How to Maintain Kitchen Sinks in Uganda?

Most of the time we spend in the kitchen is by the kitchen sink. Getting what we intend to cook clean or doing the dishes, and washing our hands. There is always a reason to be at the kitchen sink. Considering the amount of time, we spend by the sink, we surely would not want it to be a dirty and filthy place. The aim of this article is therefore to teach us how best to maintain kitchen sinks in Uganda.

Your kitchen sink will preferably be placed by the window to let in light and fresh air, but in some instances depending on your kitchen layout, the sink may be placed away from the window. Kitchen sinks that are placed away from the window in some island kitchen designs should be kept clean much more regularly.

Tips on How to Maintain Kitchen Sinks in Uganda

Here are a few tips for a routine and daily kitchen maintenance life style that you should make a part of your day-to-day kitchen activities.

Daily kitchen sink routines

1. Include daily routine and small steps towards your kitchen maintenance. Make sure to rinse out all food debris from your kitchen every time you use it. This practice will discourage bacterial growth and prevent it from drying on the sink, which will be harder to remove when dry.
2. Wiping out the sink after rinsing with a soft cloth is a good routine after rinsing, it will help the sink to dry up faster.

• Load and handle wash dishes with care while using the sink to avoid hitting the sink as this is damaging. Breaking utensils and glasses in the sink is also dangerous and damaging to your sink consider trying to avoid overloading your sink and maintain organized order.  
• Wash small kitchen ware from inside and large kitchen ware from the counter top to avoid damaging your sink with a lot of pressure from cleaning large saucepans.
• Wipe your faucets and handles using soapy water. Use a sponge or brush to wipe them down and a toothbrush for the hard-to-reach areas. If you Still see white spots after your scrub, add a spoonful of vinegar to the soapy water mixture and do one more final scrub.

Thorough kitchen sink maintenance routines in uganda

1. A regular cleaning thorough cleaning routine should be maintained for example once every 10 days. Thorough cleaning does not mean that use harsh cleaners or tools on your sink, a simple dish soap and water approach is sufficient. Another gentle and natural recommended way is to use lemon and salt to clean and freshen up the disposal. Hard to reach corners of your sink like the faucet, and edges where a sponge cannot reach which tend to hide dirt under them can be cleaned well using a tooth brush, in conjunction with soap and water.

• Clear your drain with baking soda and white vinegar. These two ingredients paired together will help to unclog your sink drainage. A ratio of 1:2 is recommended when cleaning. 1 for the baking powder and 2 for the white vinegar.  place the baking soda down the drain, then slowly pour the white vinegar down the drain. This will lead to bubbling, wait for 15 minutes, and then wash away with boiling hot water.

• Clean your sink disposal by using lemon, salt and ice. Fill your garbage disposal with a few lemon wedges, salt, and ice cubes. Then, run cold water over the lemons, wedges and salt, turn your garbage disposal on until the ice is gone.

• Understand your sink’s particular needs and requirements for cleaning. Kitchen sinks all come in different materials, sizes and designs. Understanding the unique features of your kitchen sink will put you in a better position to maintaining it well.
• stainless steel kitchen sinks which can get scratched will need cleaning methods that don’t scratch them. Enameled cast iron is another kitchen sink material will need a cleaner formulated with enamel for hard stains.

How to maintain a Stainless-Steel Kitchen Sink in Uganda?

Stainless steel is the most common kitchen sink purchased and used in Uganda.  Do you want to buy yourself a kitchen sink? Here is my write-up about where to buy and the prices of kitchen sinks in Uganda.  Stainless steel materials for kitchen sinks are much tougher than most sink materials. They are less likely to rust compared to the rest of the materials, however stainless steel kitchen sinks are affected by acidic foods, bleach, and abrasive scrubbers.

Here is how best you can clean a stainless steel kitchen sink

TIPS FOR CLEANING YOUR KITCHEN SINK

FOR A SIMPLE DAILY ROUTINE

1. Use a clean cloth or sponge to clean your sink and rinse simply with cold or warm water.
2. When scrubbing with a sponge or cloth remember to follow the direction of your polish lines so as to blend with the surface of your sink.
3. Try to avoid most soaps and detergents as most of them contain huge amounts of chloride.  Rinsing with hot water will leave your sink sparkling, hence you do not need to worry if you don’t have the right detergent
4. Carbon steel brushes and steel wool should be avoided in your daily cleaning process as they leave behind Irion which can easily lead to rust and corrosion.
5. Always wipe the surface of sink dry after cleaning, this will help prevent dry water spots that are left behind when water evaporates.

For extra thorough cleaning and sparkle

1. coating the wet sink in baking soda and adding a little dish soap and hot water to your sponge. Scrub your sink starting with the sides of the basin and work your way down, pushing any dirt directly into the drain, and rinse with clean. Baking soda will help you to remove all the hard stains from your sink.
2. use a microfiber cloth to wipe your sink dry as stainless steel is notorious for showing water spots.
3. Consider using club soda for an extra sparkle. Pour club soda into the sink after closing the drain with a stopper. Use a soft cloth to rub the surfaces and this will leave your sink sparkling.

Don’ts for stainless steel kitchen sinks

• avoid letting acidic foods sit in the sink for long periods of time, as they can alter a stainless-steel sink’s finish.
• Don’t let soap cleaners, sponges and towels to dry in the kitchen sink. These harbor bacteria in the dull surface beneath them.
• Don’t use steel wool pads as they contain iron particles which when left behind can lead to rusting and corrosion.
• Avoid leaving steal and cast iron cookware sitting in your kitchen sink for a long time as it will start reacting with your sink and lead to rusting.
• Don’t use your kitchen sink as your cutting board. Sharp knifes will naturally damage the surface of your stainless steel kitchen sink.

Are you looking for the best kitchen tap for your kitchen, read this before you go shopping; prices of kitchen sink taps in Uganda