Tips to Clean Your Utensils Effectively

Do you know that cleaning kitchen utensils not just enhances its lifespan but secures your family from foodborne diseases? Food poisoning is affecting a large number of people nowadays due to changing lifestyle. Unhygienic food preparation provides ample opportunities for contamination, growth, or survival of foodborne pathogens, according to World Health Organization (WHO). Therefore, it is important to clean your cooking utensils after completing your meals.

Remember, some foodborne pathogens may not be destroyed using ordinary cleaning process. So, you need to use effective cleaning agents to get rid of the harmful pathogens completely from your cooking utensils. Unlike utensils, you must also take care of cookware and other kitchenware products that are used for food preparation.

Usually, utensils are made from different metals such as aluminum, copper, cast-iron and stainless steel. Depending on the type of utensil, its cleaning process might vary because some cleaning agents might damage copper and aluminum utensils.

Some effective cleaning tips that might assist you in cleaning your utensils effectively are listed below:

Cleaning copper utensils:

Before cleaning, you need to wet the utensils to soften the stains and other impurities that might reside over the utensils. Cut a lemon into two halves and add some salt to its juicy surface. Now, rub the surface of the utensils using lemon properly. Lemon has effective ingredients to remove stains, while salt act as an abrasive. You can also opt for commercial cleaning products, but you must be aware of its effectiveness. When cleaning using commercial cleaners, you need to wash the utensils properly using water to remove the chemical cleaning ingredients.

Cleaning microwave:

When cleaning microwave, you must not use steel wire brushes that might cause starches and external damages to its surface. If you find hard stains in your microwave, you need to apply some warm water over the stains to soften it. For removing greasy materials, you can make use of baking soda and water.

Cleaning aluminum utensils:

When washing aluminum utensils, it is better to dry using clothes rather than sponges to avoid foodborne pathogens. To remove stains, you need to place the aluminum utensils in boiling water mixed with vinegar.

Cleaning cast-iron utensils:

When it’s up to cast-iron utensil cleaning, you need to use a paste of kosher salt and water to remove the stains and food residues from the utensils. Finally, wash cast-iron utensils thoroughly using water and dry it completely.