Before we get into the nitty-gritty of this article, let me first make it clear that your guests aren’t out to get you. They don’t come to your home with the intention of judging it and will, generally speaking, appreciate the lengths you’ll go to make them feel welcome.
Having said that, there are some red flags we all notice when visiting another home, especially in the kitchen. These things might seem like no big deal to you, but they will make your guests silently wince and struggle not to judge. Want to know what might do it in your kitchen? Here are the top six things guests can’t help but judge, with true horror stories behind each – we’ve kept the names anonymous for obvious reasons!
1. Grubby tea towels
Tea towels are one of those things that are easy to forget to wash. Unless we make the effort to chuck them in the laundry basket, they stay hanging from the rail in the kitchen, gradually growing bacteria every time we dry our hands or do the washing-up. But with continued use, the wear starts to show. They pick up stains from residual food, look tattered and, frankly, don’t smell great.
‘I always wince at my friend’s grubby tea towels!’ admits one appalled guest. ‘They’re covered in stains and look utterly filthy – like they haven't been washed for months. She once rinsed a mug and dried it with this dirty tea towel, then poured me a coffee. I tried not to think about it. I throw mine in with a weekly towels wash, but I reckon she never washes hers. They’re screaming WASH ME!’
Tea towels should be washed weekly or every three days with heavy use. Wash on as high a temperature as the care label allows with biological detergent for the best stain removal. If your tea towels are looking a bit worse for wear, there are 7 genuinely useful ways you can reuse your old grubby tea towels.
2. Gross glassware
It’s easy for stains to slip through the net when it comes to glasses, especially if they’ve come straight out of the dishwasher, when you assume they’re clean as a whistle! The problem is you only spot them when you take a closer look, which you might not – but your guests certainly will…
One guest recants: ‘Years ago, I was having a drink at my bestie’s. She had taken the glass out of the dishwasher, so it was still warm (a separate issue), but as I got to the end of my drink, there was some caked-in grime at the bottom of the glass. And I felt too bad to say. I just sat there, silently gagging.’
Don’t trust things to come out clean from this appliance, especially if you’re not sure of the best way to load your dishwasher! Quickly inspect anything you’re handing over to guests, whether it’s glassware, cutlery, crockery or mugs, and make sure there’s nothing lingering where it shouldn’t be. If it’s come out of the dishwasher with a stain, it will need to be soaked and hand-washed – the cycle will have dried it on.
3. Grimy kitchen sponge
Not many of us take the time to clean the kitchen sponge – in fact, people would more likely replace it before doing this. Either way, sometimes a kitchen sponge can look a little, well, gross before we get the chance to refresh it, darkening in colour from bacterial growth – ironic considering we use it to clean our plates! But it’s one thing to take into account before you have guests over.
‘After eating at my friend’s house one night, I jumped up to tackle the dishes, only to be confronted by the most lifeless, tragic sponge I had ever witnessed!’ says one disgruntled guest. ‘The green scouring layer was hanging on by a thread and it was so shredded it looked like a dog could’ve used it for a game of tug-of-war. It was cold, soggy and each squeeze produced a stream of cloudy water, which made me cringe. And then the realisation hit that what we had just used had been washed with that thing! You can’t clean anything with something that filthy – it’s like fighting fire with fire, except the fire is damp and smells suspicious.’
Lots of sponges, such as Scrub Daddy, can go in the dishwasher these days or even the washing machine (check the care label first), so cleaning it might be easier than you think. If it can’t go in the dishwasher or washing machine, you can alternatively soak it in a disinfectant (such as Milton Sterilising Fluid) for 15 minutes once a week. But if it’s looking like it’s on its last legs, it’s time for a replacement.
4. Smelly kitchen bin
The kitchen bin doesn’t get cleaned nearly as often as it should, but it’s one of the things your guests will likely notice if they help out. Bins collect all kinds of food residue as we throw things away, with crumbs, spills and bacteria gathering around the rim and running down the sides. And if we overfill it, mess can transfer to the upper side of the lid, too, ready to great guests when they open it.
‘I went to throw something away and my hand stuck to the bin handle. Food was smeared down the outside of the liner and the smell hit instantly. I didn’t dare look at the bottom,’ recalls one regretful guest.
You should aim to clean your bin thoroughly once a week (do this when you take the bins out to make things easier), as well as wipe it down daily with a disinfectant spray or wipe. When a deep clean is needed, you can take it outside or place it in a bathtub and spray it down with a hose or shower head. Then apply the antibacterial spray, rinse and leave to dry. Avoid using antibacterial spray on stainless steel, though, as it can be corrosive. Stick to a proprietary steel cleaner in these cases. It’s also worth reading up on 8 ways to make your kitchen bin less smelly.
5. Gummed-up sink strainer
Clearing out the sink strainer is pretty gross work, but you need to keep up with it – otherwise washing things by hand becomes impossible (not with clean water at least), and then there’s the smell... Of course, guests will likely spot this, too.
‘One thing that always grosses me out in other people’s kitchens is when they don’t clear the sink strainer regularly. Seeing old food like spinach and spaghetti wrapped around the slots always makes me feel icky, especially if I see them rinsing things in the sink without clearing it first!’ admits one grossed-out guest.
Limit food in the sink strainer by scraping plates thoroughly before rinsing them. Empty it daily or whenever you notice food collecting, or it will encourage bacterial growth and drain flies. Don’t be tempted to push it down the drain, either, or it will lead to blockages!
6. Crusty oven gloves
This one goes hand in hand with tea towels, really, but it needs mentioning because there’s more scope for food residue (with people often touching their food directly with them!) and hidden residue contained in the gloves themselves.
‘One time, I went to my friend’s house for dinner and was giving her a hand with the cooking when I went to put on the oven gloves. I was already wearing them when I realised just how crusty they were,’ regrets one guest. ‘There was an actual layer of dried sauce on each one and, yes, the interior was full of crumbs. I’ve heard that some people use oven gloves to directly pick up food (?!) and this might confirm it. Next time, I'll arrive fashionably late.’
It goes without saying you shouldn’t touch your food directly with your oven gloves. Not only does this transfer physical residue (including bacteria) from the gloves directly to your food and vice versa, but, unless washed regularly, oven gloves can also spread viruses and pathogens (such as norovirus). Aim to wash your oven gloves once a week, using the highest temp recommended with biological detergent for best stain removal.
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