How to Clean a Galley Kitchen in an Apartment

That Cleaning Girl · Apartment Cleaning

Galley kitchens are common in apartments. Two parallel counters, a walkway down the middle and often a dead end at one side. They are efficient to cook in, but cleaning one can feel like working in a hallway. If you have not read it yet, How to Clean a Small Apartment Kitchen Fast covers the basics for any small kitchen. Here we deal with the narrow layout itself.

Why galley kitchens get dirty differently

In a galley, the stove and sink are often directly across from each other or side by side on one wall. That means splatter from the stove reaches the opposite counter, and water from the sink drips onto the floor in the middle of the walkway. The narrow aisle also funnels traffic, so the floor gets a worn, dirty path right down the center.

There is also less airflow. Many apartment galleys have a weak range hood or none at all, so cooking grease settles on cabinet fronts and the top of the fridge instead of venting out.

Work one side at a time

The easiest way to clean a galley is to treat it as two separate walls. Pick one side and finish it top to bottom before turning around. That stops you from twisting back and forth and dripping cleaner on the side you already did.

• Start on the side with the stove, since it is usually the greasiest.
• Wipe upper cabinet fronts, then the range hood and its filter area.
• Clean the backsplash, then the stovetop and knobs.
• Wipe the counters and lower cabinet fronts.

Then turn around and do the sink side the same way. Leave the floor for last.

The range hood and filter

If your galley has a range hood, the metal mesh filter is probably coated in grease. Most pop out with a small tab. Soak it in the sink with very hot water, a good squeeze of dish soap and a spoonful of baking soda for fifteen minutes, then scrub with a soft brush and rinse. Let it dry fully before putting it back.

While the filter soaks, wipe the underside of the hood. That surface is easy to forget because you never look at it, but it drips onto the stove every time you cook.

The end wall and the corners

Many galleys end at a wall, a window or a small pantry. That end is where things pile up: the trash can, the broom, a recycling bag and a few grocery bags. Pull everything out and wipe the floor and the baseboard underneath. Corners of a galley trap a lot of crumbs because they are hard to reach with a broom.

If your end wall has a window, wipe the sill and the track. In spring, North Texas pollen collects there and turns into a yellow paste the first time water hits it.

The floor down the middle

Galley floors take a beating in the center aisle. Sweep or vacuum first, paying extra attention to the toe kicks under the cabinets on both sides. Use a crevice tool or a small brush for the gap between the stove and the counter, where crumbs and grease mix into something stubborn.

To mop, start at the dead end and work backwards toward the open side. You want to finish standing outside the kitchen, not trapped at the back waiting for the floor to dry. A small washable mat in front of the sink catches drips and saves the floor between cleanings.

Storage tricks for narrow kitchens

The less you keep out, the easier a galley is to clean. A few ideas that help:

• Hang a rail or hooks for the tools you use most so they are not on the counter.
• Use a tray to group oils and spices by the stove. Lift the tray, wipe, put it back.
• Put a slim rolling cart in the gap beside the fridge for extra storage.
• Keep the counter opposite the stove as clear as possible, since it gets the splatter.

How often to do a full galley clean

A quick daily wipe and a full weekly clean keeps most galley kitchens in good shape. Plan on a deeper clean once a month: the range hood filter, the top of the fridge, the inside of the microwave and the cabinet tops. Apartments around Waxahachie, Midlothian and the south DFW area see a lot of dust in the dry months, and that dust sticks to grease, so the monthly hood and cabinet wipe matters.

Between the monthly cleans, the most useful habit in a galley is a nightly wipe of the stove side, since that is where grease lands. Keep a cloth on the oven handle and give the backsplash and the opposite counter a quick pass after you cook. It takes a minute and keeps the narrow space from feeling greasy and closed in.

For more on how we handle small spaces, have a look at our apartment cleaning services. Next up in this series is the other room that does all the work in a small unit: the one bathroom.