Your appliance handles aren't always as clean as they could be when you're using them either. Sometimes you have some of the meal ingredients on your hands when you realize you forgot to pull another out of the refrigerator, or you need to put one thing in the oven as you are making something else. With this kind of use, your appliance handles are going to become grime-laden and will desperately need a cleaning.

Over time you may start to notice an odd smell coming from some areas of your kitchen and you might not know exactly what is causing those smells. It may well be your appliance handles that now have rotting food sitting on them.

In addition to making them look better, cleaning will also lessen the attraction to bugs that may be looking for a quick meal, and will get rid of any bacteria or other threats to health that now may be on those appliance handles. So, you and your family will be kept safe and you won't have to worry about having gross bugs around too.

If you've tried to clean them using just water, you may have noticed it didn't work well, there are still some pieces of stubborn food and residue there. You need something that packs a little more punch. You need the following ingredients:

? cup Hot Water

? cup Vinegar

1/8 cup Baking Soda

Mix the ingredients together and make your way around the kitchen with a rag to clean those appliance handles. Some may take a little more work than others, as certain food particles like to solidify on the handles and may be more caked on than others. Take your time. It's a job worth doing well the first time.

While you have it out, there are other places you may want to use baking soda in your kitchen as well.

Have you looked in your microwave lately? Once the appliance handles are cleaned with that awesome baking soda solution, they may be giving you a false sense of security until you look inside and see the food particles that have been splattered around inside your microwave. It may even be a little smelly when you open it as there is now old food that is constantly being heated and let to sit inside this cooking device.

Start by putting a little bit of baking soda and water in the microwave and cooking it for a few minutes. The cup of water should come to a boil before you stop this process. By doing this you have made the surfaces inside the microwave soften up and they will be easier to clean.

Having a clean kitchen, including those appliance handles and microwave, is essential. So, use the baking soda solution to get things in order, that way things will be neat and organized.