Is your kitchen sink in need of a deep clean? These are the easiest steps to a clean kitchen sink you will find yourself using regularly.
Do you find yourself making sure your dishes are taken care of and then ending your kitchen sink cleaning there? If you're not careful, your sink can be a breading ground for bacteria and horrible odors.
When you think about how often you are utilizing this area and how much goes in and out of your sink, you can only imagine how necessary a regular deep clean is. I remember when I first learned some of these hacks and it blew my mind that I didn't think to clean some of these areas as often as I do now.
This post is going to cover my go-to cleaning products, my process and timeline for a clean kitchen sink. If you maintain this area you can ensure that your sink and drain are not responsible for any odors or bacteria. You can get your hands on these products for super cheap and they will last you a really long time. You may already have some of them and use them in your home regularly.
This process is relatively quick but super necessary. You can thank me later!
This post is all about achieving a clean kitchen sink!
How to Deep Clean Kitchen Sink
Before we get into the process of cleaning your sink and the cleaning products I suggest, it's important to go over the areas of your sink you should be focusing on. There aren't many, but there are definitely areas people tend to forget to clean. The list of areas is below...
- Sink basin
- Basket strainer
- Drain
- Garbage disposal (if you have one)
- Faucet/Faucet hose (if you have one)
- Sponges/Sponge holder
Now that you know what areas you need to focus on, we can go into detail on each of the areas and how to clean them properly.
Sink Basin
When it comes to cleaning the actual basin of your sink, its important to remove any dishes and food waste. Once the sink is completely empty, wet your sink with warm water. If you are simply trying to wipe down your sink, you can use dish soap and warm/hot water and a sponge to clean the surface. Another option that I prefer is Dawn Powerwash. I like the continuous spray because you can use less product and cover more area. If you are looking to do a serious deep clean of the basin, I highly suggest the Pink Stuff. This does a great job of removing stains and hard water build up. However, if you sink is a highly polished stainless steal, you may want to steer clear and stick to baking soda and vinegar and polish with an oil.
Basket Strainer
Depending on the basket strainers you have, you may be able to throw them in your dishwasher. However, I prefer to soak them in vinegar and then was with dish soap to ensure there is no build up on the strainer. These collect the food and debris throughout the week and they can hold onto a lot of bacteria if you're not careful. Soaking then in vinegar for 5-10 minutes will help kill any odors and mildly disinfect that strainer.
Drain
When it comes to cleaning and deodorizing your kitchen sink drain, basking soda and distilled white vinegar are your best friends. When you are ready for this step, simply cover the drain in 1/2 a cup of baking soda and pour one cup of vinegar down the drain. After a minute or so, use hot or boiling water to rinse. This can help remove clogs and will certainly help with any odors you may be experiencing from your sink drain. Pro tip: I love to use my electric tea kettle to quickly boil water for the rinse.
Garbage Disposal
You can use the method above for your garbage disposal as well. This is definitely the cheapest way to clean it. However, Glisten makes a garbage disposal cleaning packet as well that accomplishes the same thing. These packets have a lemon scent that will leave your kitchen smelling so clean.
Faucet/faucet hose
When it comes to your faucet, make sure to wipe down the surface of the faucet as well as the hose if there is one. I like to use Dawn Powerwash for the surface of the faucet (similar to the process for the basin). When it comes to the hose you can either spray vinegar or a multi purpose cleaner of your choice and wipe it down with a damp microfiber towel. Just a reminder that Dawn Powerwash needs to be rinsed. To tackle the spout of the faucet, fill a baggy with vinegar and tie it to the faucet so the spout can soak. You will be shocked with how much grime you will loosen. Then use a sponge or a brush to fully clean the surface and rinse.
Sponges/Sponge holder
When it comes to sponges, I highly suggest Scrub Daddy sponges because you can easily throw them in your dishwasher to clean them. I keep a couple in rotation to make sure I'm always using a clean sponge. However, you can put standard sponges in the microwave for two minutes to kill 99% of the bacteria. For the sponge holder, I follow the same steps as the strainer baskets. I soak them in vinegar and the clean with dish soap and hot water.
Cleaning Products
Timeline
I'm sure you're wondering at this point how often I do each of these steps. Generally speaking we are emptying our sink of dishes and debris daily. At this time we usually give it a decent wipe down and rinse.
On average, I am completing a deep clean once a week. As I mentioned previously, your kitchen sink can be a huge source for odors and bacteria. By completely a deep clean once a week or once every two weeks will keep your sink in great shape.
Sponges can bread bacteria a lot quicker so I would try to make sure you are tossing them in the microwave or dishwasher more like every two to three days.
Kitchen Sink Cleaning Hacks
This post has covered the main kitchen sink cleaning hacks I have learned over the years and use regularly. The main takeaways from this post are to utilize your dishwasher, microwave, baking soda and vinegar to disinfect and deodorize your kitchen sink as regularly as possible.
Once you add these steps to your routine they will become second nature and you won't want to go back. Overall this process takes me at most 15 minutes and the results are 100% worth it. If you are implementing any of these steps for the first time, your mind will be blown at how much of a difference you see.
Drop a comment below if you have any additional tips/tricks or have any questions on the process! Happy cleaning!
This post is all about steps to a clean kitchen sink!
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