Why You Can Trust CNET How to Speed-Clean Your Kitchen in 15 Minutes or Less
The kitchen gets dirty faster than any room in the house. Here's how to clean it quickly.
There's no reason to spend hours cleaning the kitchen.
The best way to keep a clean kitchen is to not make a big mess of it in the first place. But if that ship has sailed, you don't need to spend hours to get it clean again. Effectively cleaning an average kitchen in under 15 minutes is possible if you put a little strategy to work.
With some planning, your kitchen can go from slimy to shiny in no time. Here's how to clean your kitchen in 15 minutes, give or take.
Assemble the proper cleaning supplies
I'm a big proponent of having cleaning equipment stashed away in each room. If you have what you need to do the job on hand, the process goes much faster. This is what you need in your quick kitchen cleaning kit:
- Disinfectant wipes.
- Sponge.
- Broom.
- Mop with disposable cleaning pads.
Ready, set, clean that kitchen
Got all of your supplies? Great. Now you can dash through the cleaning.
- Load the dishwasher. Remember, you don't need to rinse your dishes, just scrape them.
- Throw a wet sponge into your microwave for 1 minute on high. The steam from the sponge will loosen any gunk.
- Wipe down the sink and counters with the disinfectant wipes.
- Run a disinfectant wipe over the stovetop surface to remove any crumbs.
- Go back to your microwave and wipe down the inside with the sponge. Be careful. The sponge may still be hot.
- Sweep the floor.
- Mop and put away your cleaning supplies.
These steps only work quickly if you don't let your kitchen get overwhelmingly gross in the first place. Be sure to wipe up spills as they happen throughout the day to avoid major dried-on messes that will take longer to clean.
For more, check out how to kill mold in your washer and keep it away, and how to degunk your showerhead.