How to Deep Clean a Kitchen Step-by-Step (Calgary Homeowner's Guide)

How to Deep Clean a Kitchen — Step-by-Step Calgary Guide

A kitchen deep clean is the most labour-intensive cleaning task in any home. Unlike regular weekly maintenance, a deep clean reaches inside appliances, behind equipment, inside cabinets, and addresses the grease buildup that accumulates on every surface over months of cooking.

Calgary kitchens have a few specific challenges: the city's hard water creates calcium deposits on faucets and inside kettles and coffee makers, and the dry climate means grease and carbon on oven surfaces bonds particularly firmly.

This step-by-step guide covers every kitchen deep cleaning task in the right order.

The Principle: Top to Bottom, Dry to Wet

The most important rule in any deep clean is to work from the highest surfaces to the lowest, and to do dry cleaning (vacuuming, dry dusting) before wet cleaning. This ensures that dust and debris dislodged from upper surfaces falls onto areas you haven't cleaned yet.

**Order:** 1. Hood fan and upper cabinet exteriors 2. Light fixtures 3. Inside oven and inside fridge 4. Upper cabinet interiors 5. Countertops and backsplash 6. Lower cabinet exteriors and interiors 7. Appliance exteriors 8. Sink 9. Floor

Step 1: Hood Fan and Range Hood

The range hood is typically the most grease-saturated surface in the kitchen and should be addressed first.

- Remove the metal grease filter(s). Most lift out or unclip easily. - Soak filters in hot water with dish soap and baking soda for 15–30 minutes, or run through the dishwasher. - While filters soak, spray the underside of the hood with a kitchen degreaser. Allow to dwell 5–10 minutes. - Wipe the hood exterior with a damp cloth, scrubbing with a non-scratch pad where needed. - Dry and reinstall filters.

Step 2: Oven Deep Clean

The oven is the most time-consuming step and requires dwell time, so apply the cleaning product first and let it work while you do other tasks.

**Conventional (non-self-cleaning) ovens:** - Remove oven racks. Place them in a large plastic bag with a cup of ammonia overnight, or scrub with dish soap and a scouring pad in a sink. - Coat oven interior walls, floor, and door (avoiding the heating element) with an alkaline oven degreaser or baking soda paste. - Allow to dwell 30–60 minutes minimum. For heavy carbon buildup, several hours or overnight is better. - Scrub with a non-scratch nylon scrub pad. Do not use steel wool on oven interior coatings. - Wipe clean with a damp cloth. Rinse multiple times to remove all cleaning product residue. - For the oven door glass, apply the same degreaser and allow to dwell. Clean the glass between the panes by removing the door (consult your oven manual).

**Self-cleaning ovens:** - Use the self-clean cycle rather than chemical cleaners — commercial oven cleaners can damage the self-cleaning coating. - After the cycle, wipe out ash residue with a damp cloth once completely cool.

Step 3: Fridge Deep Clean

- Remove all food items and place in a cooler. - Remove all shelves, drawers, and door compartments. - Wash removable components in warm soapy water in the sink. Allow to dry before replacing. - Wipe interior walls, ceiling, and floor of the fridge with a mild disinfectant. - Clean the rubber door seals (gaskets) — these accumulate mold. Use a toothbrush with a mild bleach solution or white vinegar. - Wipe exterior surfaces including the top (often neglected and very dusty). - Pull the fridge away from the wall and clean the floor underneath and the sides. - Return shelves, food, and push fridge back.

Step 4: Inside Cabinets

- Empty one cabinet at a time. - Wipe interior shelves with a damp cloth. For sticky residue, a citrus-based cleaner works well. - Check for expired food items, damaged packages, or anything that shouldn't be there. - Wipe cabinet door interiors. - Replace items neatly.

Step 5: Countertops and Backsplash

- Clear all items from counters. - Spray with an appropriate cleaner for your surface type: - **Granite/marble:** pH-neutral stone cleaner only. Never use vinegar, citrus, or bleach on natural stone. - **Quartz:** Mild dish soap and water. Avoid harsh chemical cleaners on quartz resin. - **Laminate:** General purpose cleaner. - Scrub backsplash tile thoroughly — pay attention to grout lines where grease vapour accumulates. - For Calgary hard water deposits on the faucet and sink hardware, use a citric acid solution (see our [hard water removal guide](/blog/how-to-remove-hard-water-stains-calgary/)).

Step 6: Appliance Exteriors

- Wipe stainless steel appliances with a microfiber cloth and stainless steel cleaner, always moving in the direction of the grain to avoid scratching. - Clean the dishwasher exterior and the seal around the door (a common area for grime buildup). - Clean the microwave exterior — the handle and button area particularly.

Step 7: Floor

- Move any moveable furniture, trash cans, and mats away from the floor. - Sweep or vacuum thoroughly first, including along baseboards. - Mop with an appropriate cleaner for your floor type: - **Hardwood:** pH-neutral wood floor cleaner, damp mop only. - **Tile:** All-purpose floor cleaner. Scrub grout lines with a grout brush. - **Vinyl/LVP:** Vinyl-specific cleaner, avoid excess water. - For salt residue in entryway-adjacent kitchens (common in Calgary winter), mop twice — first with a cleaning solution, then a plain water rinse to remove salt fully.

Maintaining Your Kitchen Between Deep Cleans

A deep clean sets the baseline. To maintain it: - Wipe stovetop immediately after cooking while still warm - Clean spills in the fridge within 24 hours - Run the hood fan whenever cooking to reduce grease vapour settlement - Wipe counters and sink daily

Three North Clean recommends a full kitchen deep clean every 6 months, aligned with spring and fall, with regular standard cleans in between. See our [deep cleaning Calgary](/deep-cleaning-calgary/) page for full pricing and booking.