After your kitchen remodel you’ll want to keep your kitchen looking as gorgeous as the day you stepped into your new room. Kitchens, being the epicenter of the home, serve multiple purposes. One of the primary roles is to prepare meals for family and friends. Cooking has a downside as far as cabinets are concerned. Cabinets attract grease, spills, and fingerprints and require regular cabinet care to maintain their look and feel.
Stained Wood Cabinet Care
Stained wood cabinets should be cleaned semi-annually or quarterly if you are an avid cook because wood grain tends to absorb grease and dirt. The best cleaner is inexpensive as well as safe for your cabinets and the environment. Just mix distilled vinegar with rubbing alcohol with a 7 parts vinegar to 1 part rubbing alcohol and add a few drops of dish soap. You can pour this mixture into a spray bottle or just dip your cotton or microfiber cloth into the cleaner. You then rinse with warm water then seal with furniture oil. This keeps your sealed wood cabinets looking like the day you first laid eyes on your kitchen remodel.
Laminate Cabinet Maintenance
Laminate cabinets should be wiped down with a damp microfiber cloth weekly. If you find that the cabinets still require TLC, then use the same alcohol, dish soap and vinegar mixture and approach recommended for stained wood cabinets above.
Black & White Cabinet Care
Black and white cabinets serve as repositories for fingerprints, dust, dirt and grime. They should be wiped down weekly with a damp microfiber cloth. JM Kitchen & Bath always provides our remodeling clients with touchups for both painted and stained cabinets. You can use this to repair chips and scrapes that will occur with regular usage.
To remove grease and build up around the cabinets that surround a stove, cooktop or range, use straight vodka or a mix of equal portions of water with vodka and spray on the surface. According to Better Homes and Gardens, vodka is an excellent degreaser. Vodka not only can be used to remove stubborn build-up in cabinet nooks and crannies, but it’s also an excellent cleaning agent for the top of range hoods, backsplashes and countertops.
Cabinet Cleaning and Preservation
The following products and ingredients can damage cabinets so avoid using them or any product that contains them:
- Petroleum-based products
- Solvents
- Bleach
- Strong detergents and soaps
- Nail polish remover
- Paint thinners
- Plastic brushes
- Steel wool
- Scoring pad
- Ammonia
For additional guidance on caring for your kitchen cabinets give us a call.
