If you’re in college, chances are you’re sharing your kitchen with others. A lot happens in the kitchen, from eating and cooking to congregating and partying, meaning the countertops are used a lot. I was never really conscious of that until I moved into my first apartment with three other girls, two of whom have dietary restrictions — one has a gluten intolerance, while the other has numerous allergies. While they’re alright with me munching on my peanut butter-covered snacks and glutenous meals, cleaning my cooking space is absolutely critical. Deep cleaning your counters isn’t just about cleaning; it’s about being considerate of others, including your roommates. To keep your kitchen a safe space for everyone, here’s how to deep clean your countertops.
Identify your counter material.
Cleaning your counters starts before grabbing the materials to do so. Countertops come in a variety of materials and can’t all be treated or cleaned in the same ways. There are stone counters, including granite and quartz, as well as laminate and even wood counters. Use the wrong cleaning supplies and you might end up damaging your counters instead of cleaning them.
Declutter and dust your counters.
Now that you’ve done your detective work and deciphered your counter material, the next step is to prepare for the deep clean. First, clear the countertops of appliances and decor — since you’re going through the trouble of deep cleaning, you mind as well make sure the whole surface gets cleaned. So yes, that means the airfryer has to be packed up and put away. Just temporarily, of course.
After the space is cleared, use a dry paper towel or a soft cloth or rag to wipe off crumbs and any other particles just sitting on the counters’ surface.
Use this universal counter cleaning solution.
No matter what kind of counters you have, dish soap is your best friend — your true partner-in-cleaning. Combine dish soap and water and wash the entire surface using a sponge, scrubbing in a circular motion for the best results. This is not the time to be gentle. If you really want to mop up every ounce of mess, make sure to put some effort into it. If you’re angry or stressed, maybe channel those feelings into making your counters squeaky clean.
After scrubbing, dry your counters with a microfiber cloth or, before drying, rub your counters down with a damp towel or rag.
A universal don’t for deep cleaning counters is using “abrasive” cleaners, because they will damage your countertops regardless of the material.
Use this method for deep cleaning your counter tops.
Now it’s time to get into the nitty-gritty of counter cleaning — the dirty details, if you will.
Laminate counters
If you’re living in a cheap apartment in college, chances are you might be stuck with laminate counters. The dish soap method is a start, but to clean even deeper, you can follow up with a generic cleaner like Clorox — just make sure the cleaner does not have bleach in it. Afterwards, wash it off with water and dry. With laminate, it’s important to take care around the seams when washing with water or the dish soap method, because you want to prevent liquid from pooling under the surface layer and damaging your counters from beneath.
If you’re looking to get specific stains out of your laminate counters, you can craft a solution from a little warm water and baking soda. Smear a small amount on the stain and wait three to five minutes before removing. This works for granite, too.
Granite counters
Granite is a popular choice for kitchen counters, both for its looks and for its functionality. You just have to be careful with what you use to clean it, otherwise granite can lose its signature shine. Acids are granite’s greatest adversaries.
First, go ahead and use the dish soap method. Afterwards, you’ve got options. You can use a spray bottle to apply a mixture of half-water, half-isopropyl alcohol, which then needs to sit for five minutes before being wiped off with a fresh towel or cloth. Or you can use a granite-specific cleaner, which can be applied in the same way as the water and alcohol mixture. After you wipe it off though, rub the counters with lightly wetted cloth.
Isopropyl alcohol will also work for marble and quartz counters.
Wood or “butcher block” counters
Wood counters are like having cutting boards for countertops. They may be pretty, but unfortunately pretty and practicality often clash, so they require something on top of the dish soap method and something other than your run-of-the-mill cleaners. Before you do anything, you’re going to need to scrape off food remnants or muck. Recommended scrapers include spatulas and or pastry scrapers. But be careful when scraping — you don’t want to nick your counter, so just scratch the surface.
After scraping, you can move on to the dish soap method. Finally, you’re going to want to use undiluted white vinegar or a mixture of 1 cup of water and 1 teaspoon of bleach. Add the liquid of your choice to a spray bottle and cover the countertops. Let the mixture settle for a couple minutes before removing with a slightly wet cloth and then drying with another cloth.
Stains on wood countertops can be solved by covering the stain with salt and rubbing the inside of a lemon on top.
How often should you be deep cleaning your counters?
It should be a given that you should wipe up your mess after making one, whether that’s chip dust from a quick snack or all the ingredients you spilled while trying to cook dinner (things tend to be messier when you’re a beginner cook, as many of us are in college). But a quick wipe isn’t going to cut it all the time, especially when you risk contamination.
How often you seriously scrub down your counters depends on your situation. If it’s just you, or you’re exclusively making meals that are friendly to your housemates’ needs, a quick daily cleaning and a weekly deep clean will do the trick.
If you’re in a situation more like mine, a deep clean may be needed more often, especially after whipping up an allergen-filled meal. Ultimately, it’s better to be safe than sorry. After all, I like my roommates! And I don’t want to be the one to send them to the hospital.
Cleaning counters isn’t exactly the most thrilling activity, but it is an important one. You don’t want to let grime build up and find yourself cooking or eating in a dirty kitchen. And cleaning counters isn’t just for your sake when you share a kitchen. Leaving messes for others is obviously rude, but it could also be dangerous depending on who your roomies are. To avoid messes — on the counters or with housemates — it’s best to pick up the cleaning supplies and get to scrubbing.