Kitchen cabinets are attractive when they’re first installed, but the environment they exist in soon can mar their beauty if you don’t make it a practice of cleaning kitchen cabinets on a constant basis. It’s not just the interiors that need cleaning, either. The exteriors of kitchen cabinets take a beating. They are attacked with air loaded with cooking grease, sticky fingers, moisture, smoke, and food spills. If this build-up of grime is permitted to harden and continue to build up over time, it’s going to be much harder to get rid of, so you need to clean your cabinets often.
Frequently a gentle soap, like a grease-cutting dish detergent, and warm water will do the trick as long as your cabinets are laminate, painted, plastic, metal, or wood-grained vinyl, but there are times when you need some type of cleaner to help penetrate the grease and grime, especially with wood cupboard surfaces. All-purpose cleaners may do a good job of cleaning the outsides of your cupboards, but never use anything abrasive on the surfaces, for example Comet, because that will scratch them. You must also avoid using steel wool or scrub brushes for cleaning kitchen cabinets for the same reason.
For an old-time, natural approach, you can try a solution of half vinegar and half water. Grandmother knew that the combo was sure-fire when it came to cleaning kitchen grease, and it will still do a good job for you. If the build-up is too great for this solution to penetrate and wash away, try using straight vinegar. You can also make a paste out of some baking soda and water or a solution of lemon juice and club soda which will cut the grease naturally.
As a final resort to salvage cabinets that the greasy build-up has been allowed to collect and harden, you can try paint thinner. This is much more caustic than the other solutions you can use, so treat it with care. Never use it around an open flame or acute heat, wear gloves while using it, and open windows to give yourself masses of ventilation. You may also want to wear a respirator to keep yourself from inhaling the fumes. Be certain to test the paint thinner on a concealed spot to make sure it isn’t going to damage the finish on your cupboards before basically going to work.
Cleaning kitchen cabinets is a large amount of work, especially when dirt and grease have been permitted to build-up over a period of time. By wiping your cupboards down periodically, you can keep them from getting the thick build-up that takes so much time, elbow grease, and cleaning experience to get rid of.
.
Tags: cabinets, cleaning, cleaning cabinets, cleaning kitchen cabinets, kitchen, kitchen cabinets