Q: How do you clean greasy kitchen cabinets without damaging them? Mine are wood veneer and unpainted. I always clean them with Murphy's oil soap, but that doesn't seem to cut through the grease.
A: Greasy residue is inevitable in any kitchen used for cooking rather than reheating ready meals. But removing dirt without damaging cabinets can be difficult, in part because you don't typically attempt to clean the wood yourself. If the surface is not worn, which is sometimes the case with door handles or drawer pulls, the grease is in the surface. But what kind of finish does it have? Some natural wood finish cabinets have a traditional oil finish such as tungsten or linseed. However, most have a clear coating, often over a stain. It can be alkyd varnish, polyurethane, varnish, acrylic, conversion varnish or others.
If your cabinets were manufactured by a company that is a member of the Kitchen Cabinet Manufacturers Association, you should be able to find a company code, usually on the inside of a door or drawer. You can then use a manufacturer locator on the organization's website ( kcma.org ) to get the company's contact details and advice on how best to clean the surface.
Otherwise, there are tests that can help you avoid damaging your cabinets.
Margaret Novak, who runs a Furniture Medic business with her family in Virginia ( restorefurniture.net ) that occasionally cleans kitchen cabinets, says the first step is to make sure the finish is intact. Pick a dirty spot and scratch it with a fingernail, she says. "If you scratch and the finish rubs off on bare wood, you know the cleaning will damage the finish." Unless you're ready to give the cabinets a makeover, skip the deep cleaning.
But if everything looks good, prepare a cleaning solution. Murphy oilseed soap is an option, but Christopher Brazie, a technical services specialist in Sherwin-Williams Co.'s industrial wood coatings division, says it's "one of the worst" options. Because it's difficult to properly rinse a cabinet door or drawer after cleaning, an oil-based soap is likely to leave an oily residue on the wood. "It acts like a magnet for dirt," he says, and you have to clean a lot more often.
Instead, she recommends using a clear detergent designed for hand dishwashing, like Dawn. Novak said she's had great results with Los Angeles Totally Awesome Concentrated All-Purpose Cleaner , which she gets from Dollar Tree ($1.25 for 20 ounces). Other stores, including Home Depot , also stock it.
Dilute the cleaner used; For LA, use ¼ cup of cleaner to 2½ cups of water. Dawn recommends adding a few drops of dish soap to a bowl of warm water for a general cleaning of the case. For stubborn spots, it is recommended to spray the cleaner directly onto a sponge or cloth while holding it under warm, running water. Test the cleaner on a small, inconspicuous area before cleaning anything. Allow the area to dry and examine under a bright light to ensure that the luster or color of the case has not changed.
Using warm water with the cleaner will help as the heat will soften the grease. But don't overheat the water and be careful when cleaning wood veneers. Heat and water can soften the glue used to bond veneer, and moisture can permanently warp chipboard, which is often used as a base for veneer.
Use a clean cloth or sponge to spread the cleaning solution. An old toothbrush can help get into corners. Avoid wetting the surface. Instead, clean a small area at a time and wring out the sponge or cloth before cleaning. Rinse dissolved cleaner and dirt from the area immediately with a cool, water-dampened cloth or sponge. Dry the area with a clean, soft cloth before tackling the next area. Microfiber towels or old terry towels work well as they can collect and trap a lot of moisture.
If these steps still leave dirty areas, you may want to repeat the cleaning. However, Novak recommends waiting between cleanings until the area is completely dry to protect against bringing in enough water to seep through the surface.
Be sure to clean high-touch areas of cabinets, Brazie said. In most kitchens, these are the front of the cutlery drawer and the cupboard doors that hold glasses and plates. The beauty of only using a mild, pH-balanced soap, like hand dish soap to protect skin, is that it's "intergenerational," meaning they should work and shouldn't do any harm if you have closets that are 50 are years old. . and covered with shellac or a few years old and refined with the latest lacquer technology.
Some people recommend cleaning cabinets with mineral spirits to remove greasy residue. It's fine with most cabinet surfaces, but mineral spirits can leave an oily residue and cause the same problems as oil soap, Brazie said. He doesn't recommend it.
Even after this two-step cleaning, the areas around the knobs and handles can still look dull or different from the surrounding wood. Cleaning cannot solve these problems, but careful touch-ups can. If you're not very skilled, you might want to hire a professional. Furniture Medic affiliates that offer the service typically charge $600 to $800 for deep cleaning of kitchen cabinets, Novak said, and repainting and refinishing exposed areas could add $30 per door or drawer. "It may seem expensive," he said, but it's actually the cheapest option for reviving a worn-out kitchen, and the process usually only takes a day or two.
If you think you're skilled enough to do the touch-ups yourself, check out the How to Touch-Up Cabinet Doors YouTube video, which ends in A to Zieg. It includes color-matched products from Mohawk Finishing Products, including Finishing Toner Spray ($10.08 for 13 ounces). Mohawk's website, mohawk-finishing.com , contains a color chart and a directory of stores that sell the products. Mohawk is primarily aimed at professionals, but offers consumers some of its more user-friendly products, such as B. Touch-up sticks in different wood colors and filling sticks for repairing scratches. These can also help restore cabinets to their best appearance.
A problem at home? Send your questions to localliving@washpost.com . Put "How To" in the subject line, let us know where you live and try to include a photo.
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