Inside: Keep your kitchen clean from viruses with this simple tip on how to disinfect countertops. Use bleach or rubbing alcohol to disinfect and clean.
Our kitchen countertops get so much wear and tear everyday. The counters see everything from a stack of mail, to groceries, and car keys.
Then, we spend time prepping food and meals on our counters.
Keeping your countertops clean and disinfected is important.
Countertops can harbor E.coli and other bacteria. During cold and flu season it can also have viruses on it.
I was recently reading that the kitchen is the germiest area of most homes.
With a little work you can keep your kitchen countertops free from bacteria and viruses.
Check out these simple tips below on how to disinfect countertops. They work great on almost every surface, even to disinfect granite!
How To Disinfect Countertops
To get started disinfecting your countertops you will need a few things.
- dish soap (I prefer this brand here)
- a microfiber cloth or paper towels
- bleach or rubbing alcohol
- a spray bottle
Before You Disinfect
Before you get started disinfecting your countertops you will want to remove any crumbs or stuck on food.
I like to clean my countertops down using dish soap and a microfiber cloth.
Just squirt a little bit of dish soap on a damp microfiber cloth and start scrubbing down your counters.
Make sure you really scrub any greasy areas or spots that have stuck on food.
Next rinse the microfiber cloth in warm water and go back over the countertops to remove the soap.
Once you have removed all the soap from the countertops and they have dried you can move on to disinfecting them.
To disinfect them you can use either rubbing alcohol or bleach.
Disinfecting With Bleach
Disinfecting your countertops with bleach is pretty easy and straightforward.
Mix 1/2 cup regular bleach with 1 gallon of warm water. Then dip a microfiber cloth or sponge in the bleach mixture and apply it to the countertop.
Make sure you get the bleach water applied consistently to the countertop. Then, let the bleach water sit on the countertop for 5 minutes before wiping off.
Use a microfiber cloth to wipe away the bleach.
When you use a bleach solution to clean and disinfect your countertop you will always want to make sure it sits for 5 minutes. The bleach water won't instantly kill all of the germs and bacteria so the 5 minutes gives it time to do that.
Also, you can mix up a smaller amount of bleach water if you don't need that much. Just keep the ratio the same. You could mix up a small amount and store in a spray bottle, however, bleach breaks down quickly so you would want to change out the bleach water every 2-3 days.
Disinfecting Countertops With Rubbing Alcohol
My favorite way to disinfect countertops is by using rubbing alcohol. It is easy to do and leaves an amazing shine when you are disinfecting granite countertops.
To disinfect your countertops with rubbing alcohol just mix up some rubbing alcohol and water in a spray bottle.
For disinfecting I recommend 1 cup rubbing alcohol (70% or higher) and 1/2 cup of water.
If you want you can also add a little bit of essential oils to make the mix smell better. It takes away from the smell of alcohol.
I love the smell of the sweet orange for a spray. I am not brand picky with essential oils, but I do love Fabulous Frannie essential oils. I have noticed that they are just as good as the more expensive brands but cost much less.
You can head over here to grab one of their gift sets or just buy one bottle. They are usually less than $5 a bottle.
Once you get everything mixed in your spray bottle then spray down the countertop making sure you get the mix everywhere.
Then, let the mix sit on the countertop for 5 minutes. This will make sure it gets properly disinfected.
After it has set for 5 minutes then you can use a microfiber to wipe down the countertop.
You will love the way it makes your granite countertops shine!
Special Tips for Disinfecting Granite & Marble
If you have formica countertops both rubbing alcohol and bleach should work to clean and disinfect.
If you have another kind of countertop it may depend on the sealant that was used on your counter.
Marble countertops usually do fine with the rubbing alcohol disinfectant but not the bleach.
I recommend doing a small test on all countertops just to make sure they don't get damaged.
Make up the spray and test in a small area that is out of the way. Once you clean it give it 24 hours and check on how the countertop looks.
With these simple tips you can keep your kitchen clean and countertops disinfected from germs, bacteria, and viruses.
Want some other easy cleaning tips? Check out these easy tips on how to clean and disinfect your phone.
