A well-maintained kitchen brings a clean and light feel to a home. However, many homeowners struggle to keep those cabinets looking clean and free of grime. They don’t know how to properly clean kitchen cabinets. Since you use your kitchen to cook food, you’re likely to encounter accumulations of grease, dirt, buildup, and yellowing wood cabinets.
Direct sunlight can also fade laminated surfaces and painted wood. But this is something you can easily prevent with blinds or window films.
When you start cooking, some microscopic grease particles or cooking residue rise into the air. And you know what? Those particles have to land somewhere. Your white cabinets are probably the best place they find to land on.
As a result, those sparkling cabinets turn yellow and dull. You don’t want to let grease buildups ruin the visual appeal of your kitchen, do you? An exhaust fan might help you prevent grease and food particles reach cabinets or surrounding surfaces. But this will only slow down the accumulation process.
The best thing you can do is clean your kitchen cabinets regularly. In this post, we’ll give you some valuable and easy-to-implement tips for cleaning kitchen cabinets without using any expensive or chemical-based cleaning solution. Let’s get started!
How To Clean Kitchen Cabinets With Ease: 6 Tips
A mix of dust, grease, splatters, and other particles stick to your kitchen cabinets and shelves and turn into a stubborn glue, something that you can’t wipe down with a piece of clean cloth. So, you need to think beyond everyday cleaning. Here are some simple household items you need to carry out the cleaning:
- White vinegar
- Dish soap
- Baking soda
- Warm water
- Lemon Juice
- Cleaner with orange oil
- Cleaning cloths or a clean towel
- Old toothbrush
- Spray bottle
- Azuna odor eliminator
Here is what you need to do:
Prepare a Homemade Cleaning Solution
You need to prepare a different cleaning solution for different components of your kitchen cabinets. Let’s start with the outside surfaces of your kitchen cabinets. Are they made of painted wood or metal? Regardless of the material of your cabinets, prepare a mixture of one cup vinegar, one tablespoon baking soda, and two cups of warm water. If you don’t have baking soda, use half warm water and half vinegar.
You can also use dish soap and warm water to prepare a cleaning solution. Both vinegar and dish soap is abrasive enough to melt down sticky grease buildups on the exterior. Some people use cleaning products to clean kitchen cabinets.
However, if you want to use a readymade cleaning solution, we recommend you test it on a hidden spot. Some cleaning products contain harsh chemicals or abrasive cleaners that can damage your cabinet interiors or doors. Once you have a cleaning solution ready, move on to the next step.
Wipe Each Cabinet From Top to Bottom
Empty your cabinets for a thorough cleaning experience. It’s alright if you don’t have the time or energy to do so. Now, put the cleaning solution into the spray bottle. You can either spray directly onto a wooden cabinet surface or spray onto a piece of soft cloth you’re about to use for wiping the cabinets down.
Be sure to start the cleaning from the top and work your way down, including the cabinet handles. Before drying out the surface with a new soft cloth, make sure to rinse it thoroughly. The cleaning mixture left sitting on a surface, like laminate cabinets, can damage it.
Use a Lint-Free Cloth To Clean Glass
You need to be extra careful when cleaning the glass in your kitchen cabinets. While people often use a commercial glass cleaner, you should consider using half vinegar and half water to prepare a solution.
Most importantly, use a lint-free cloth or paper towel to clean glass surfaces. A lint-free cloth is gentle and helps you avoid streaks. All you need to do is spray the cleaner onto a paper towel or cloth and then wipe the glass. Avoid spraying directly onto the glass surface as a cleaning solution can lead to discoloration.
Most households don’t take staining into account when cleaning cabinet glass. Glass stains are real and can make your cabinets look dull.
Scrub Grease Buildups With a Soft Brush
You may observe thick grease buildups on some parts of your kitchen cabinets. It’s hard to get rid of them with a sponge or cloth. This is where you need something more powerful such as a soft-bristled toothbrush. For those stubborn sticky substances, use orange oil cleaner for better results.
Let the orange oil penetrate the buildups for a few minutes. Make a paste of water and baking soda to gently scrub buildups. Don’t use items like magic erasers on sensitive cabinet surfaces. Also, don’t try to scrape away buildups with sharp tools. This can damage your cabinet’s finish.
To clean metal parts like knobs and pulls, use a soft toothbrush and vinegar-water solution. Scrub the hardware wherever you see the signs of grease buildups.
Empty Cabinets Before Washing Interior
Still not sure how to clean kitchen cabinets? It’s super easy to bring your kitchen back to life with just a few household items and your time. Now that we’ve done with the exterior parts of the cabinets, let’s see what you should do to clean the interior.
If you still got stuff inside your kitchen cabinets, remove it. If you find plenty of dust and residue inside cabinets, use a vacuum cleaner to clear it before cleaning it with a liquid cleaner and cloth.
A mix of soft detergent and water will do the job. Wash the cabinet’s interior starting from the top cabinets. Use a clean damp cloth to rinse. After that, use a new cloth to wipe dry. Don’t use too much water to wash the cabinets.
Cabinets that are coated with oil-based paint are easier to wash than those coated with latex paints. You can use a really soft nylon brush to remove sticky buildups inside or outside of your cabinets. However, you shouldn’t use a brush on latex as it could lead to peeling or paint lifting.
So, you’ve cleaned both the interior and exterior of your kitchen cabinets. What’s next?
Clean Your Stuff
You probably have a variety of items inside your kitchen cabinets: jars, cans, containers, utensils, etc. Make sure to wipe them down before putting them back into your cabinets. Get rid of any expired or broken items.
To make your glass cabinet look awesome, place your items in an organized way. Use some creativity and planning. When people place stuff without paying any attention to the outcome, they end up having cluttered cabinets.
A quick tip: Place your items in a way that they are easily accessible and look visually appealing. Take a look at some of the best pantry storage solutions to get some inspiration.
Keep Your Kitchen Cabinets Clean
After a deep cleaning session, you’ll be able to restore the original shine and spark of your kitchen cabinets. The next thing you need to do is maintain that sparkling look. Here are some tips for keeping your cabinets clean:
- Keep the doors and drawers closed to lower the amount of dust and crumbs.
- Dust your cabinets regularly with a soft cloth to minimize the need for thorough cleaning.
- Keep water and other liquids away from your cabinetry.
- Wax your cabinets once or twice a year to prevent buildups from discoloring the wood.
- Avoid using strong chemical-based products to clean kitchen cabinets.
- Place heat-producing appliances away from cabinets to avoid surface damage.
The cabinet glass in your kitchen is likely to become stained. Don’t delay when you see something sticking to your cabinet glass. Grab a lint-free cloth and a few drops of cleaning solution to remove stains right away.
The more you delay, the more difficult it becomes to remove them. You don’t have to go through a time-consuming and tiring cleaning process if you clean your kitchen cabinets and other parts on a regular basis.
Of course, you can’t just focus on the cabinets and ignore the rest of your kitchen area. Keep the floor, sink, cooktop, appliances, and other components clean.
Final Thoughts
We hope these six tips for how to clean kitchen cabinets will help you restore your dull-looking kitchen into the best gathering space in your house. We used simple water and vinegar to prepare a cleaning solution and then clean all components of cabinets: glass, handles, pulls, interior, and exterior.
The best thing about these DIY kitchen cleaning hacks is that you don’t have to call a cleaning company or kitchen renovation expert. Your kitchen now looks amazing. What about the air quality? Does your kitchen smell amazing as well?
A pro tip: Use an anti-microbial odor eliminator to remove any unpleasant smell in the air. Natural Scent by Azuna is one of the best products you can have to improve the quality of air in your house. It cleanses air against bacteria, fungus, and mold.
About Azuna
Azuna offers plant-based solutions to eliminate odor, mold, and mildew. Our products contain no harmful chemicals or additives. Applying a pure and natural odor eliminator would be a perfect finishing touch to your kitchen cabinet cleaning project.
Sources:
Your Ultimate Holiday Break Home Cleaning Checklist | Forbes
The Very Best (And Best Looking) Pantry Storage Solutions For A Clutter-Free Kitchen | Forbes
