Bleach is such a powerful cleaner, guaranteed to kill 99% of most bacteria, that you need to be careful with quantities. But it's your safest bet to disinfect the sink. Just plug the drain, fill it with a gallon of warm water, and then add a spoonful of bleach.
The Overlooked Area of Your Kitchen That Is Full of Germs
A new study shows that germs and bacteria are more likely to be hiding in an unexpected place in the kitchen: your spice cabinet or drawer.
“Sprinkle some baking soda onto a sponge and scrub the sink, removing any crusted-on food and bacteria. If there are some tough stains that remain, try adding drops of hydrogen peroxide or lemon juice to your sponge,” Peterson says. Or mix the baking soda with a gentle dish soap.
Hygiene expert, Lisa Yakas, has revealed to Bon Appétit that we should be disinfecting our kitchen sink at least once a week. If you have been handling raw meat or scrubbing dirty potatoes in the sink, however, you'll need to up your cleaning game and get scrubbing immediately.
With time, baking soda and vinegar may work as a natural drain cleaner on weaker drain clogs, and the benefits of regular drain cleaning can help keep your drains free of clogs. But for tough drain clogs that need to be dissolved right away, you may want to use a stronger drain cleaner, like Liquid-Plumr.
Kitchen. The kitchen is one of the busiest rooms in most homes and also the dirtiest. All of the elements that encourage bacteria to grow–heat, moisture, and food–are readily available.
Sink faucet, refrigerator, oven handle, trash container
“During food prep, be aware that there are bacteria in food and touching it can spread it to other surfaces and potentially cause illness,” says Dr. Rehm.
Just add 1 tablespoon liquid chlorine bleach to 1 gallon of water. Store the solution in a spray bottle and make a new solution every 2 to 3 days. You should clean thoroughly before you disinfect. Food or grease buildup won't allow the disinfectant to get through.
Sponges and rags, countertops and cutting boards are common kitchen surfaces where bacteria can thrive. Sponges and rags are the most overlooked environment for germ infestation. The cellulose sponge is ideal for bacterial growth. Here bacteria have a surface to cling to, a supply of nutrients and moisture.
You can use any EPA-certified disinfectant on your Sinkology fireclay, vitreous china, nickel, or stainless steel sink. It's possible that you have some of these products already in your home, like Clorox or Lysol wipes, so you can get to disinfecting right away.
Vinegar and baking soda are natural, inexpensive household items strong enough to clean a kitchen sink drain or kill any bacteria that could be growing. The ratio is one part baking soda to two parts white vinegar.
Wash worktops, utensils and chopping boards with warm, soapy water before and after food preparation to prevent bacteria from spreading. This is especially important if you've been preparing raw meat, raw eggs or unwashed vegetables.
The kitchen holds the title for “germiest place in the house”, where bacterial contamination is far more common than in the bathroom, for example: Kitchen rags, towels and sponges are notorious for bacterial contamination.
If you didn't know it already, the single germiest item in your home is your average kitchen sponge. The NSF found that more than 75% of sponges and kitchen rags they tested had coliform bacteria on them.
A home's kitchen sink carries more bacteria than both the toilet and the garbage can, Gerba's research found. "There's more fecal bacteria in a sink than there is in a flushed toilet," Gerba told "Today." "That's why dogs drink out of the toilet. They know better than to drink out of the kitchen sink," he joked.
Pouring boiling water is quite risky as it might lead to a steam burn or scalding. Another thing to keep in mind is what type of material you are pouring in into. If you have a porcelain sink, it is likely to crack due to the heat. All in all, pouring boiling water down your drain will only cause issues down the road.
Can you leave baking soda in the drain overnight? It is safe to leave baking soda (and vinegar) to work overnight to unclog a drain.
Preventative Maintenance
Pouring bleach into the drain when the unit is not operating can leave residual bleach, which will damage the drain pan and line. Using vinegar for preventative maintenance throughout the year will keep your drain clean and clear and will not damage your line.
But as a rule of thumb, you should mop your floors at least once a week—especially in areas that are more likely to get stains from drips and spills, like the kitchen and bathroom. “Of course, you need to vacuum or sweep the floor before mopping,” explains Leiva.