When it comes to cleaning, the kitchen can be one of the hardest rooms to tackle as, when we cook, worktops, dishes and cooking appliances get covered with grease, water and grime and we look for all sorts of tricks to get them clean. When it comes to kitchen worktops, it turns out you only need one simple product to make them totally spotless.
According to cleaning guru, Tanya, there’s a simple way to give your countertops “extra shine”, and you simply need to make use of one product that’s likely already lying in your cupboard. Tanya, known as tanya_cleanhome on TikTok, said you can achieve fantastic results by following a few simple steps.
Firstly, if you want to try and vanish stains like coffee and tea, you need to pre-treat them. She uses a mixture of baking soda, dish soap and water and blends the ingredients together – from here, she applies it to the stained areas and lets the mixture soak in to remove the stains.
When it comes to cleaning, Tanya uses dish soap and water, but she doesn’t overdo it when it comes to the amount of soap she adds. She uses this mixture to wipe and scrub down her worktops.
Once this is done, she then takes a microfibre cloth to dry the surfaces. She said it’s vital to ensure you remove all the soap, and she finishes the job by using a glass cleaning cloth too.
After she completes the job, her coutertops look totally spotless. You can also see there’s a beautiful shine to them too, which encouraged viewers to want to try it.
One said: “Wow. Ok, I need to try this.” Meanwhile, others wondered if the technique can be used on all countertops, or whether there are any exceptions.
For those who may be debating the same, you can’t use baking soda on all countertops as its mild abrasiveness can damage natural stone like granite and marble. Its alkaline nature also has the potential to harm some wood finishes.
Normally, it’s considered safe for tougher surfaces like laminate, stainless steel and ceramic, but it should be used sparingly and gently. This is some guidance you should follow if you want to try the technique.
However, there are some reasons why it may be worth trying out the cleaning method if you’re able. It can work wonders to remove some stains.
Why is baking soda good to remove stains?
Little you may know, baking soda works to remove stains in a number of ways. It can work due to its mild abrasiveness, its alkaline nature that works to neutralise acidic stains and the fact that it has absorbent properties to lift stains too.
It has the potential to break down the acidic components of many stains, such as those from wine, coffee or tomato sauce. It can be used as a gentle abrasive to scrub away grime, or you can use it to make a paste with water to draw out stains as it dries.
If you want to use the product to remove strains, you simply need to make a paste with water, and let it sit for a while before wiping it clean. To tackle tougher stains, simply cover the paste with plastic wrap and let it sit overnight before rinsing.
However, before you get going, it’s important to test the solution on an inconspicuous area first to ensure the paste doesn’t damage the surface. Ideally, let it soak for 10 to 15 minutes before wiping it away gently to see the best results.
The tip is well worth knowing though, with the prouct being as little as 65p to buy. This makes it a really affordable way to banish stains around the home.