Share your kitchen cleaning tips, tricks and secrets with Currys for a chance to win an oven, hob AND dishwasher (worth c.£1300)! NOW CLOSED

[AnnMumsnet]

The good people at Currys have asked us to find out your top tips and tricks for making the oh-so-glamorous task of cleaning the kitchen a little bit quicker, easier and more straightforward.

Here's what Currys say: "We have a great range of new pyrolytic ovens in stock which are by far the easiest and most effective way to clean your oven, as pyrolytic cleaning heats the cavity to very high temperatures at the touch of a button, sealing the door and reducing all food residue to ash that can be easily wiped away. We'd love to know your own cheeky shortcuts to a clean and sparkling kitchen - do share them here!"

So what are your kitchen cleaning hacks? Do you have a secret method for getting rid of limescale? Are you a whiz with a tub of bicarbonate of soda? Have you worked out how to get the grime off your own oven without losing the will to live?

Everyone who adds their comment to this thread will be entered into a prize draw where one MNer will win ALL OF THE BELOW!

a) a - Currys exclusive - Znussi Built in pyro oven - worth £400! and
b) a Znussi induction hob - worth £400!
c) AND an AEG 13 place integrated dishwasher - worth £488!

Please note comments may be used by MN and Currys on social media, on the Currys pages on MN or possibly elsewhere - please only add your comment if you're happy for it to be used like this! Closing date: 17 November.

Thanks and good luck
MNHQ

To get a stainless steel sink sparkling like new, use coarse ground sea salt and half a lemon as your scourer. Beats all the chemical cleaners and smells amazing.

A tip I got from my Grandma, it worked for her and it works for me!

When you need to clean the oven put a pan of boiling water in there for about half an hour, a shallow roasting tin is best and make sure it is absolutely boiling when you put it in. It makes cleaning oven so much easier as it loosens everything before cleaning. It even makes those spray on oven cleaners work better.

Just dont do what I did, thinking I was cleverer than my darling Grandma.....I put the oven on high thinking that if the water was kept hotter for longer then it would work better. And indeed it would if you had absestos hands and could scrub a blisteringly hot oven :o

I fill the kitchen sink with hot water with a bit of bleach and multipurpose liquid detergent and wipe down all the boards, cupboard, doors and leave the cloth in the water to disinfect and get rid of the stains. After I wipe the sink and this remain sparkling clean for a long time.

I repeat the process every other day and the kitchen keeps clean and free from germs.

I like to clean the microwave with vinegar and water and the fridge with water and bicarbonate.

My oven is pretty new and I haven't clean if yet, I will surely use the dishwasher and a good scrubber.

Put a half lemon in a microwaveable mug and put it in the microwave for 5-10minutes until it has boiled enough to create condensation. The scum from inside wipes off with ease afterwards.

I had the solution - induction hob so just wipe with hot soapy water, one piece glass splash backs so no grout to worry about and a self cleaning oven.

Then I moved and have fiddly gas hob, tiny tiles embossed with 3d fruit pattern and an oven I have to scrub. I think my days of a sparkly kitchen are over, although am going to try some of the tips on here.

My tip for the cupboards would be to store all dry goods in jars, it stops spillages when they get knocked over in the cupboard, now I just have to teach the children how to put them away after use.

I use WD-40 on my cooker hood to cut through the grease. It makes cleaning it a piece of cake

For getting rid of limescale I always use HG Scale Away which is amazing. For cleaning the microwave I do put a lemon in and turn the microwave on for a few seconds before wiping out with anti bacterial wipes. The fridge trays and shelves are put in the dishwasher and we throw out anything old every Monday before bin day.

I have trained my children to be better than me at cleaning by fostering a spirit of competition. I admire their clean surfaces and ooh over the quality of their washing up. They help me a lot on this basis. We also always,always clear everything after every meal so things don't build up. Benefit of being married to a chef is that we have to "clear down" all the time.

But, my top tip is to get someon else to do it, even if you have to give birth to them, or marry them.

I use white vinegar for a lot of my cleaning. It's cheap, antiseptic, antibacterial and gets rid of lime-scale too. I use it to clean the dishwasher and washing machine mixed in with bi carbonate of soda.

Other times, I use Flash. I buy a big bottle of it and have a spray bottle that I decant it into. It goes a very long way used like this. Both of these things I use on worktops, floors, baths and sinks.
Bi carb is often used to get rid of smells like milk which are horrible and difficult to get rid of with anything else.
I use vinegar and newspaper on windows for streak free shine. :)

I use olive oil rubbed on to the black things that sit on top of the cooker over the gas to bring them back to their nice blackness (they go greyish if you put them in the dishwasher).

Put a damp cloth in microwave and "cook" for a minute , it will then be really easy to clean.

I hate cleaning. We clean the oven occasionally by popping all the shelves in the dishwasher. This makes the grease easier to just wipe off.

The inside of the oven is cleaned worth oven cleaner

Prevention is the best plan though - we avoid using the grill, especially for anything that spits fat. When we are cooking something that might drip we put a baking tray underneath.

If you drop something and it smashes into lots of bits, sprinkle floor with talc and sweep up. It's something to do with drying effect but everything sweeps up easier and small pieces are not left behind inadvertently where you don't see them if you sprinkle whole area with talc.

Bonkers but it works.

Never leave a room without taking something with you - that way you'll always have a tidy house.

Also vinegar and newspaper is great for cleaning mirrors, and also works on windows and oven doors

Clean as I go, wipe down surfaces with anti bac, use a Poundlander reusable liner thingy in the oven, use my mini hoover with crevice tool to get into all the nooks and cranies before wiping down.

Also another one is if you have an old exfoliating glove (clean obv!) it's great to get stubborn bits off surfaces or oven glass without being too rough.

I find that toasters, even with integral crumb trays still manage to make a mess of worktops so I now stand the toaster on an upturned biscuit tin lid which is the perfect size and this catches any stray crumbs.

I use soda crystals in the bath with really hot water and let the oven racks soak in there. Then a quick scrub and all the grime comes off. BUT my new resolve is to clean as I go and so far (couple of months in) the oven is looking as good as when I cleaned it and it's been no bother. Especially as I wash up straight after dinner so I just do a quick wipe while it's still hot and everything comes straight off.

I have a spray bottle of white vinegar for limescale and it shines up the hob and extractor fan nicely too.

A karcher steam cleaner does the best job of the kitchen tiles and I know it's properly clean, as the side door into the garden is in the kitchen so the floor is always dirty from the kids going in and out.

I use bicarb in the cups to get rid of tea stains and generally try and keep work surfaces clear so they're easy to contain. I'm going to try the lemon in the microwave!

A visitor left denture cleaning tablets at my house once. I used them for descaling the loo. They were brilliant :)

I vouch for the e cloth polishing cloth. Makes any stainless steel appliances gleam and shine in a matter of seconds. Makes the kitchen look more pristine with minimal effort!

Clean as we go.

Soaking oven trays in fabric softener & then using a Brillo pad, takes about 2 mins to do each tray/rack.

I've also found that being pregnant is a great way to have someone else Sweep and mop the floors. Hoping to have the children take over from him soon. Basically, have minions!

I found sugar soap excellent for cleaning through a really greasy extractor hood...nothing else was nearly as good.

Also, it's worth reading the appliance manuals to see if there's any cleaning advice...I was so happy to find out the door of my oven comes off easilly so I could get to that impossible to clean bit.

Or it could have been soda crystals not sugar soap!

I chuck my oven shelves and my gas hob thingumy in the dishwasher. They come out all lovely and shiny.