The kitchen sink is an integral part of the home because it is a focal point of our kitchen motif, and we use it every day to cook and clean.
Cleaning and maintaining is of utmost importance in order to ensure maximum hygiene, and to keep our kitchens looking beautiful.
Types of Sinks Most homeowners have stainless steel or ceramic kitchen sinks.
A popular alternative to ceramic is enamel over steel and enamel over cast iron.
Other options appropriate to the kitchen include marble, soapstone, terrazzo, stone, copper, granite and even glass.
There are also sinks made from plastic, concrete and even wood, but these are rarely used in modern home kitchens.
Most of the information below applies to all sinks.
When there is an exception, it will be noted in the text.
Clean and Maintain Daily The best and easiest way to clean and maintain a sink is to do so every day.
Perform a rinsing after every use, and then perform a more thorough cleaning after the last meal.
Basins can be difficult to clean after extended use, so the goal here is to keep effort to a minimum by performing it frequently.
Avoid Strong Chemicals Our sinks are so important to our health that we desperately want to keep them clean.
The temptation is there to use a powerful cleaning agent, but strong chemicals aren't necessary.
There are better, cheaper alternatives, which we'll discuss in the following sections, and chemicals can permanently stain the sink and damage its finish.
Keep this in mind when using a drain cleaner as well.
There are usually better alternatives to drain cleaners, but if you must, use a funnel in order to avoid contact with the basin.
Cleaning the Sink When it comes to cleaning a sink, bleach is one of the most effective and cost-effective means of removing grime and destroying bacteria.
Bear in mind the warning about harsh chemicals.
It is not necessary to use undiluted bleach, and one part bleach to four parts hot water is suitable.
Even after using diluted bleach, it is necessary to rinse the basin.
Rinsing is particularly important in the case of stainless steel, which can become stained due to the bleach.
Maintaining the Sink If you clean the sink regularly, then maintaining the sink is simply a matter of soaking.
Again, use the 1:4 bleach and hot water solution, but this time make enough to fill the entire sink.
Once the sink is filled, let it soak like that for a couple of hours.
Since the bleach is diluted, the smell should not be bad, but if you are sensitive to it, then you may want to increase ventilation is the kitchen.
Deodorizing the Sink Baking soda is another effective cleaner for sinks.
It doesn't have the raw cleaning power of bleach, but it does have the added advantage of deodorizing.
Whenever you've made a particularly smelly mess, opt for baking soda instead of bleach.
To use it, wet the entire basin, smear the baking soda over the entire surface, and then allow that mask to stand for fifteen minutes.
If the basin is particularly dirty, you can add a few drops of pure lemon juice to the baking soda.
Cleaning and maintaining is of utmost importance in order to ensure maximum hygiene, and to keep our kitchens looking beautiful.
Types of Sinks Most homeowners have stainless steel or ceramic kitchen sinks.
A popular alternative to ceramic is enamel over steel and enamel over cast iron.
Other options appropriate to the kitchen include marble, soapstone, terrazzo, stone, copper, granite and even glass.
There are also sinks made from plastic, concrete and even wood, but these are rarely used in modern home kitchens.
Most of the information below applies to all sinks.
When there is an exception, it will be noted in the text.
Clean and Maintain Daily The best and easiest way to clean and maintain a sink is to do so every day.
Perform a rinsing after every use, and then perform a more thorough cleaning after the last meal.
Basins can be difficult to clean after extended use, so the goal here is to keep effort to a minimum by performing it frequently.
Avoid Strong Chemicals Our sinks are so important to our health that we desperately want to keep them clean.
The temptation is there to use a powerful cleaning agent, but strong chemicals aren't necessary.
There are better, cheaper alternatives, which we'll discuss in the following sections, and chemicals can permanently stain the sink and damage its finish.
Keep this in mind when using a drain cleaner as well.
There are usually better alternatives to drain cleaners, but if you must, use a funnel in order to avoid contact with the basin.
Cleaning the Sink When it comes to cleaning a sink, bleach is one of the most effective and cost-effective means of removing grime and destroying bacteria.
Bear in mind the warning about harsh chemicals.
It is not necessary to use undiluted bleach, and one part bleach to four parts hot water is suitable.
Even after using diluted bleach, it is necessary to rinse the basin.
Rinsing is particularly important in the case of stainless steel, which can become stained due to the bleach.
Maintaining the Sink If you clean the sink regularly, then maintaining the sink is simply a matter of soaking.
Again, use the 1:4 bleach and hot water solution, but this time make enough to fill the entire sink.
Once the sink is filled, let it soak like that for a couple of hours.
Since the bleach is diluted, the smell should not be bad, but if you are sensitive to it, then you may want to increase ventilation is the kitchen.
Deodorizing the Sink Baking soda is another effective cleaner for sinks.
It doesn't have the raw cleaning power of bleach, but it does have the added advantage of deodorizing.
Whenever you've made a particularly smelly mess, opt for baking soda instead of bleach.
To use it, wet the entire basin, smear the baking soda over the entire surface, and then allow that mask to stand for fifteen minutes.
If the basin is particularly dirty, you can add a few drops of pure lemon juice to the baking soda.
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