How To: Kitchen Cabinets

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How To: Kitchen Cabinets

Beautiful kitchen cabinets really catch the eye—and just about everything that splatters, smears or spills. Here's how to clean kitchen cabinets like a pro.

Kitchen cabinets do more than hold dishes, pots, pans and all of your groceries. They hold dirt … and drips … and enough grease to fry a chicken. Yuck!

Before you start cleaning, determine which supplies you’ll use to take your cabinets from grimy to good as new. Choosing the appropriate cleaning product and tools will help you avoid damaging the finish on your cabinets.

Your cleaning process should take gravity into account, and that’s true whether you’re cleaning kitchen cabinets, wiping down your walls or dusting your whole house. As you clean your cabinets, dust and dirt are going to fall down. That’s why it’s smart to start high.

Begin by vacuuming the tops of the cabinet doors. If your cabinets do not reach the ceiling, you’ll have to clean the dusty cabinet tops too. A vacuum with a hose attachment or a microfiber cloth easily removes this dust. If the dust is mixed with grease, scrape it off.

Spray the surface with a mixture of equal parts white vinegar and warm water or a multi-surface cleaner. Allow it to work for a minute or two, then wipe it with a clean cloth. Repeat as needed.

Empty the cabinet, moving all of your glassware, dishes and other kitchen items to a dust-free location. Vacuum or wipe the inside of the cabinet to remove dust and food particles.

Lightly spray or wipe the outside of the cabinet doors with the cleaning solution. Allow it to sit for a minute or two, then wipe it with a microfiber cloth. You don’t want that cleaning solution sitting on your cabinets, so rinse them off with a damp cloth. Repeat the process to remove stubborn grease and spots.

How often you clean your kitchen cabinets depends on how often you cook and how frequently you fry foods in oil.

If you regularly cook in your kitchen, you’ll want to wipe down the outside of your cabinets and drawers once a week or at least every other week. They should be deep cleaned (cleaned inside and out) every three to 12 months, depending on how dirty they get.