Believing your kitchen is dirtier than the bathroom is hard, but it is true. Its surfaces and fixtures can have contamination levels over 100 ATP (high) and even reach 300 ATP (dangerous) without frequent sanitation. Increased ATP levels happen when kitchen areas are constantly exposed to harmful microbes via uncooked meats, poultry and vegetables.
Additionally, bacteria, viruses and fungi gather in kitchen areas through dirty dishes and frequent human contact. An unclean kitchen is a disaster waiting to happen because dirty hotspots increase the risk of household members contracting
communicable and infectious diseases. Tenants can also lose their bond if the kitchen is not reasonably clean at the end of a tenancy.
You can hire a professional service for end of lease cleaning in Sydney. The experienced cleaners will deeply sanitise your rental property and ensure you can get 100% of your security deposit.
However, besides taking help from a professional cleaner who offers affordable
end of lease cleaning Sydney, you must routinely clean then disinfect the following kitchen hot spots to have a healthy home. Also, read on how to disinfect surfaces/fixtures like a pro.
How to Disinfect Kitchen Surfaces/Fixtures Correctly
Thinking cleaning and disinfecting are similar activities is a common mistake. They are dissimilar, and you must perform them in the right order to get desired results. Cleaning is necessary to remove physical contaminants, whereas disinfecting is crucial for killing germs. If you disinfect without cleaning a surface first, the physical contaminants shield the germs and make your disinfecting efforts useless.
Additionally, ensure you give disinfectant proper time to kill pathogens that cause viral and
bacterial infections. Usually, they require 5-10 minutes of dwell time, meaning the surface/fixtures must remain saturated with disinfectant until the dwell time is over. If the solution dries before it, reapply the disinfectant.
Kitchen Stove or Hob
Whether you have a traditional gas stove or a counter-fitted hob, both need routine sanitisation and disinfecting. Boilover messes, splatters, grime and oily stains on these fixtures develop microbial populations. If you don’t clean the fixtures and kill germs with a good disinfectant, the microbes cause food-borne illness.
Therefore, wipe the stove or hob with a microfiber cloth damp with a mild cleaner after cooking. Afterwards, spray it with a gentle disinfectant.
Sink & Garbage Disposal
Since you wash dirty dishes, vegetables, fruits and other things in the sink, it becomes a hot spot for harmful pathogens. Garbage disposals accumulate food bits, grime and hard water deposits. Without regular cleaning, these fixtures develop a biofilm, a layer of microbial cells to which pathogens attach and grow.
First, pour hot water into the disposal, then a cup of baking soda. Next, put white vinegar and let the bubbles fizzle out before pouring hot water again.
After cleaning the disposal, wash the sink with soap and water. Spray the sink with a 1:10 solution of bleach and water to disinfect the sink. Additionally, pour a cup of bleach into the drain, cover for 30 minutes, and then wash with hot water.
Oven/Microwave & Kitchen Appliances
Due to frequent usage and food exposure, the oven, microwave, coffee maker and other appliances gather germs. To disinfect them like a professional end of lease cleaners in Sydney, scrub stains and grime with a sponge, soap and water.
Next, wipe to remove residues, and disinfect by spraying 50/50 cleaning vinegar + water solution. You can also use a commercial disinfectant to remove germs after
cleaning your oven, microwave and other kitchen appliances.
Common Contact Points
Make sure to clean then disinfect common contact points in your kitchen to limit germ transfer. Start by washing the fixtures, then wipe with disinfecting wipes or a microfiber cloth damp with a disinfectant. You must focus on the following high-touch points.
Faucets
Door/window handles and knobs
Cabinet doors and handles
Drawer handles
Appliance handles, keyboards, buttons etc.
Switchboards, plugs and switches.
Countertops & Slabs
Kitchen countertops and slabs remain germ-laden even when you spray them with a cleaner and wipe them with a microfiber cloth. You must disinfect them every time you clean with Clorox disinfecting wipes, Lysol disinfectant spray, bleach solution or a homemade solution.
Ensure the countertops and slabs are free of spots, stains, and dust before disinfecting to get the best results. Also, avoid using vinegar to disinfect marble, granite and sandstone, as acids erode natural stone surfaces.
Floors
Kitchen floors become filthy and grimy without regular sweeping and mopping. Therefore with a broom or a microfiber sweeper collect dust, food bits and other contaminants from the floors. You can also vacuum to suction fine particles and debris.
Next, wipe the floor with a microfiber mop damp with a good disinfectant. You can also use a steam mop to disinfect floors, as steam can reach a temperature of over 300º Celsius and instantly kill 99.9% of germs.
The Bottom Line
Keeping your kitchen clean and disinfected is crucial to have a healthy household. You can hire professional end of lease cleaners in Sydney to sanitise your rental property at the end of a tenancy and
get your bond money back. However, use the tips above to disinfect kitchen hot spots to maintain general hygiene and keep illness-causing pathogens at bay.