Keeping your kitchen clean is one of the most important aspects of a clean house. Unlike the rest of the house, germs hanging out in the kitchen won’t just be stepped on by you and your family – you can actually end up eating them. For the sake of your health, keep these kitchen cleaning tips in mind.

1. Grease is the enemy

Nobody wants to get grease into their system. As much as oil is essential in cooking, it does the body way too much harm for us to ignore its presence in the things we put in our mouths. Did you know that cooking actually releases tiny particles of grease into the air? They stick onto any surface in the kitchen and can promote the build up of germs and bacteria.

A range hood: it’s the answer to a grease-free kitchen. You should do a general cleaning of your kitchen at least once a month if you have a range hood installed. The hood should be cleaned at least twice a month, every other week. Just follow the instructions that came with the unit’s manual and you’ll do fine.

2. Wipe the grease down

Not everyone can afford to have a fancy range hood over their stoves. Sometimes a really big window beside the cooking area is good enough, but not all kitchens even have a window, big or small, especially if you live in a low-rent or solo apartment. When the going gets tough, you have no choice but to get your hands dirty.

Use a damp cloth soaked in a mixture of water and vinegar to wipe just about every inch of surface in the kitchen. Leave tiles or any other stone surface untouched. Vinegar is an effective cleaning agent, but it works the other way when it comes to stone surfaces. Instead, use warm water to dampen the cloth . Do this once or twice a month to make sure your kitchen is clean and grease-free.

3. I don’t like tiles because they’re a headache

Yes, they are. Stained floor tiles are definitely a sorespot. However, tiles are also one of the most popular floor type for kitchens and for good reason, too. Tile grout tends to dig deep into the spaces between the tiles, making it tough to dissolve even with the best cleaning agent on the market.

When dealing with tile grout, the prevention-is-better-than-cure theory applies. Wipe off stains as soon as they happen; don’t wait for spills to settle long enough for them to become permanent. The longer the stain isn’t wiped off, the harder it is to take out altogether. Use a combination of warm water and tile detergent for a stronger cleaning effect. Then, hope for the best.

4. The food stinks because the refrigerator stinks

Nothing is worse than a stinky refrigerator. It’s disgusting and downright embarrassing if you happen to have guests around. The truth is, though, the smell is naturally-occurring. It is caused by microscopic food particles that find themselves either lodged or stuck in some corner or wall of the fridge. Get some materials and start cleaning.

First, use a sponge soaked in foaming bath cleaner to wipe the walls of the fridge. This should eliminate most of the stains and dirt, but not the smell. Then, mix some vinegar and one or two tablespoons of baking soda into a bucket of water. Dampen a cloth with the solution and use it to wipe the walls again to take out the pungent odor.

Check for freon leaks if the smell lingers after cleaning.

5. Tang is for tangy

Dishwasher. Did you really think you could get away with not getting your dishwasher cleaned? Come on. You cook and eat food using those kitchen utensils and you’re going to wash them with a dirty dishwasher? All those dirt and old food particles inside the dishwasher will get stuck to the utensils and plates.

Just wipe the inside compartment with a damp cloth, which should take out most of what isn’t supposed to be there to begin with. Then fill one dispenser with dish soap and the other with Tang instant drink mix and let the dishwasher run with an empty compartment. This should deodorize the interiors of the dishwasher. We don’t know how the Tang, works but it does.

Use these tips, and your kitchen will look, smell, and even taste clean!

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A wine refrigerator may seem like a frivolous expense that only rich people and “wine snobs” would concern themselves with. But, in truth, if you enjoy entertaining and you enjoy wine, it can be a great addition to your home appliance collection-especially if you are someone who likes to collect and serve vintage wines. A “wine cooler” as this refrigerator is sometimes called, keeps the wine at an ideal storing and serving temperature. It is a lot less expensive and takes up a lot less space than a wine cellar, so it is affordable for even beginning wine enthusiasts.

Is It Different Than A Regular Refrigerator?

A wine refrigerator is different from your regular refrigerator in many important ways. This is why many people choose to get a special refrigerator for their wine. Your food refrigerator is kept at well below 50 degrees-this is well below the ideal temperature for storing wines. Also the refrigerator in your home is opened and closed several times each day which alters the temperature many times which is bad for wine storage. A wine refrigerator maintains the temperature at the perfect level for wine and it is not opened and closed several times every day.

Size

When you are shopping for your first wine refrigerator you may wonder what size you should get. There are models which hold only six bottles and will fit nicely on your countertop, and also models that hold twenty or more bottles and would not fit on your countertop, but would allow for different temperatures in the different sections of the wine refrigerator for the different types of wines.

Temperatures

To guide you in what temperatures you should store and serve wines here are some basic guidelines:
Blush, rose and dry white wines should be stored in your wine refrigerator at around 55 degrees and served at between 46-57 degrees.
Champagne and sparkling wine should not be stored at all, but should be served at 43-47 degrees-think of the ice bucket.
Light red wines should be both stored in your refrigerator and served at 55 degrees.
Full-bodied wines should be stored at temperatures below 55 degrees and served at 59-66 degrees.

What About A Wine Cellar?

A wine cellar is actually a room in your home that acts as a big refrigerator. It does not necessarily have to be in the cellar, but it should be dark and also it should have humidity. A wine refrigerator does not provide the humidity for storing wine that a cellar does. The ultimate wine cellar will have different “climate zones” for different types of wine and when a connoisseur is storing and serving wine he can bring a bottle from one zone to another to prepare it for serving which you cannot usually do with a wine refrigerator. Although all of this may sound very appealing to some, it is very expensive to carry out. The construction of the cellar itself is expensive and unlike a wine refrigerator, you also need to have the extra room in your home to build a cellar. The refrigerator is much easier to accommodate.

Where To Purchase

When you are ready to buy a refrigerator for your wine there are several places that you can look to for purchase and also for information. You can go online to a manufacturer’s website and get particulars on different makes and models. Many home improvement stores and appliance stores now offer wine coolers as part of their regular inventory. Comparison shop for size and storage capability to find the cooler that will best suit your needs. Don’t let a sales person talk you into something that you can’t afford and don’t need. Once you have found your perfect cooler, celebrate with a glass of perfectly chilled wine.

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