Do’s and Don’ts with Kitchen Cabinet Care and Maintenance

We know what an investment your beautiful kitchen is, and how important keeping your cabinets looking new and perfect can be. So we reached out to a professional cabinet finisher to learn what some of the best tips were for cabinet care. How to clean them, how to protect them, and equally important, what NOT to do as well. Please enjoy this contribution from Frank Garrido of OWA Cabinet Finishing.

Kitchen Cabinet Care Tips and Tricks

Cabinet Care To Do’s

• When cleaning your cabinets, regardless of the finish, you should use a soft damp cloth with warm water.
• If this is not effective, you may then create a mild dishwater soap mixture with water.
  Wipe down the direction of the grain (if wood)
  Quickly use a soft cloth to remove any residual moisture.
• Dry immediately with another soft clean cloth.
• Dry off any areas where water has spilled immediately. Don’t let those drips air dry as they can leave behind corrosion and residue.
• In high-drip areas (under sinks, around hand towels or dish washers), use Cabinet Hero protectors with the built in water drip guard facing out to divert moisture away from the cabinets.

Cabinet Care Don’t Do’s

• Do not spray cleaner or use polishes that use silicone or wax.
• Avoid spraying your mixture onto the cabinet, as the drips can create long term markations and can make their way to the bottom edge where it can pool and can deteriorate the finish.
• Do not hang wet towels or wet items on the doors.
• Be careful around high heat and moisture areas such as dishwashers and wipe down right away.
• Use caution with abrasive materials or magic eraser sponges to clean/dry cabinets, (especially on dark pigment cabinets), as scuff marks and fine lines can appear
• To avoid chips and scratches, try not have have your hands full when opening drawers and cabinets as added utensils and objects can scratch the surfaces (make us clumsy). Using Cabinet Hero products with the drip guard facing in helps protect all drawers and cabinets from abrasion and cracks when our hands are full however.

Check back here often as we will do our best to add new tips and tricks to keep your kitchen cabinets looking perfect and new.

Additional Resources and Articles on Cabinet Care and Cleaning

• We encourage you to check out this great article from MaidForYou.com: “How to Clean Cabinets“.