The kitchen is a center of a home’s activity, so it’s naturally the scene of plenty of messes. The good kind, of course: You’re cooking family meals, doling out snacks, the kids are traipsing in with muddy sneakers, craft projects litter the kitchen island. To keep this hub of your home clean and inviting—and give your hard-working appliances and fittings the care and protection that will keep them looking and performing like new—you need a comprehensive plan.
What can make the task tricky is that you likely have multiple types of surfaces, such as stone, glass, stainless steel, and wood. And each needs specific cleaning products and methods. This kitchen maintenance guide puts all the do’s and don’ts of cleaning at your fingertips.
It starts with an at-a-glance checklist, then delves into the details of how to get every element of your kitchen sparkling-clean—and ready for the next happy mess.
1. Clean Your Stone Countertops
What to do: Natural stone surfaces like quartz, granite, and marble are popular countertop options, and each has pros and cons. What they have in common, though, is that they need a gentle, surface-specific approach to cleaning and protecting them.
Weiman has decades of research and experience under its belt. The brand developed Weiman Granite & Stone 3-in-1 (Clean + Polish + Protect) to safely wipe away stains, grease, and watermarks from stone surfaces, all while polishing and protecting them.
What to avoid: Multipurpose household cleaners. Stone counter maintenance isn’t always one of those purposes. The chemicals in some formulas, such as certain solvents, can damage or dull your granite, quartz, or marble surfaces.
Don’t forget: Your backsplashes. They’re typically a continuation of your counter material—which means they’re just as prone to a mess.
2. Shine Your Stainless Steel Appliances
What to do: The fingerprints, smudges, and water drips that stainless steel seems to almost instantly attract will wipe away easily with Weiman Stainless Steel 3-in-1 Clean + Shine + Protect, which is pH-neutral to keep it from corroding the steel. The product also leaves an imperceptible protective coating that repels future sticky handprints and grease streaks. Pro tip: After wiping away the product (and the mess), buff the appliance with a Weiman Stainless Steel Microfiber Cloth for maximum shine.
What to avoid: Using anything abrasive to apply the product. You might use steel wool, scouring pads, or scrubber sponges on your pots and pans, but the steel used for appliances is more delicate. Even paper towels, which are made from wood pulp, can leave tiny scratches in your fridge or dishwasher’s surface that can dull the finish over time.
Don’t forget: The vent hood. It may escape your attention because its top is above your sightline and the underside is awkward to check, but it’s subject to the same splatters and accumulating dust. Same goes for smaller stainless appliances like your toaster and tea kettle. Treat those as carefully as you do your “more important” appliances, and that extra bit of sparkle will go a long way toward making your kitchen look like new.
3. Be Gentle with Your Glass Cooktop
What to do: Remember that a glass-top stove is actually made from a mix of glass and ceramic—and because of that, it’s more susceptible to scratches, streaks, and clouding than window glass. Use a surface-specific cleaner like Weiman Cook Top Cream 3-in-1 (Clean + Shine + Protect) that cuts through grease and crusted-on food but is formulated for vulnerable glass-ceramic surfaces.
What to avoid: Any product with ammonia (that includes some glass cleaners), which can cause permanent dulling over time or even discolor the cooktop.
Don’t forget: To look up. Weiman Cook Top Cream 3-in-1 (Clean + Shine + Protect) is also excellent for safely removing dust and grease that has settled on your glass or ceramic light fixtures. You may not need to drag out the step ladder every week for this chore, but a once-a-month going-over will keep them gleaming.
4. Clean Your Oven Efficiently
What to do: Every 6 months (3 if baking and roasting are your go-to cooking methods), spray on Weiman Heavy Duty Oven Cleaner 3-in-1 (Clean + Degrease + Shine). The product’s thick foam formula sticks to your oven’s interior walls and even the undersides of the racks, so you don’t have to remove them.
What to avoid: Cleaners with harsh
ingredients like bleach or ammonia, unless the manufacturer permits it. They
can damage or discolor many interior surfaces and damage the gasket on the oven
door.
Don’t forget: Your outdoor grill grates. You cook on them, so consider them “kitchen equipment.”
5. Care for Your Wood Cabinets
What to do: Your kitchen cabinets collect grease as easily as any other surface, plus they’re especially apt to develop grubby areas around the knobs or pulls. Weiman’s Cabinet & Wood 3-in-1 (Clean + Shine + Protect) is made to be safe for any finished wood surface, even painted ones. (Once you’ve swabbed those cabinet fronts, feel free to use it on your wood kitchen table and chairs.) The formula not only cleans away dirt and water marks, it also protects against drying, cracking, or fading.
What to avoid: Abrasive scouring pads, sponges, or brushes. (Definitely skip steel wool.) Not only can they scuff your cabinets’ paint or protective finish, but the scratches they may leave will attract the very grime you’re trying so hard to keep at bay.
Don’t forget: The edges of the doors. After you’ve addressed the fronts, open each cabinet and wipe around the perimeter of the door. Removing any buildup of kitchen grease there prevents that slightly sticky resistance when you open the cabinet.
6. Finish by Cleaning Your Floors
What to do: Floors are the one surface you touch absolutely every time you enter the kitchen. That adds up to a lot of wear and tear. Weiman’s stone- and hardwood-specific floor cleaners are made with plant-based ingredients that are safe for kids and pets to sit or walk on after they’ve dried, and both are formulated to be streak-free, so it won’t show if you’re a little slapdash when you mop. For wood, use Weiman Hardwood Floor Cleaner; for stone—granite, limestone, slate, terrazzo and more—there’s Weiman Stone & Tile Floor Cleaner.
What to avoid: Using a cabinet cleaning product on your hardwood floors. Yes, that will get them shiny, but it will also leave them slick.
Don’t forget: To sweep or vacuum first. While Weiman floor cleaners are extremely effective at removing dust, food residue, and scuff marks left by shoes and chair legs, they’ll work a lot better if you’ve removed any dropped onion peels or dog kibble.
