The kitchen is typically one of the most heavily used and abused rooms in the home and we can often find ourselves spending as much time cleaning it as we do using it. With all the food preparation, cooking, dishwashing and daily footfall, there’s no avoiding the fact that, by their very nature, kitchens can be one of the messiest and dirty rooms in the house. So, if you’re designing a new one – how can you go about creating an easy-to-clean kitchen that isn’t going to create a housework headache and could save you hours of time?
Worktops and floors
Keep worktops and floors clear wherever possible. Cluttered worktops and floors can make wiping down and cleaning surfaces significantly more difficult. A great tip is to keep as many of your appliances and utensils tucked away or smartly stored as possible. Larger appliances can be particularly irritating dust and grime magnets, after all.
Paint
Use specialist kitchen paint that is easily wipeable, washable and durable to resist the challenging environment of the kitchen. This is something you’ll at least want to consider for the walls behind the oven and hob, where grease tends to collect and settle. With normal paint, over time the finish will wear away, especially if you are wiping over it a lot.
Materials
Choose low maintenance finishes and materials over those that require a lot of effort to keep looking their best. Certain kitchen finishes and materials for kitchen tops, floors and surfaces will be much easier to clean than others. For example, stainless steel sinks and laminate floors will be that much easier to clean than ceramic sinks and carpeted floors. Though why anyone would want a carpeted floor in a kitchen is beyond us.
Minimalist design
Choose minimal detail details, where possible. Kitchen surfaces, counters and decorations with more detail are harder to clean and get into all the neat little nooks and crannies. So, choose units with less detail or grouting if you want an easier clean. Minimalism is also a style that will never truly go out of style, so you’ll probably settle on a design you’ll want to keep around indefinitely.
Bins
Hide appliances bins in their own units if you can and the same is true of larger appliances such as dishwashers and washing machines. This will create a much cleaner face to your kitchen and an easier kitchen cleaning routine going forward. All you’ll need to keep flat kitchen units clean is a simple wipe, whereas if you’re being forced to clean in and around bins and appliances, it can be a bit of a challenge.