materials. Keep in mind that the use of abrasive sponges and cleaning powders can cause the dulling of surfaces, removal or peeling or their protective film, or erosion of parts of the surface pattern.
• Avoid using bleach, ammonia, or solvents such as acetone or alcohol.
• Keep in mind that some detergents contain very acidic components which may facilitate the cleaning of some materials but damage others. Sodium hydroxide and hydrochloric acid are a firm don’t!
• Never use products that contain acids on laminate or wood veneered surfaces, as they can cause dulling, discoloration, permanent marks and stains.
• For an environmentally-conscious treatment of grease and lime residues, replace products that contain chlorine with oxygen-based whitening products (perborate or sodium perborate) and white wine vinegar.

Do you have any tips you have learned from experience? Let us know!