Sink Cleaning Tips: Common Mistakes to Avoid for a Sparkling Clean

There’s so much house cleaning that needs to be done every day. It immediately shows if you’re even a little bit neglectful, and sometimes it can be stressful. But I try to enjoy the cleaning that I have to do anyway^^

Housekeeping is hard, but I desire to be smart with the proper cleaning methods. Today, let’s correct some cleaning methods that are easy to make mistakes with.

Be careful of cooktop scratches!

1. How to Clean an Induction Stove

👉 This is how you clean it!
❌ Don’t use a steel scrubber or abrasive cleaner
✔️ Clean after the cooktop has cooled down
✔️ Use an induction-specific cleaner and scraper

These days, many people use induction stoves instead of gas. They are convenient to use and easy to clean, which seems to be a big reason why they are popular. Cleaning up spills is easy because there are no ridges and a flat surface.

However, if you clean it the wrong way, you may shorten its lifespan or cause cracks in the surface, so you need to be careful.

❌ Don’t use a steel scrubber and abrasive cleaner

When cooking and the soup boils on the induction cooktop, it can be hard to clean off because it sticks due to the heat.

Please don’t use a scrubber with metal materials like a steel scrubber to clean it off neatly!

While the induction cooktop is made of a material resistant to scratches and strength, cracks may occur if micro-scratches caused by a steel scrubber are repeated.

It is also forbidden to smooth the surface using an abrasive cleaner, as cracks can cause the induction to break.

✔️ Clean after the cooktop has cooled down

The most crucial point in correct induction cleaning is cleaning after the cooktop has completely cooled down.

If you rush to wipe it off immediately, it can stick more, so you need to let it cool down before you wipe it off.

✔️ Use an induction-specific cleaner and scraper

Maintenance is essential to maintain long-term usability. Cleaning with an induction-specific cleaner is the most effective and safe way.

When you need to remove sizeable stuck-on dirt, apply a cleaner, soak the cooktop, and then gently scrape it off with a ceramic scraper explicitly made for induction stoves.

It’s also best not to use the scraper too forcefully.

2. How to Clean a Sink

There was a time when a mixture of baking soda, vinegar, and dish soap was popular for kitchen cleaning, such as removing kitchen grease, as it was considered an all-purpose cleaner.

❌ Don’t mix baking soda and vinegar

But as it turns out, when you mix baking soda, which is alkaline, and vinegar, which is acidic, a neutralization reaction occurs, and ultimately, nothing remains. It becomes the same form as the cleaning power of dish soap.

The bubbling phenomenon makes it seem like it’s an all-purpose cleaner with plausible cleaning power, but it’s not at all, so there’s no need to mix and use them.

The reaction between the two can produce carbon dioxide and pose a risk of inhalation from the air. So, if you want an all-purpose cleaner, the correct method is to use baking soda and vinegar separately!

✔️ Clean the sink and drain with dish soap + baking soda

Baking soda is alkaline and can separate proteins and grease, so it’s effective for removing grease and is helpful when cleaning the kitchen. Mixing it with dish soap to clean the sink or wipe the drain is a good idea.

It also has deodorizing power, so you can use it in places like shoe racks where deodorization is needed.