It never ceases to amaze me how disgusting some people can keep their kitchen, probably the one room in a home that should be kept immaculately clean, lest you get sick.

I just finished up a thorough deep cleaning (think, restaurant before health inspection). It took me about 7 hours over the course of two days. First time since we moved in 2 and a half months ago.

*Removed all contents from the fridge, cupboards, and cabinets, and wiped them out first with lemon water, then with detergent, then with fresh water again.

*Wiped down all surfaces, including legs, handles, and back sides of appliances that could be easily moved (dishwasher and electric range) first with lemon water, detergent, and then fresh water.

*Scrubbed bottom side of wall cabinets over the range to remove any built up grease.

*Pulled the burners and burner plates from the range. Scrubbed the burners, ran plates through the dishwasher twice.

*Wiped down the range under the burner surface, removing any crumbs, grease, and other debris. No chemical here, though, lest we go and release semi-noxious fumes.

*Cleaned the oven. Ran racks through the dishwasher.

*Removed any cabinet handles that would come off and ran through the dishwasher.

*Swept up any debris, including to the sides and behind appliances, then swept again to get anything I might've missed.

*Mopped, first with fresh water, then twice with detergent, and then once with fresh water once more.

Currently the fans are drying the floor, and the house smells of cleaning chemicals, but that's okay. The detergent I use is on the level of the stuff I used to use at the restaurant, and I can say with full confidence that if someone comes over to eat at my house, the likelihood of them getting sick is drastically reduced.

I don't expect everyone to keep their kitchen like mine, but how clean is yours?

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"Never try to teach a pig to sing. It wastes your time, and it annoys the pig." --Robert Heinlein

i keep a clean kitchen, nothings more obnoxious than crap burning on your stove [ya know the gunk under the burner]. although i tend not to move and clean under appliances, i do try and make sure nothing stinks up the fridge. i clean that every other week or so...


however, my parents and their kitchens are notoriously filthy. they're pack rats, so unless something is growing or beyond bad its kept. i used to clean not as a chore, but just out of damn need.

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the road of excess leads to the palace of madness

Wow, sounds like SOMEONE like their boyfriend/girlfriend use kitchen!

If nothing else I keep my kitchen immaculately clean. Dirty dishes last less than a day, counter-tops, stoves, and other places of food preparation are wiped down after meals, regularly change hand-drying towels, sweep the floor, etc... I do all of these things because it helps prevent the spread of germs and keeps it unattractive to bugs.

Huh? I had to work. I put in about three and a half hours on it yesterday, and a few more today (I'm speculating it was a little less than seven). Since I've actually got a decent kitchen now, I intend to keep it clean and not indicative of the places I come across when I go to a friend's place and see that he hasn't done dishes in, oh, 4 days because he's a lazy jackass who doesn't realize that he's harboring a bacterial playground.

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"Never try to teach a pig to sing. It wastes your time, and it annoys the pig." --Robert Heinlein

I used to clean my kitchen in that manner about once every three months. However, I don't pay a lot of attention to the one I use at the moment, though it's clean by most standards.

A lot of kitchens I've seen scare me. No kitchen counter should ever have dirty laundry on it.

Of all the O.I. regulars this is one category where I'd expect you to "one-up" everybody.

I'm surprised at your sarcasm, actually.

i tidy my kitchen every night - ie do a load in the dishwasher, handwash knives/pans, clean all benches, clean off the hot plate etc. i can't go to sleep if that's not done.

fridge gets cleaned out about once a week, just stuff that's looking questionable etc. freezer every few months, it's mostly frozen veg and pasta in there (and vodka, of course).

i have a cleaner who comes in every week that does the floors, wipes down all the cupboard doors, bleaches the hot plate etc. it never gets to too bad a state. i'm a terribly messy cook (i don't put things away as i use them) but i clean up pretty well after myself.

cleaning the whole house makes me cranky. the cleaner does all of the floors, bathrooms etc.

What do you mean 'one up'?

How can you one up someone at having a clean kitchen?

I don't care how clean a kitchen is as long as its safe to cook in.

My response will be understood by some. A lot of people I know are very anal about who they let cook in their kitchen. The last girlfriend I had would completely trash the place. Never cleaned up after herself when she cooked!

I don't see any point in trying to 'one up' someone. Its a forum about 'oral indulgences', nothing in here to have a contest about.

Okay...that makes far more sense now.

Actually, when I met the girlfriend, she didn't cook. Her parents' idea of cooking was to get boxes out of the freezer. So she's learned from me, and she keeps it clean as well. I just happen to do the majority of the kitchen work, so I generally take it upon myself to deal with the cleaning.

I'm not horribly anal about it, but rather like you, I want a kitchen that's safe to cook/consume in. A deep cleaning every now and again is always a good thing.

Strangely enough, I'm the one who keeps house most of the time. Someday I'll probably make a helluva wife or something.

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"Never try to teach a pig to sing. It wastes your time, and it annoys the pig." --Robert Heinlein