Clean Your Kitchen Like a Pro with These 5 Products Our Test Kitchen Swears By

Here's what's in our sparkle arsenal.

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three hands holding sponges
Photo: Ted and Chelsea Cavanaugh

We may spend all day developing and testing recipes, but hey, that means we do a lot of cleanup too. Here are our Test Kitchen go-tos for washing dishes and cleaning the rest of your kitchen.

Lubrima Silicone Sponges ($8 for 3, amazon.com): "These sponges have serious scrubbing power. And since kitchen sponges have more germs on them than a toilet seat (gross, but true), I appreciate that they're made from food-grade silicone that resists bacteria growth and can be washed again and again in my dishwasher." — Carolyn Malcoun, food features editor

Mrs. Meyer's Lemon Verbena Dish Soap ($4, amazon.com): "We always keep Mrs. Meyer's dish soap in the Test Kitchen— it's biodegradable and cuts through grease—and I keep a bottle of the lemon verbena in my home kitchen. My 2-year-old daughter never fails to tell me she loves its citrusy smell when 'we' wash dishes together." —Adam Dolge, lead recipe developer

CleanWell Botanical Disinfectant All-Purpose Cleaner, Lemon Scent ($4, thrivemarket.com with subscription): "This is my new favorite cleaner for spraying down kitchen surfaces. It kills 99.9% of viruses and bacteria—without harsh chemicals. In fact, it's made with thymol, a natural component found in thyme oil that also gives it a lovely garden scent." —Breana Killeen, M.P.H., R.D., Test Kitchen manager (Read more about CleanWell.)

UNpaper Towels ($16 for 6, marleysmonsters.com): "Americans send 18.4 million tons of paper waste to landfills yearly, per the EPA. Since I wipe up spills (what feels like) 24/7, I like these reusable, colorful cloths. They're made from 100% cotton flannel and naturally cling together. I roll them up to keep on what used to be my paper towel holder." —Devon O'Brien, senior food editor

McCulloch MC1275 Heavy-Duty Steam Cleaner: ($140, amazon.com): "I use this machine—and its 18 clever attachments—to steam-clean and sanitize everything from the kitchen floor and interior of my stove to my barbecue grill grates and outdoor furniture. It's powerful and literally melts away grime." —Jim Romanoff, food editor

This story originally appeared in EatingWell Magazine October 2020

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