How to deep clean your kitchen (2024)

Rub a stained chopping board with half a lemon or a cloth soaked in lemon juice, leave it to work its magic overnight, then wash as normal. The citric acid is a natural bleaching agent that'll take on even tough, tomato-based stains. For an extra oomph, sprinkle it with salt first.

Cleaning the oven is a job no one loves to do. Prevention is better than cure so line the bottom shelf of your oven with a clean baking tray or a Lakeland Magic Non-Stick Oven Liner - non-stick, dish-washable sheets that come in many different sizes to suit all ovens - before you use it. Whichever you use, give it a wipe down after every use.

If smoothies or curry stains on the food processor bowl don't come out after a wash, try wiping the bowl with kitchen paper moistened in vegetable oil, then washing it with hot soapy water to remove any leftover marks.

Just when you thought you couldn't love your dishwasher more than you already do, you discover that can also use it clean more than your cutlery and plates! Sanitise all sorts of tricky-to-clean fittings, such as fridge shelves, sink plugs, extractor fan filters, knife blocks, microwave turntables and even oven and fridge shelves by running them on a hot wash.

Top of the fridge? High shelf? We all have spots in our kitchens that are hard to reach and therefore hard to clean. Make light work of it by investing in a long-handled duster. You can also use it (or your vacuum cleaner’s crevice attachment) to clean into that niggly inch between your fridge and countertop.

Protect the shelves in your fridge and make it much easier to clean with some shelf liners. All you'll need: some kitchen towel or an old newspaper. Fully line the bottom of your fridge drawers with a few sheets. That way, you can simply lift out the lining and tip old onion skin and other stray pieces of veg straight into the food bin. The same trick will work for bread bins, in-cupboard kitchen bins and food drawers.

For a quick spot clean in cupboards, drawers or around the worktops you can't beat a handeld vacuum cleaner. And, they work a treat on cushioned kitchen chairs. Looking for something that is even less effort to tackle the floors? Try out one of our best robot vacuum cleaners.

To eliminate bad odours and loosen dried-on stains, just add several tablespoons of vinegar or half a lemon to a bowl of cold water (making sure the bowl is no more than half full) and crank up the heat to high — basically, until the water boils and window steams. Remove then wipe the inside and outside with a sponge, and hey presto!

If your cups are ringed with brown tea stains, soak in a solution of biological washing detergent or well-diluted household bleach. Leave for at least five minutes before thoroughly rinsing. You'll see instant results.

Invest in an e-cloth Deep Clean Mop and say goodbye to the clutter of floor cleaning liquids. The mop makes light work of cleaning and buffing hard flooring, using only water. And the cleaning head is washable too. Alternatively, take a look at our roundup of the best mops.

For sparkling taps that are free from scaly deposits, fill a spray bottle with a solution of equal parts distilled white vinegar and water, or water and lemon juice, and keep it under the kitchen sink. Get into the habit of spraying the taps and sink surroundings while you wait for the sink to fill or the kettle to boil, then wipe clean.