Genius kitchen cleaning hacks mums will LOVE

Because life’s too short to up to be up to your elbows in suds right? Here are our top ten kitchen cleaning hacks to help busy mums (and dads!) keep on top of the kitchen. The best part? All solutions are super cheap and non-toxic!

1. Zap bacteria by sticking your dishcloths in the microwave for a few seconds.

2. Make your own reusable anti-bacterial cleaning wipes by soaking an old t-shirt in vinegar and water. Add some essential oils of your choice to give them a yummy scent!

3. Toothbrushes aren’t just for cleaning your teeth – invest in a cheap brush for getting into fiddly, hard-to-reach places like toasters, plugholes, cheese graters and kitchen cabinet nooks and crannies.

4. Make your own super- effective yet non-toxic cleaning scrub by mixing four parts baking soda with one part warm water.

5. Cleaning the microwave doesn’t have to be a nightmare with this nifty trick: spray the inside of your microwave with a mixture of water and essential oils, then place a wet sponge inside and ‘cook’ for two minutes. When the sponge has cooled, use it to wipe up. Hey presto, it’s squeaky clean.

6. Fill a blender with washing up liquid and warm water. Whizz up your ‘cleaning smoothie’ for a minute or two – the result? A perfectly clean cup and sparkling blades.

7. Strange but true – the grease that builds around your cooker is best broken down by… oil! Rub in a good mineral oil with a cloth and watch that old grease melt away.

8. A solution of lemon and salt is a powerful concoction for cleaning chopping boards. Cover the board in salt and chop a lemon in half. Using the lemon scrub the salt across the board. When you’ve put in enough elbow grease, scrape away the collected dirt and rinse.

9. You hardly expected a hack list without WD-40 making an appearance did you? To shine up your good stainless steel pots spray liberally with the household essential and wipe away with a dry cloth.

10. To give your dishwasher a quick clean stick an orange powdered drink in the detergent slot – just make sure it has citric acid in the ingredient list.