Did you know you consume bacteria and viruses in your food daily due to dirty tools kept in your kitchen? Be it the cleaning wipes, scrubbers or the dirty microwave, uncleaned surfaces cause food contamination. The following tips can help you help you keep it at a bay.
In Indian households, kitchens are considered a holy place. Till date, people in many traditional households refrain from wearing slippers while cooking with a belief that dirt and viruses do not enter the food. Though this is the first step to maintain cleanliness, it isn’t the only one.
Cleaning a kitchen goes beyond the daily chores of rinsing off dirty utensils, cleaning slabs/sink, discarding bin liners and dusting off the premises. This is because there are ample items in your kitchen that house bacteria and viruses. Take your kitchen scrubber, for instance. It has the property to absorb food particles and dirt with detergents. If you are in a habit of changing the scrubber every two months, six months or annually, it’s time to make some amendments in your kitchen.
Scrubbers should be changed regularly, irrespective of whether the accumulated dirt is visible from the naked eyes or not. When a utensil is cleaned with water, these contaminants do not wash away. So, replace your kitchen scrubber every month or disinfect it with vinegar after use to remove contaminants from its surface.
Chopping boards are also home to dirt. Though they are used regularly in kitchens, they aren’t cleaned often. Whenever we chop food on a chopping board, food particles get trapped on their surface. Rinsing the board with water may not remove the trapped materials and odour. That’s why it is important to scrub them with soap and water.
Similarly, kitchen wipes, which are used for cleaning anything and everything from surfaces, slabs and jars to other items, are the most neglected items in the kitchen. They not only soak dirt and food particles but also retain bacteria that further multiplies if left as is. When used on different surfaces, the bacteria multiplies and contaminates the cleaner areas. This is why it is recommended to clean a kitchen wipe with a mild detergent and water after every use.
If you regularly use a microwave or an air fryer, deep clean their surfaces regularly. Use white vinegar and dish liquid to remove the accumulated food and dirt. In case of microwave, add these ingredients to a microwave safe bowl and heat it up for 5 minutes so that the grime could loosen up. Wipe the surface using a soft cloth. Similarly, wash the frying basking of the air fryer regularly with a mild dish soap. Avoid using a scrubber to remove oil as it can damage the non-stick element of your air fryer.