Kitchen cleaning checklist: standard and deep clean, step by step

Kitchen cleaning checklist for a standard clean

A standard kitchen clean has eight tasks: counters and backsplash, sink and faucet, appliance fronts, the microwave, the stovetop, the table and chairs, the trash and the floor. It is the list for a regular weekly or every-other-week visit, when the kitchen is used but not neglected.

This page is about home kitchens and residential cleaning. Restaurant and other commercial kitchens follow food code rules and a different list. These are the same tasks the free checklist maker prints and the BroomBook crew app loads, in the order a crew works through the room:

A few notes that turn the list into a professional kitchen cleaning checklist rather than a reminder:

• Counters and backsplash means moving small appliances, the knife block and the fruit bowl, wiping under them, and putting them back where they were. Clients notice when the toaster ends up on the other side of the sink.
• Appliance fronts and handles are the fridge, dishwasher, oven door and range knobs. Wipe stainless steel with the grain so it dries without streaks.
• The microwave is inside and out on every type of clean, because food splatter bakes on quickly. Steam a bowl of water for a minute or two to soften it before you wipe.
• The stovetop and knobs on a standard clean is a wipe-down of the surface and burner grates or rings that come off easily. Heavy grease and the range hood move to the deep clean.
• The floor is always last: sweep or vacuum, then mop, working toward the door.

Dishes are not on a standard list. Most companies leave them unless the client asks, and the Airbnb turnover list is the exception, because the next guest needs a clean kitchen. See the Airbnb cleaning checklist for that version.

How do you deep clean a kitchen?

To deep clean a kitchen, do everything on the standard list, then add the build-up work: degrease the stovetop and range hood, clean inside the oven and the fridge and freezer, wipe cabinet fronts and handles, clean the dishwasher door, seals and filter, and clean behind the stove and fridge where you can reach. That makes 13 tasks.

A kitchen deep cleaning checklist is what you sell for a first visit, before a recurring service starts, or for a client who has not had a cleaner in months. After that, a standard clean keeps the kitchen there. The full-home version, with bathrooms, bedrooms and living areas, is in our deep cleaning checklist.

What a deep clean still leaves out

Inside the cabinets and drawers is a move-out task, because it only makes sense when they are empty. If a client wants it in a lived-in home, quote it as an add-on and agree who empties and refills the shelves. The move-out cleaning checklist covers the empty-home version.

Small jobs worth a line on the list

Your own checklist can add tasks the default leaves out, such as the toaster crumb tray, the coffee maker, the top of the fridge, light switches and the cabinet pulls above the stove. Add them in the cleaning checklist maker so they print on every copy.

What order should you clean a kitchen in?

Clean a kitchen top to bottom, dry to wet, appliances before counters, and the floor last. Dust and crumbs fall, so anything you clean early on a low surface gets dirty again if you clean above it later.

These are the kitchen cleaning steps most crews follow:

1. Clear and stage. Empty the trash, load or stack dishes as the client prefers, and move small appliances so you can reach the counters.
2. Start anything that needs to soak. Spray the oven, put range hood filters and burner grates in hot soapy water, and apply degreaser to the stovetop. They work while you do the rest.
3. Dry work, top down. Dust the top of the fridge, the cabinet tops and the light fixtures before anything gets wet.
4. Appliances. Microwave, range hood, stovetop, then the fronts of the fridge and dishwasher. Grease and splatter from these land on the counters, so they come first.
5. Cabinet fronts and backsplash on a deep clean, top row then bottom row.
6. Counters, then the table and chairs.
7. The sink and faucet last of the surfaces, because you have been rinsing cloths in it.
8. Floor. Sweep or vacuum, including under the toe kicks, then mop from the far corner toward the door.
9. Check and finish. Put the small appliances back, replace the trash liner, and take a photo of the finished kitchen.

In a whole-home clean, many crews start in the kitchen because it takes the longest and has the most soaking time. Others finish there so the floor can be mopped on the way out. Pick one and keep it the same, so a cleaner never has to think about what comes next.

How do you degrease a stovetop and range hood?

Let a degreaser or hot, soapy water sit on the grease for a few minutes, then wipe and scrub with a non-scratch pad, and rinse with a clean damp cloth. Grease is much easier to remove once it has softened, so the soaking time saves more effort than scrubbing harder.

The stovetop

• Gas burners: lift off the grates and burner caps and soak them in hot soapy water while you work. Wipe the surface underneath, and keep water out of the burner ports.
• Glass and ceramic cooktops: use a cooktop cleaner and the scraper the maker allows. Abrasive powders and steel wool can scratch the glass for good.
• Coil burners: make sure the stove is off and cool, lift out the drip pans and soak them. Do not put the coils in water.
• Knobs: pull them off if they come off easily, wash them, and put each one back on the right burner.

The range hood

Wipe the outside of the hood with degreaser, following the grain on stainless steel. The underside, around the light and fan, is usually the greasiest part and the part people forget.

Most hoods have metal mesh filters that slide or clip out. Check the manual: many can soak in very hot water with dish soap or degreaser, and some are dishwasher-safe. Let them dry fully before you put them back. Charcoal filters on recirculating hoods are replaced, not washed, so tell the client if one looks clogged instead of wetting it.

Degreasers can dull wood finishes and some metals. Read the label for surfaces to avoid, and test on a hidden spot first. Our guide to cleaning business supplies lists which product goes on which surface.

How do you clean inside the oven and fridge?

Agree with the client before the visit. The inside of the oven and the fridge are deep clean and move-out tasks, they take real time, and each has a decision only the client should make: how to clean the oven, and what happens to the food in the fridge.

Inside the oven: what to agree first

• Self-cleaning ovens. Do not run the self-clean cycle unless the client asks you to. It runs very hot for hours and can smoke, so it is the client’s call, not the cleaner’s.
• Oven cleaner or not. Commercial oven cleaners are strong. Some makers say not to use them on self-cleaning or coated interiors, so check the manual or ask. If you skip them, a paste of baking soda and water left on the grime, then scraped and wiped, works on light to medium build-up.
• Racks. Soak them in a sink or tub of hot soapy water while you clean the inside, and protect the tub from scratches with an old towel.
• Ventilation and people. If you use a product with fumes, open a window, run the hood fan, and keep children and pets out of the kitchen.

Keep cleaner off the heating elements and the door gasket, and wipe away all residue so the first meal after your visit does not smell of chemicals. Never use bleach in or near the oven while oven cleaner is in use: the Washington State Department of Health notes that bleach reacts with some oven cleaners.

Inside the fridge: what to agree first

• Who empties it. Ask the client to clear it or to let you take everything out and put it back. Either way, set out a cooler bag for anything that should stay cold while you work.
• What gets thrown out. Never throw a client’s food away on your own judgment. Put anything past its date or doubtful on the counter for the client to decide, or agree a rule in advance, such as “toss anything expired.”
• The freezer. Wiping the shelves is on the list. Defrosting a frosted-up freezer is not, unless the client plans for it, because it takes hours and the food has to go somewhere.

Take out the shelves and drawers, wash them in warm soapy water, and let cold glass shelves warm up first so they do not crack. Wipe the inside top to bottom, then the door seals, then put everything back. The FDA’s advice on storing food safely says to keep the fridge at or below 40° F, the freezer at 0° F, and to clean the refrigerator regularly and wipe spills right away. If the thermometer shows it running warm, tell the client.

Should you clean or sanitize kitchen counters?

Clean them every time, and sanitize only when the client wants it and with a product labeled for food-contact surfaces. Cleaning removes the dirt; sanitizing kills bacteria; and a sanitizer does not work well on a surface that has not been cleaned first.

The EPA puts the difference simply: cleaning removes dirt and organic matter using soap or detergent, sanitizing kills bacteria on surfaces using chemicals, and disinfecting kills viruses and bacteria. For home kitchens, the CDC’s four steps to food safety tell people to wash utensils, cutting boards and countertops with hot, soapy water after preparing each food item. For a regular clean, that is the core of the job.

If you do sanitize

Use a product whose label lists food-contact surfaces, and follow the label. The EPA’s six steps for safe and effective disinfectant use say to read the directions and use sites, pre-clean the surface, and keep it wet for the full contact time. Some labels also say whether to rinse with water afterward; follow that too.

Some cleaners make their own bleach solution. The CDC’s guidance on cleaning and sanitizing with bleach, written for homes after a flood, washes countertops and plates with soap and hot water, rinses them, sanitizes them in 1 tablespoon of regular, unscented household bleach per gallon of clean water, and lets them air dry. If you do the same, label the bottle and mix only what you need for the day.

Watch the surface

Marble, limestone and other natural stone can be etched by acidic cleaners and harmed by harsh chemicals. Ask about stone on the first visit, note it on the client’s file, and use a pH-neutral cleaner labeled safe for stone. Keep separate colored cloths for the kitchen so a bathroom cloth never touches a counter where food is made. The bathroom cleaning checklist covers the other side of that rule.

Which kitchen cleaners should never be mixed?

Never mix bleach with ammonia, acids such as vinegar, or any other cleaner. Bleach and ammonia make toxic chloramine gases, and bleach and an acid give off chlorine gas.

The Washington State Department of Health explains the dangers of mixing bleach, and notes that bleach also reacts with some oven cleaners, hydrogen peroxide and some insecticides. The CDC’s bleach guidance says plainly to never mix bleach with ammonia or any other cleaner, to open windows and doors when using it indoors, and to wear gloves and eye protection.

In a kitchen, that turns into a few simple habits:

• Use one product on a surface at a time, and wipe it off with clean water before another product goes on.
• Do not pour cleaners down a drain that already has a drain cleaner or another product in it.
• Keep every product in its original container or a labeled bottle, so nobody guesses what is in a spray.
• Keep lids closed and products out of reach of children, which is step six of the EPA’s disinfectant guidance.
• Wear gloves for degreasers and oven cleaners, and eye protection when you spray inside the oven or above your head.
• Ventilate: open a window or run the range hood fan when you use anything with fumes.

If you employ cleaners, you also need safety data sheets and training for each product. The supplies guide linked above walks through those rules and the full kit.

How long does it take to clean a kitchen?

It depends on the size of the kitchen, how much the client cooks, and how long since the last clean, so time your own jobs instead of using a fixed number. As a rule of thumb, deep cleans usually take about 1.6 to 2 times as long as a standard clean of the same home, according to our house cleaning pricing guide.

The kitchen is where most of that extra time goes, because the oven, fridge, hood and cabinet fronts are all deep clean tasks. That is why many companies offer the inside of the oven and the inside of the fridge as add-ons to a standard clean. A client gets the two jobs they care about, and you price the time they take.

To price it well:

• Time the kitchen on its own on your next few jobs, standard and deep, and write it down.
• Note what made a kitchen slow: a big range, heavy cooking, a full fridge, or months since the last clean.
• Price from hours, not from a guess. The pricing guide shows how hours, pay, supplies and overhead become a price.
• Run your numbers through the house cleaning price calculator to check a quote before you send it.

Write the add-ons and what they include into your service agreement, so “inside the oven” means the same thing to you and the client. The free cleaning contract template has a place for it.

How BroomBook puts the kitchen checklist in every cleaner’s hand

We make BroomBook, a scheduling and booking app for residential cleaning businesses, and it puts this checklist on each cleaner’s phone for every job. The checklist matches the type of clean booked, so a standard clean shows the 8 kitchen tasks and a deep clean shows all 13. Move-out and Airbnb turnover cleans get their own lists.

• Each cleaner gets a private crew link, with nothing to download.
• The checklist is room by room, with photos. Each photo is checked against its checklist item, and the ones that need a look are flagged to the owner.
• Cleaners clock in and out from their phone.
• Job notes, such as “don’t throw out anything in the fridge” or “no oven cleaner, it’s self-cleaning,” are translated into Spanish, French or Portuguese for each cleaner.

Pick something else if you run commercial janitorial or restaurant kitchen contracts, if you need a QuickBooks sync, or if your team wants an app from the app store. BroomBook is built for residential cleaning and has none of those. You can see every feature, or try the live demo with sample data and no signup.