Tips on Cleaning Kitchen Cabinets

You may wish that you could replace your kitchen cabinets, especially if they show years and wear and tear and look like they were built with the house. But if the renovation or remodel process is either too expensive to think about or doesn’t seem worth all the work, there are homemade methods and tips that you can use to deep clean all of your kitchen cabinets. While, they won’t exactly look as perfect as brand new ones may, with the proper cleaning solutions and occasional cleaning afterwards, you can take years of grime off of them in just one afternoon.

Homemade Cleaner

What You’ll Need :

1 – Part vegetable oil
2 – Parts baking soda

One of the easiest ways to clean your kitchen cabinets at home, simply mix together vegetable oil and baking soda together and in minutes you’ll have one of the best kitchen cabinet cleaners you can imagine. Using a cloth or sponge or even your fingers, generally scrub the solution into the surface of your cabinets and for the harder to reach places and small nooks, you can use an old toothbrush to ensure that every inch of your cabinets looks as good as new.

Cleaning the Exterior of Cabinets

What You’ll Need :

1 – Warm Water
2 – Liquid Dish Soap

If the outside of your kitchen cabinets are covered in food smudges, grease and dust then this easy to make solution may do just the trick. Regardless of the type of cabinet; metal, plastic laminate, wood or vinyl, this solution does a great job of cleaning mild stains and dust since the dish soap acts as a degreaser that can actually remove deep buildup on the cabinets. Also be sure to get the edges of sides of the cabinets and not just the fronts and doors although they tend to be the most noticeably dirty. When finished using the solution, use a dry rag to remove any excess water as too much water left behind can damage your cabinets and distort the color.

Cleaning the Interior of Cabinets

What You’ll Need :

1 – Vacuum
2 – Warm water and detergent
3 – 3 damp cloths

Starting at the top cabinet, remove any excess or old, frayed and discolored lining paper if necessary. You can use a vacuum to clean out any old crumbs or residue if there is a lot of buildup as well to make cleaning them easier. Then one by one wipe the interiors down with a compound made of warm water and a mild detergent. Rinse again with another damp washcloth and use a third to ensure that no excess water is left as that can damage the lining and wood itself if too much is left over. Repeat this process for each cabinet in the kitchen.

Removing Deep Grease Stains

What You’ll Need :

1 – Orange oil cleaner
2 – Cleaning rags
3 – Soft bristled brush
4 – Baking soda
5 – Water
6 – Magic eraser

If your cabinets are coated with a thick orange or yellowish substance, then there is likely a build up of deep grease stains that need to be taken care of. Use the orange oil cleaner and let that sit for 2-5 minutes before scrubbing it off with the rags, you may need to repeat this process at least two to three times before noticing a difference. If this isn’t working or if you wanted to clean them additionally, you can use a paste made up from the baking soda and water mixture to gently scrub the cabinet surface with a soft bristled toothbrush to help get in the hard to reach areas and crevices of the cabinets. If you’d like and depending on the type of finish your cabinet has, a magic eraser can be a good option but be warned that they are actually capable of scrubbing away the finish of your cabinets so test it on a hidden spot first to make sure you won’t do any damage to your cabinet’s finish.

Keeping your cabinets clean with regular washes and scrubbings will help prevent long-term and hard to clean build ups of grease and dust and if you do need a deeper clean for your cabinets, a common mixture of simple household compounds like orange oil cleaner or dish soap can help your cabinets looking as good as new even after years of use.