CARE AND CLEANING

How Should You Care For Your Cabinets?

Moisture – Moisture, or more commonly, water from a leak, can permanently damage some cabinets if not cleaned up immediately.  This is the number one reason why people change their cabinets.  Most cabinets, especially the kind that you find at the big box stores and even from well known manufacturers like Kraftmaid and Merrilat, are made out of particle board.  Particle board is the process of taking wood chips, sawmill shavings or even saw dust and compressing them into sheets which is held together with glue or some other type of resin.  This “manufactured wood”, as those manufacturers like to refer to it as, acts like a sponge.  When exposed to moisture, they tend to “wick” it up so that it spreads into the entire structure.  For this reason, minor leaks under the sink, icemaker or dishwasher line, can be catastrophic to particle board cabinets.

Cabinets made from plywood however, do not react the same way because they use thin sheets or “plys” of wood that are then glued together to make up the entire piece of plywood.  Because of this fact, plywood will not swell up like particle board when exposed to moisture.  Plywood also incorporates wood veneer on all exposed sides, which is a thin piece of real wood.  Referring back to Section 3 - “Stained”, we learned that particle board cabinets tend to use a paper film that does not change color like the natural beauty of wood.

Cleaning Products to Use and NOT to Use – Usually some warm soapy water is all that you will ever need to clean your cabinets.  Sometimes however, the job may seem to be more suited for a commercial cleaner.  Most mild household cleaners are safe to use on cabinets, however cleaners that contain abrasives, such as powdered cleaners and scouring pads, should be avoided.  Avoid using Magic Eraser type cleaning sponges on your cabinets as they tend to remove the finish.

Polishing – Furniture polish may be applied to help keep the lustrous finish looking great for many years.