Spills happen. We all know that it is inevitable that one day you are going to have a big mess in your beautiful new kitchen and you are going to have to clean up the food that your toddler sprayed across your cupboard doors. But what is the best way to go about that and not lose the shiny new look of your kitchen?
Most manufacturers will tell you that you don’t have to do anything with your finish to keep it looking like new. However, we at Bigstone Custom Cabinets have always found that a little bit of extra care goes a long ways. In fact, we have been in kitchens that we did 20 years ago and they still look brand new because the owner has taken care of their cabinets.
An important thing to remember is to be aware of what cleaning products you are using when cleaning your kitchen. Harsh chemicals are almost always overkill. Specifically ammonia is very bad for your cabinet’s finish. So do not use cleaners with ammonia in them. Examples of cleaners that have ammonia would be Windex (and any other glass cleaner), many multipurpose cleaners (such as no name disinfecting wipes), oven and drain cleaners and shining waxes.
In fact the best thing we find is to just use warm water with a mild soap to wash your cabinets and then dry them thoroughly after. This will be effective in removing any gunk you might get on them without damaging your kitchen’s finish. Also, try to always clean up as soon after the mess as possible so that things don’t dry onto your cabinets. While this isn’t always possible in our messy lives, it will make the cleanup easier.
Another thing we recommend is to use a paste wax to help keep moisture out of your wood. Our video will show you a bit more about that.
