After you have your kitchen cabinets installed, you are going to want to keep them looking and feeling new for as long as possible. Luckily, it’s not so hard to keep them looking beautifully. That’s especially true if you follow some specific rules when it comes to keeping them clean, shiny and looking like new.
Clean consistently
It is recommended that you wipe down your best kitchen cabinets and knobs once every three days or so. Cleaning your kitchen in a consistent sense makes your job a lot easier compared to cleaning it once every couple of weeks.
The primary reason why consistent cleaning is vastly beneficial to you is because it doesn’t give given stains time to set and solidify. By regularly cleaning your cabinets, you can prevent the buildup of stains that can lead to long-term damage and discoloration.
Avoid harsh chemicals
While you should be cleaning consistently, make sure not to use corrosive chemicals. Any clean products that contain chemicals such as ammonia will damage your wood finish and actually lead to the premature aging of your cabinets. If you do need to break down stains with corrosive chemicals, make sure to spray onto a rag first and then screen so the chemicals are not coming in any direct contact with your wood surface.
In fact, it is typically best to use natural cleaners to clean your cabinets.
Make sure your cabinets close properly
Go through your cabinets and make sure they are all closing properly. If they are not closing all the way, dust and dirt and end up getting into cracks and build up inside your cabinets. After a while, this may not only create an unsightly build up, but an unsanitary one as well.
Avoid moisture
You are going to want to keep moisture away from your cabinets as much as you can. For example, hanging a damp cleaning rag from one of your wooden cabinets is a very bad idea. No matter how many coats of paint or primer a cabinet has, the wood could steal wear and rot if it is consistently exposed to water.
Don’t slam cabinets
There’s probably a “no door slamming” policy in your house, but can you say the same about the cabinets in your house? Often, it goes unnoticed when a cabinet is slammed, but over time a slamming cabinet can break them down. It can lead to dips and chips on the inside of your cabinet.
Wax on wax off
It is definitely not a bad idea to consider waxing your cabinets every six months or so. Waxing your wood cabinets provides a protective barrier on your cabinets so that oils, steam and other debris do not build up on the cabinets over time. If that build up does occur, it can lead to permanent discoloration or dulling of the pain.
Any wood furniture wax that meets your standards of quality should do the trick. For even distribution, make sure to spray wax onto a cleaning rag and then apply all over the surface of your kitchen cabinets.
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