In case you missed Force of Nature vs. Your Kitchen Part 1: Sink & Fridge, or Part 2: Stove, Oven & Microwave, we’re going space by space in your kitchen to tell you how you can use Force of Nature to sanitize and disinfect them all. As every cook knows, everyone loves hanging out in the kitchen and that goes for viruses, bacteria and germs, too. So, now that you’ve tackled some of the big germ hotspots and appliances, let’s talk about some of the less obvious places that still need disinfecting: counters, drawers, and cabinets.
Part 3: Disinfecting Your Kitchen Counters, Drawers, and Cabinets.
Here’s how to clean and disinfect your kitchen’s hard-working surfaces and storage areas.
Disinfecting Your Countertops With Force of Nature
Our countertops are the work surfaces in our kitchens, so they’re the most likely to be contaminated (and cross-contaminated) as you swap out cutting boards, food packaging, and storage items.
Here’s How To Use Force of Nature To Keep Your Countertops Clean and Disinfected:
- Wiping your counters down to remove visible crumbs and spills is only half the battle. It’s important to also disinfect because bacteria like salmonella and E.coli can hang around on what otherwise may look like a very clean surface!
- Before and after food preparation, spray your countertop liberally with Force of Nature.
- Force of Nature is a federal EPA registered disinfectant that kills 99.9% of viruses and bacteria on granite, marble and almost any other surface you can think of without causing damage to the surface. This isn’t true for vinegar, which is not an EPA-registered disinfectant and will etch calcium stone like marble, limestone, and travertine.
- Before you put a cutting board into the sink or dishwasher, give it a quick spray with Force of Nature to help cut down on the bacteria from raw meat or fish.
- For discolored grout and caulk, spray with Force of Nature and use a little baking soda to get it sparkling like new.
- One study found that over ⅓ of kitchen towels harbored dangerous bacteria like E.coli and 14% were contaminated with Staphylococcus aureus (staph). The worst offenders were towels that were used for multiple uses and ones that were left wet, so try to use a towel for a single purpose only and always wash them in hot soapy water.
- Disinfect small appliances on your countertops by spraying a clean cloth with Force of Nature and wiping them dry. Never spray Force of Nature or any other cleaning product directly onto appliances as they may have electrical components that could be damaged.
- Dish-drying racks are perfect environments for mold because they are constantly wet. They should be disassembled and cleaned often – most can be run through the dishwasher. For day to day, they can be spritzed with Force of Nature and allowed to air dry.
- You’re done!
Disinfecting Your Drawers, Cabinets and “High Touch” Areas
Because we often store dry products or supplies in drawers and cabinets, it’s easy to think that they are cleaner than they are. Kitchen cabinet drawer and cabinet pulls are “high touch” areas, so they’re a magnet for bacteria and germs.
Here’s how to disinfect these and other “high touch” areas in your kitchen:
- Spray your cabinet and drawer hardware down with Force of Nature daily.
- Wash your hands often while prepping food to cut down on cross-contamination.
- Set out most of your cooking ingredients and tools beforehand to cut down on having to go into your drawers and cabinets while cooking.
- Periodically take everything out of the drawer or cabinet, wipe out any dust or crumbs and then disinfect by spraying the inside with Force of Nature and wiping out with a clean cloth. No need to rinse because Force of Nature is gentle enough to use around food (and can even be used as a produce rinse to clean your fruits & veggies!).
- For any tech screens and gadgets in the kitchen, spray a clean cloth with Force of Nature and wipe them down. Wipe them dry to avoid water spots.
- Spray down utensil holders and knife blocks with Force of Nature and wipe them with a soft cloth.
- Spray kitchen tools like can openers and scissors between uses to kill bacteria.
- Done!
Love Your Disinfected Kitchen!
As if we didn’t spend enough time cooking and cleaning our kitchens, now we’re extra concerned about viruses and bacteria, it’s more important than ever to disinfect our kitchens. Force of Nature is a federal EPA registered disinfectant and sanitizer that makes it easy to kill 99.9% of viruses and bacteria without exposing your family to harmful toxins and chemicals that are found in common household cleaning products. You can find all our home disinfecting tips here and, if you missed them, check out Part 1 and Part 2 of our kitchen disinfecting series.
