Easiest Way To Clean Kitchen Cabinets

Easiest Way To Clean Kitchen Cabinets – What is the best way to clean kitchen cabinets? At first glance, it looks like a simple question with a basic solution. I certainly thought so. But after reading what the experts had to say, I was surprised that there are so many things that can be used to clean kitchen cabinets.

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Easiest Way To Clean Kitchen Cabinets

Of course, cleaning your kitchen cabinets is part of a clean home. But did you know that if properly cleaned and maintained, kitchen cabinets can last a long time—up to 50 years? Well, right? This lasts longer than most kitchen components, including appliances, countertops and kitchen sinks. Heck, he’s 50 years older than me, and I’m pretty old! 😉

How To Clean Kitchen Cabinets • Everyday Cheapskate

If you don’t take proper care of your kitchen cabinets, they may show wear and tear only after 20-30 years. And then you see the replacements…

Cabinet replacement can account for 60-70% of a kitchen makeover. Considering that the average kitchen remodeling total is about $24,000, that means about $15,000 will go toward kitchen cabinets.

So for me, that’s motivation enough to make sure I do my best to clean and maintain my kitchen cabinets.

My kitchen is what sold me on this house. I love kitchen cabinets. They are high quality Thomasville kitchen cabinets. The kitchen is what sold me on this house. The moment I walked in, I knew this place would be my new home.

How To Clean Kitchen Cabinets

But I’m tough in the kitchen. First of all, I’m a messy cook. And I have 3 precious monsters (sorry, I mean girls 😉) who love helping their mom make a mess in her kitchen. Greasy, greasy and sticky fingerprints can quickly grow to embarrassing proportions on kitchen cabinets. With a busy lifestyle, it is difficult to keep them clean all the time.

I’m not sure how old my cabinets are. Obviously they are not our original 1916 homes. The family we bought the house from indicates they haven’t done any major renovations, so we know they were installed before 2003.

That means they are approaching (or have reached) the 20 year mark when they start to wear and tear. I have to take proper care of them and make sure they make it to 50! So I looked to online cleaning experts to make sure I was cleaning my kitchen cabinets the best way.

The online sources I found varied from major cable networks and national cabinet makers to small-time bloggers. In alphabetical order, they are (roll a drum…)

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After reading expert posts, I was amazed at the different methods recommended for cleaning wooden kitchen cabinets.

The HGTV post “How to Clean Wood Cabinets” has two different strategies for dealing with kitchen cabinets: general and deep cleaning.

Mary Hunt, the writer behind Everyday Cheap, answered readers’ questions about what kind of cleaner to use on wood kitchen cabinets with this answer:

But she went ahead and recommended the following home remedies to clean these wooden kitchen cabinets. When clean, no additional polishing or protection is required.

How Should I Clean My Cabinets?

Blogger Vintage and Splendor has a recipe for the perfect way to clean your kitchen cabinets – without damaging them!

In their instructions for cleaning food grease from kitchen cabinets, Spruce takes a different approach than other sites because they focus more on products than home remedies, with one exception (I put it first).

The homeowner’s care and cleaning guide for this national kitchen cabinet manufacturer and retailer’s parent company offers the following cleaning tips.

You’ll find that some home solutions for cleaning wooden kitchen cabinets contain vinegar and/or olive oil. Before I started this blog, I bought all my cleaning products at the store. But as I researched cleaning my house, vinegar seemed like a good choice for household cleaning products. It is usually found indoors, is inexpensive, natural, and resistant to bacteria, mold, and dirt.

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But interestingly, there seems to be an argument against using vinegar and olive oil to clean wooden kitchen cabinets. According to cleaning experts at Spring Cottage, vinegar and oil are not good choices for cleaning wooden kitchen cabinets. Why?

Are Vinegar and Olive Oil Good or Bad for Kitchen Cabinets? Honestly, I don’t know what you’re thinking.

These 5 options are completely different to my wood kitchen cabinet cleaners. For years I’ve automatically gone to one of my favorite products for cleaning wood kitchen cabinets – Murphy’s Oil Soap. I use diluted Murphy’s Oil Soap all over the house – clean wood floors in my house and clean wood trim and baseboards.

So I’m surprised none of the experts took Murphy’s oil soap directly. I just went to the website of Colgate-Palmolive, the makers of MurphyOil soap. And I’m using the wrong product. Well, kind of wrong.

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Although I only use Murphy’s Oil Soap to clean and grease my kitchen cabinets, I have to use it in a two-step process. MurphyOil Soapis intended to restore the wood’s natural shine after the initial layer of dirt and grime has been removed.

To get my point across and find the best way to clean wood kitchen cabinets, I decided to try all the cleaning methods on one of my kitchen cabinets.

I’ve tried HGTV’s vinegar/water mixture and an inexpensive olive oil/vinegar/water mixture for general cleaning. While they both do a great job of cleaning my closets, I’ve always struggled with the vinegar smell. It reminded me of Easter when I used vinegar to paint the eggs.

Next, I tried the grape and apricot baking soda/toothpaste/water mixture. Although the smell is more delicious, the smell of toothpaste reminds me that I need to call my dentist for a check-up. I think some people really like this approach, but it’s not for me. Again, like HGTV and the Daily Cheapskate, it cleaned the grease and makeup off my closets.

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Spruce. If you remember, The Spruce Go Gone recommends several commercial cleaners, including Orange Oil Cleaner and Canruaba Wax. Goo Gone I’ve used it a few times on DIY projects, removing stubborn glue and restoring an old wooden bench. It is an effective and powerful stain remover.

But for general cleaning, I prefer soapy water to the back of an old dish. (This is the method recommended by Thomasville, who made my kitchen cabinets). Why? After thinking about it, it makes sense. Detergent is an alkaline product that effectively removes grease. Most of the dirt on my cabinets comes from oil or food. If my pots and pans have dish soap that can cut this stuff, it should work on your cabinets too.

Wait a minute… isn’t that a sign of dawn at some point? Insert “Zoria Takes the Oil” 1990s dish soap ad here…

(Side note for those who remember the 1980’s and 1990’s – think of the Blue Vest actress as Andrea Zuckerman from Beverly Hills 90210….okay?).

Popular Kitchen Cabinet Materials

My favorite way to clean kitchen cabinets is to use a mixture of Dawn dish soap to remove grease, followed by a final rinse with Murphy’s Oil Soap. I call this the “Thomasville/Spruce Addition” method.

For general cleaning, I combine 8 cups of water with 1/2 teaspoon of dawn soap in 1 cup of hot water. I scrubbed the cabinets with my favorite sponge (Scotch-Brite Heavy Duty Scrub Sponge). I brushed with an old toothbrush on areas that needed special attention due to oil or makeup or intricate cabinet details.

If you try this, if your cabinets are slightly soapy, wipe them down with a cloth soaked in warm water.

But here’s a change. I’ve added a quick step below. I filled a bucket with about 1 gallon of water and 1/4 cup of Murphy’s Oil Soap (according to the bottle directions) and gave the cabinets a final rinse of that shiny and much-missed oil soap smell.

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What did I do in the end? These are amazing cabinets, all clean and shiny with rich wood tones!

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Being at home can be one of the most rewarding things in life. But owning a home can also be difficult and stressful, especially in older homes.

Hello! I’m Jen, a “daily” owner on duty

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