Pop up sockets are a kitchen appliance embedded in the benchtop. Kitchens can be messy, with lots of liquid, food waste and crumbs which can all be caught up in the benchtop. Thankfully, most kitchen pop up sockets have a sealed lid. So when they are in the closed position, they can be easily wiped down with a cloth – as you would normally do anyway for the rest of the bench. However, if the pop up socket is open and you have issues – they may require more complex cleaning methods that we’ll go through in this post.
1. Water spills. If you spill something on the pop up socket and it has a sealed lid, you can simply dry the liquid away with a cloth. However, if the unit is open or does not have a sealed lid and you spill liquid – it is best to disconnect the pop up socket from the power as soon as possible. Once disconnected from the power, you can then dry the unit. Some models may require you to remove the unit from the bench and turn it upside down for 24 hours. This will let any water dry. In some more humid climate areas, it may take longer for liquid to dry. Once all liquid from the spill is removed, it would then be safe to re-install and connect the unit to power – and use it as normal.
2. Dust. Over time dust may collect in and around the pop up socket unit. Dust can be removed and cleaned through a few methods. Firstly, a damp cloth will remove dust in the more obvious and easy to reach surfaces. For the finer and harder to reach cavities of the unit and damp q-tip or cotton swab is useful for removing dust in tiny areas.
3. Crumbs. Crumbs may affect the performance of the unit – making it hard to open and close if enough is caught up in the mechanisms. Removing crumbs can be done with cloths, q-tips, cotton swabs or even compressed air. A compressed air can – sometimes also called a “keyboard cleaner” can be used to spray air and remove crumbs, dust and other dirt. This product is commonly used to remove debris between the keys in a keyboard.
4. Dirt. Dirt, grim and oil can build up in the cavities of the unit. It is su
5. Rubbish. This is rare, but if larger debris of rubbish gets caught in the pop up socket – you may need to uninstall the unit to remove it. In some circumstances the unit may also get damaged. If the unit gets damaged, contact your place of purchase for advice on replacement parts or purchase a new model.
In summary, it is suggested to keep a pop up socket clean and tidy to ensure it has the longest useful life. Generally, premium pop up sockets should last the extent of the kitchen – 30 + years. It is also suggested you contact the manufacturer of the pop up socket for advice and confirmation on cleaning processes to ensure safety.
