Welcome to Clean Enough. This is a new kind of cleaning column for busy home cooks who have better things to do than scrub and sanitize around the clock. Every other week, Neurodivergent writer and her mom Emily Farris shares tips, tools, and products to help you stay on top of the dirtiest spots in your kitchen, dispel cleaning myths, and reduce clutter. I will introduce it here.
If you want your kitchen to shine but don't want to use harsh chemicals or use too much oil, we recommend using a safe and environmentally friendly alternative: steam.
Steam can break down dirt and grime, consumes less water than most other wet cleaning methods, and can also kill many viruses and bacteria when used properly, making it ideal for cleaning kitchens. It's a tool. It takes a little patience (more on that later), but the good news is that it's actually pretty fun.
A steam washer or steam gun, similar to a clothes steamer, is a hand-held device that heats water (usually between 200 °F and 300 °F) and releases hot steam. However, unlike the types of steamers you use on clothes, cleaning steamers have long nozzles that can get into crevices and corners. There is also a trigger button that allows you to control the release of pressurized steam. Pew pew! (See? I told you it was fun.)
How a steam cleaner works
Once the water is hot enough to turn into a gas, it is stirred inside the airtight chamber of the steam cleaner. It also stays there until you release the trigger, so if you apply a little pressure, steam will build up and come out of the machine. The pressure in my Bissell Steam Shot is comparable to the pressure coming out of a can of compressed air duster. This shows that steam guns are not as powerful or satisfying as something like a pressure washer. So depending on the steam gun you get, you may need to spend some time focusing the steam on the most dangerous areas of your kitchen.
Fortunately, most steam cleaners come with a brush attachment to help remove the worst stains faster. Also, no matter what you steam clean, be sure to wipe it with a microfiber or paper towel as soon as you're done spraying. Steam is effective at removing gunk and dirt, but it doesn't eliminate it completely. into thin air.
17 ways to use a steam cleaner in the kitchen
Steam is simply a gas produced by hot water, so it can be used on most (though not all) kitchen surfaces. You want to avoid using water-based paints or porous surfaces like butcher block countertops or wood cutting boards, but you can safely steam just about any non-porous surface. Here are 17 common kitchen stains that can be removed with steam.
- Baked gunk from countertop/toaster oven crumb tray
- Gunk baked from the inside of a full-sized oven (and racks!)
- Greasy stains from the stove
- Scum and other dirt that has built up inside the sink
- “Solid matter” deposited on the small rubber feet of the protective sink rack (you can also replace the rubber feet)
- Minerals build up at the base of the faucet
- Mineral deposits from the spout of the ice and water dispenser built into the refrigerator door (please take a peek)
- Mysterious rock-hard goo behind the refrigerator shelf
- Grease and dust on the range hood mesh filter (make sure to remove it first so the dirt has a place to escape)
- Dirt and buildup from tiles and grout
- Greasy kitchen stains from non-porous items stored on high shelves in the kitchen
- dirty baking sheet
- I'm concerned about fingerprints on the stainless steel handles of large home appliances.
- Mildew spots on a wet kitchen towel that I wore and forgot to wash
- Whatever is lurking in your sponge, dish brush, or scrub brush
- Dirt accumulates on the kitchen island and the top of the cart casters.
- Anything that accumulates in or on trash or recycling bins
Can you use a clothes steamer to clean your kitchen?
An inexpensive clothes steamer can effectively clean surfaces in a pinch (steam is steam), so I tried using it in my kitchen. Bottom line: don't try this at home on non-vertical surfaces unless you want to burn your hands with boiling water. It is definitely worth spending a little more money to buy a proper steam cleaning machine for your kitchen.
