Word of advice: My biggest tip is to wear rubber gloves as often as possible so that while you achieve your cleaning goals you are not destroying your hands. I give this warning from my own experience with Magic Eraser peeling off my skin. Once you’ve got your rubber gloves in, let’s dive in. Here are the best TikTok kitchen hacks.
TikTok Kitchen Hacks
Washing your dishwasher: The dishwasher is easily one of the most used appliances in my house. We run it every night and empty it every morning. For years, I have periodically ran the dishwasher on sanitize mode with a cup of vinegar in the top row. This TikTok video takes it to a whole other level! The filter should be pretty accessible—most of the time, you need to remove the sprayer. I will admit in four years, I have never done this. Taking the time to clean the filter led to a lot of ‘gross’ and ‘ew’ comments but I also found the straw to my kid’s water bottle, a small victory! Cleaning your coffee pot: So I love coffee, it’s a problem. There are many evenings I’m already thinking of a quiet morning where I can do some journaling with a steeping hot cup of coffee in hand. What I don’t love as much is cleaning my coffee machine, an appliance I can assure you is not self-cleaning. I currently use a 12 cup stainless steel coffee pot, the inside has looked black for longer than I’d like to admit. Coffee pot cleaning hack 1: Fill the pot with ice, salt, and lemon juice and shake vigorously. The good news, doing this hack allowed me to also hack my Garmin watch and achieve my step goal for the day. After about 5 minutes of shaking, I added a bit of water and shook some more. It definitely removed a lot of the staining. I think with periodic washing, it would remove the stain entirely. Coffee pot cleaning hack 2: This is lazy person cleaning—set it and forget. You fill the basin with vinegar, I put in a coffee filter, and run the machine just like you are brewing a pot of coffee. After running the vinegar through once, run the coffee machine with the basin filled with water at least twice! Once, I did not sufficiently run the water through and my husband’s first cup came with a hint of vinegar, not the most pleasant surprise. I like using a coffee filter in with the brewing to see all the little particles that come up with the rinses. Cleaning your toaster: I love a clean uncluttered counter, so I’m someone who puts the toaster away after each use. With moving the toaster so frequently I rarely think of it as dirty, but even if the surface looks OK, I would suggest you look a bit closer. When was the last time you cleaned the crumb tray? For me, it maybe a yearly occurrence. The worst is when you shake the toaster, you can just hear the collections of crumbs. This hack really isn’t anything revolutionary, but I think its a good reminder to clean the toaster! Oven cleaning: I’d like to say I have very sensitive smoke detectors—my family would say I have some issues using the oven— but one hack I’m trying is to keep a very clean oven, so any smoke would be coming from that night’s dinner, not the following weeks. I love anytime I can use ingredients I have on hand to tackle a cleaning project, so sprinkling a little baking soda and letting it sit sounds ideal. I loved how easy this was to use, no harsh fumes, and with a little elbow grease, my oven cleaned up well. Cleaning your Ninja Arfryer: The Ninja Airfryer/pressure cooker has been a great addition to my household appliances, as it makes the best chicken wings. I will say there can be such a buildup of grease that I feel like it’s never fully clean. There are some great videos on TikTok about using parchment paper or foil to reduce the mess, but I prefer to not use any coating. I loved using just a dishwasher tab and hot water to cut through the grease without much work. Also please look at the grease trap in your pressure cooker, it’s very discrete, but it does need to be emptied and washed. https://www.tiktok.com/@to.ilhaam/video/6916287928192830726?_d=secCgYIASAHKAESMgowONWzI5Mo9hdE0BzV6k%2BAsUWbVg5%2FMuzhou0%2BBMWh8FjJSwsOSLFOd7vQO45tTRzcGgA%3D&language=en&preview_pb=0&sec_user_id=MS4wLjABAAAAz9MhzRl8gG8_YMsicz9vCVQZUn-3GZSNNvwUu82KfTCPMOIUsp-DDJ3i67EwcHjr&share_app_id=1233&share_item_id=6916287928192830726&share_link_id=EF4C8ECE-A5D8-4DEA-A6B3-74A0A077E8CA&source=h5_m×tamp=1622060302&tt_from=copy&u_code=di3m6hb99ed1d9&user_id=6950717934521009158&utm_campaign=client_share&utm_medium=ios&utm_source=copy&_r=1 Cabinets: I love to bake and I have two young children that love to help themselves to our pantry, so needless to say, my cabinets are not clean, I’m always seeing fingerprints and grease everywhere. The secret to cleaning them is dusting and then cleaning! Especially the top of the cabinets where you can rarely see the dust, the best way to clean the cabinets is dust and then use a cloth to wipe them down. I will say when I started this cleaning kick I was going through a ton of paper towels but I have since invested in two cleaning clothes which have been great to use. Cabinet organization: So you get the outside looking great, but you open it up to find chaos—and that feeling of peace and serenity has gone completely out the window. I have a newfound love in my life: The Container Store. However, I have learned there are some great container finds at many local discount stores as well. Containers and Lazy Susans can take a cluttered cabinet look organized and be more user-friendly. I saw a great tip to use Sunday as a reset day, chances are during the week things will get moved out of place, but using Sunday to reset helps ensure things stay orderly. Cleaning your sink: It’s an oldie but a goodie. I don’t know about you, but I remember growing up with powdered detergents and how clean they would smell. This hack involves grabbing your AJAX’s/Comet or similar powdered cleaners and scrubbing it in your sink. I can assure you it does a remarkable job. Microwave: Who has time to cover their leftovers? Not me, so my microwave is never great. It also sits above my stove, making it difficult to deal with at times. I loved this hack, where you just put a bowl of water and some lemon slices in the microwave for a few minutes and then wipe clean. This helped me a lot! Fridge: I love a clean fridge, since it makes your food look fresher and your fridge looks brighter! The most important hack of a good fridge cleaning is lifting the glass in order to really get the crumbs and buildup that can get stuck in the corners. I also love pulling out the shelves on the doors and really soaking them. This gives you an opportunity to thoroughly clean the shelves and ensure all your condiments are still good. Produce storage: Every week when we get new groceries, I immediately wash my produce. My kids love just grabbing fruit out of the fridge, so I try to make sure it’s as accessible as possible. I love this fridge organization video, especially with the produce bins because I can use the containers to wash my produce first and then for storage. Stainless steel: When you can see my fridge behind all the artwork, you will find smears and smudges everywhere. I love this TikTok hack because before I stop to throw away a used dryer sheet from the laundry pile, I can wipe down the fridge is an easy win. I encourage you to throw out your dryer sheets in your kitchen trash and wipe down your stainless steel appliances in the process! Countertops: Having a clean countertop is always a laudable goal, every time I put things away, someone comes in and dumps things back on the counters. I’m trying to have a clean counter every night before bed, allowing myself to remove all the dirt, grime, and slime that may have been left behind. TikTok convinced me to try these sponges and they do help tackle those stuck on pieces that appear glued to the counter. https://www.tiktok.com/@satisfyingcleaning.101/video/6912125130651094278?_d=secCgYIASAHKAESMgowYC6ObXnDWRuD4QbygQeiptybX0DHy0aQfKDLjZCnQHUeWM2PBqClD%2FE3suURMnKUGgA%3D&language=en&preview_pb=0&sec_user_id=MS4wLjABAAAAz9MhzRl8gG8_YMsicz9vCVQZUn-3GZSNNvwUu82KfTCPMOIUsp-DDJ3i67EwcHjr&share_app_id=1233&share_item_id=6912125130651094278&share_link_id=1D53CB7F-440E-47A3-A98A-8142E02BE087&source=h5_m×tamp=1622058869&tt_from=copy&u_code=di3m6hb99ed1d9&user_id=6950717934521009158&utm_campaign=client_share&utm_medium=ios&utm_source=copy&_r=1 Grease traps: Cleaning my grease trap is important to avoid any fire hazards, but like many things, it’s often out of sight—out of mind. This hack works like a charm and the toughest part about it will be removing your trap. Just throw your grease traps in a pot of boiling water with some baking soda and watch the magic happen. It is such an easy process that you should absolutely add this to your to-do list. Sponges: Now that I have a sparkling kitchen, I want to keep it that way and avoid wiping germs from surface to surface. I have learned with sponges it’s essential to regularly disinfect your sponges. I love this TikTok hack: Hust a bowl, a sponge, and a bit of Dawn soap, place them in the microwave for a minute or two and the sponges come out like new. It saves money from having to buy new sponges too! Blender: For years, I avoided smoothies in the morning because I didn’t want to deal with the mess. This year I decided to just dive in and deal with the dishes… until I saw this hack. Just fill the blender with water and dish soap and spin till your heart’s content! Sometimes the powders I use in my smoothies need to be wiped from the side, but most of the time this clean hack is perfect. Chairs: The chairs on my kitchen bar are well-loved. I wanted a fully clothed stool with high backs, but I knew I was asking for trouble. I loved this video to use a carpet cleaner on my chairs, so after borrowing my mother’s cleaner, I went to work. I couldn’t believe how brighter my chairs looked! Junk Drawer: I have always had a junk drawer, it’s where things without a home suddenly belong. I have made several attempts to declutter this drawer but I think I have always failed at getting the appropriate size and shape containers. I have learned you can have containers but if they aren’t sized appropriately, they will only add to more stress. This TikTok helps illustrate you need to first assess your needs and then shop for containers. Silverware Drawer: My husband would argue this may be one of the dumbest things I bought, however, that’s because he believes a silverware tray could never break therefore you should have the same one for your whole life. I disagree. I loved getting a new tray, which also changed the layout of my silverware drawer. This was a fantastic opportunity to go through my drawer and weed through the mismatched silverware, or the kid’s utensils we no longer need. Every time I open the drawer, I get a little happy. Next up, check out our 10 favorite spring cleaning printables!
