Easy Kitchen Maintenance Complete Guide

Once you have your beautiful kitchen designed, built, and installed, you will want to keep it in the best possible condition. A kitchen that is well maintained looks better and lasts longer. To gain a sense of general kitchen maintenance to extend the life and look of your kitchen, please familiarise yourself with the maintenance requirements of your chosen materials. Your well-kept appliances and kitchen cabinets will surely tie together the look of your kitchen.

Below are some guidelines to keep your kitchen beautiful for a long time to come. Please click the materials below to find out how best to care for them.

• Amerind
• Caesarstone
• Lithostone
• Corian
• Duropal
• Formica
• Wilsonart
• Smartstone
• Appliances

Hettich Drawer Maintenance

Oven Maintenance

If your oven is self-cleaning, consult the owner’s manual for instructions on how to use this feature. The self-cleaning feature works by heating the interior of the oven to a temperature so hot that it incinerates the residue inside the oven. Normally, it is not a good idea to clean the interior of a self-cleaning oven with a spray cleaner. If in doubt, refer to your owner’s manual or contact the manufacturer of your oven for further information. Non-self-cleaning ovens require a domestic oven cleaner, a great variety is available at supermarkets and hardware stores.

Refrigerator Maintenance

1. Clean the condenser coils – if they are dirty the fridge will have to work harder, shortening its life expectancy and increasing energy costs.
2. Clean the drip pan and drain hole – if they become clogged condensation can build up in the fridge.
3. Check the gasket seals around the doors – they keep the warm air out and the cool air in so it’s vital that they seal properly.
4. Ensure the Fridge is level – if not, then the doors may not be closing properly.
5. Check the water filter – if you have an ice maker or water dispenser.
6. Defrost the freezer – if you don’t have an automatic defroster, if the ice builds up to more than 1cm you should defrost the freezer, by turning off the freezer, removing all the contents, waiting some time for the ice to melt, knock off big sections of ice, wipe the inside of the freezer and the gaskets, then return the contents.
7. Minimize moisture by keeping food covered and containers shut.
8. Don’t use paper as a wrapper, instead use aluminium or plastic.
9. Full Freezers perform better than if they are nearly empty.

Dishwashing tips

1. Pre-rinsing is a waste of time and water. Dishes need only to be scraped of solids and then placed in the dishwasher.
2. Face the dirtiest dishes towards the centre for maximum water exposure.
3. Don’t place the dishes too closely – the water spray won’t reach what is not exposed.
4. To avoid chipping ensure breakable items don’t touch others.
5. Don’t machine-wash any metal other than stainless steel. Disposable plastics, gold-coloured cutlery, gold-leaf china, hollow-handle knives, and anything made of wood should be handwashed.
6. Aluminium items may discolour.

Floors

Clean anything that you spill on the floor immediately and don’t allow it to soak and stain the kitchen floor. Some floor coverings may lift, split or warp with constant moisture, such as floating floors and parquetry. Keep the floor as dry as possible and maintain varnish to allow as little moisture seepage as possible.