by Kathy Vandermark

Created on: November 16, 2008

Responsibility and pride are two main factors to keeping a clean kitchen. With those two traits, you are sure to hum through every meal. Responsibility is the act of cleaning up after the meals and pride is what you feel when you don't have to feel embarrassed about having people over for supper. But in order to keep a clean kitchen, you should first start with a clean kitchen. Here is how to deep clean a kitchen:

When cleaning any room, you should start at the top because dirt falls. Knock down all the cobwebs and take down your light shades and wash them in soapy water. Knock any bugs from the light fixtures.

Empty out all the cabinets, both upper and lower, and wash the insides with an all-purpose cleaner. Don't forget any drawers. This is the time to reline the shelves if needed. Before putting things back in the cabinets, think about whether you had them filled in a good, workable order. Maybe it's time to do some rearranging or weeding out. Refill the shelves.

Scrub the outside of the upper cabinets with an all-purpose cleaner. Floor stripper also works well for this job, to remove all build-up, and won't hurt the cabinets. If your handles are tarnished, you might consider taking them off the doors and soak them in water, to be cleaned.

Next in height comes the hood fan. Here is where the real work begins. You need to pull the stove out of its cranny. Be careful not to scuff up the floor. With the stove out, you will be able to clean the hood fan and behind the stove. Before cleaning the hood fan, you will want to put oven cleaner on the stove so it can be at work while you are. Some people don't know it, but many stoves come apart for easier cleaning. The door of your oven may lift off the hinges. The top of the stove may lift up, to expose the underside of the top. Remove the pans and rings from the burners, set them aside, and spray the bad areas of the stove. Continue on to the hood fan.

For the hood fan, remove the filter and gently scrub it with cleaner and a brush. If the filter is in bad shape, you may want to purchase a new one. Spray all-purpose cleaner on the hood fan and step back for a minute to allow the greasy cleaner to run down. This is a messy job, but worth it. With a sponge, clean the top and bottom of the hood fan.

Clean the tiles behind the stove and the sides of the cabinets, where the stove normally sits. Clean the back of the stove and wipe off the cord. Sure no one sees it, but you are deep cleaning and you need to get those dust clutters

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