How to Clean Your Kitchen Cabinets
The kitchen is arguably one of the most-used rooms in your home. Multiple times a day you are in there preparing and cooking food, as well as sometimes eating it. Because it is always so busy on a regular basis, it is bound to get dirty. To keep your cabinets looking in top shape, you need to clean them periodically. Although it may seem like a chore at first, cleaning your cabinets is very easy once you know how to properly do it.
When cleaning your kitchen, you typically think of the counters, food preparation area and the sink. However, the cabinets are one of the dirtiest areas of your kitchen. Frying food with grease, cooking using oil, and dirty fingers opening and closing the cabinets produces build-up of food particles. This makes your cabinets appear dirty and grimy to both the eye and the touch.
For regular, basic cleaning of cabinets, all you need is warm, soapy water and a clean rag. Wash them as you would any other part of your home, making sure each cabinet and surface area is cleaned. Properly rinse them with water afterward so no residue is left on the doors. Cleaning cabinets with this mixture on a bi-weekly or weekly basic will prevent buildup of grease or food residue. The longer something is left on the cabinets, the harder it will be to remove- so periodically cleaning them can prevent this in the future.
For heavy grease build-ups on your wood cabinets, you may need something other than regular cleaners. A good degreaser will cut through the buildup. Make sure you clean up the degreaser completely and that none of it is left on your cabinet fronts. Dry them with a clean cloth. Finally, you could shine your cabinets with a little furniture polish for some extra sheen. It?s important to always read the labels on any household cleaners to make sure they are suited for use on your cabinets, particularly if they are wood or metal. There are a variety of products out there made specifically for use on cabinets, so do some research and trial-and-error before cleaning your entire kitchen.
A tricky thing to do when cleaning your cabinets is to avoid the hardware. To make things easier, you may want to remove the knobs or handles. If they can easily be screwed back in, removing them temporarily when deep-cleaning can make the job a lot easier. To wash the hardware itself, place them in a solution of water and dish detergent and let them soak while you clean the rest of the cabinets. This will help prevent germs as well, since everyone is constantly touching the handles to get into the cabinets. Using a sanitizing solution or wipes daily can help prevent the spread of germs.
Daily cleaning of your cabinets with a wet cloth is simple and quick. A weekly cleaning with soap and water will help remove food splatters and particles. A monthly de-greasing cleaning will remove any thick buildup. Finally, a yearly cleaning is great for polishing up your cabinets to make them look like new.