Getting newly installed cabinets is an exciting time. It gives your kitchen a brand new feel of new life and freshness. It also gives us the motivation to keep them looking that nice for as long as possible.

Kitchen cabinets take a beating. They get bangs, they get covered with dirty grimy hands, cooking grease, food particles, and if we aren’t careful, they start to look worn down too quickly.

Keeping them clean and in good repair extends their life and leaves them looking new.

Caring for Your New Cabinets

We often are excited about keeping something new looking so, but we do tend to forget after a while.

After Installation

Once the cabinets are newly installed, you will want to wipe them down, inside and out. Use a damp, clean cloth that won’t scratch the surface to remove any dust and hand smudges.

Don’t let the water sit on the surface if there is a lot. Wipe away the excess water so there is no streaking and it won’t cause the finish to blister or fade.

Regular Maintenance

It’s a good idea to give your cabinets a good cleaning every couple of weeks. You can use your soft, damp cloth to remove most stains or greasy build-up. If it is difficult to remove, use your mild dish soap with warm water.

If you have a particularly busy day in the kitchen, where you have more than your self and many appliances in use, give them a good cleaning afterward. When we are baking, chopping, stirring, grating, and performing many other vigorous activities, foodstuffs can get everywhere.

Be sure to look high and low. You never know how far that cake batter can fly. In particular, if you have kids cooking in the kitchen, be extra vigilant after.

Avoid strong soaps or harsh chemicals or hard brushes or scouring pads. This can scratch your surfaces and cause permanent damage. This includes:

• Bleach
• Ammonia
• Solvents
• Hard plastic brushes
• Harsh stain removers
• Steel wool
• Harsh waxes

Clean up spills right away. You don’t want the substance to stain the finish. Don’t rub too hard in case you cause damage to the wood.

If you do find nicks or scratches, you may need a touch-up kit. If not, you can ask your contractor for one or ask if they have any of the stain or finish that they used.

Avoid excessive moisture to the kitchen cabinets. This can come from inside the kitchen if you don’t have great ventilation or from the weather and humidity outside.

Try to keep the cabinets from sitting in direct sunlight. It can bleach out parts of the finish and the wood. More than bleaching, it can warp the wood if it gets too hot.

Be mindful of not slamming the doors too hard. Don’t lean on them or use the lower ones as s a stepping stool to reach something high up. Using your foot to close the lower cabinet doors is convenient when your hands are full, but you can cause a lot of damage and leave scuff marks from hard shoes.

Don’t let the kids swing on them or climb on them.

Ask Your Contractor

When it comes to your newly cabinets installed, ask your contractor for advice on keeping them clean and looking new.

Custom Cabinets by Lawrence take great pride in completing every step with you for your new cabinets. Different finishes will have different needs, so don’t be shy about asking about caring for your cabinets.

Contact us today for a consultation on your new custom cabinets or questions about your new ones.