With the holidays upon us, there’s a chance you will be entertaining friends and family at your home, and since kitchen cabinets are the focal point in almost every kitchen, it’s important to keep them clean and pristine.
Follow these simple tips to help keep your cabinets free of everything from grease stains to food splatters to sticky residue. Please also know that it is important to know what type of cabinetry you have, as some methods of cleaning one type of cabinet may not work for another.
For easy reference, we’ve broken down an easy kitchen cabinet cleaning schedule, alternating between deep cleans and spot cleans.
When You Should Clean Your Kitchen Cabinets
Between us and our good friends at Better Homes & Gardens and Showplace Cabinetry, we have compiled a two-part cabinet cleaning method – incorporating both seasonal and weekly touch-ups – that will save you both time and energy.
Weekly:
We recommend that you should clean your kitchen cabinets weekly, doing a simple spot treatment. Simply using a multi-purpose cleaner on a microfiber cloth will allow you to remove food splatters, fingerprints, and other obnoxious marks. After you do this, make sure you disinfect all of your drawer pulls and knobs, in order to keep your family safe from bacteria.
Seasonally:
Three to four times of year you should also do a deep clean. We suggest pulling everything out of your cabinets and emptying your drawers, then, while using a microfiber cloth gently soaked in a mild cleaners, wipe down all the shelving as well as the inside and outside of all cabinet doors. You can also use a clean toothbrush to clean any tiny crevice and/or corners that are likely to be missed with the cloth treatment. Pro tip: make sure the shelves and drawers are completely dry before putting back your dishes and cutlery.
General Care Tips for Your Kitchen Cabinets
- Use mild detergent or soap and warm water. Dry surfaces immediately with a soft cloth.
- Keep cabinets dry when at all possible.
- Do not use products with bleach, ammonia or abrasive additives.
- Never use scouring pads, steel wool or powdered cleaners.
- Do not allow oven cleaners to come in contact with wood finishes.
- Avoid using a dishcloth or sponge, these items typically contain remnants of grease or detergents.
- Avoid placing small kitchen appliances where heat is directed onto cabinet surfaces.
- Excessive moisture can cause permanent damage, so try to avoid draping damp clothes or dish towels over cabinet doors.
The Best Way to Remove Stains on Your Kitchen Cabinets
Since your cabinets hold a variety of items, such as dishes, cutlery, utensils, spices, and other common kitchen ingredients, we have compiled a list of the most common stains and how best you can remove them, which will be especially easy if you follow our cabinet cleaning schedule!
Keep reading to find out what they are!
Grease:
The cabinets you have that are directly above your range are the ones that will most likely have the most grease buildup. Using just diluted vinegar (50/50 mix) will help remove this pesky kitchen annoyance.
Food splatters:
Food splatters are a given in any kitchen, so whatever the reason is, its important to try to wipe these splatters up as soon as possible. You can simply use a damp cloth, but if a stain still ensues, apply a paste of baking soda mixer with water to sit and absorb the stain. Finish by polishing the area with a clean cloth.
Water stains:
Water stains on cabinets can upset any homeowner. Our solution is to try to use distilled water in lieu of tap water when you are conducting your weekly/seasonal cleaning process.
Scuffs:
Let’s face it, scuffs will happen with general wear and tear (or your excited child who forgot to remove his cleats at the dinner table)! With that in mind, a soft eraser can easily remove any scuff marks…. Just rub the eraser along the mark, then wipe away the residue with a clean cloth. This trick is especially handy for cleaning white kitchen cabinets!
Fingerprints:
It’s a fact, the fingerprint residue left on kitchen cabinets is oil-based. Just like our grease removing recommendation, you can easily remove fingerprints by using diluted vinegar. Apply to the prints, then buff gently with a polishing cloth.
These simple precautions and practices will keep your kitchen cabinets looking great for years to come.
If you are looking to upgrade the look of your kitchen, we recommend considering cabinet refacing! This process will help you save time, money and a lot of hassle while giving your kitchen amazing looking cabinets! At Cabinet Refacing & More, our process allows you to even add additional cabinets or an island and we can reface them all to look like they were all originally installed together.
Ring in the new year with an almost brand-new kitchen! Contact us today for a free consultation!