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If you’ve waited a long-time for your kitchen remodel, you want the results to last. It’s so refreshing to enter a kitchen that’s clean, beautiful, and well-designed, it’s important to keep that feeling for as long as possible.
While time will inevitably march on and the new kitchen vibes will wear off, you can keep your kitchen looking stunning by keeping up with some basic maintenance. A little prevention and consistent care can go a long way to making sure your kitchen cabinets will last.
Here are 7 tips to keep your new kitchen cabinets in tip-top shape:
1) Be Kind to Your Cabinets
They may not be living feeling beings, but your cabinets are sensitive to stresses in their environment. And, unfortunately, many cabinets get abused by the people in the house.
Understandably, when you’re rushing around your kitchen trying to prepare meals and entertain others, you’re probably not too thinking much about your cabinets. But do try to pay enough attention to treat your cabinets with care.
Please don’t kick, hit, or slam your cabinets shut. Even leaning against the same spot with too much pressure can lead to your cabinets becoming warped or dented.
2) Avoid “Excesses” When You Cook
Some cooking feats require extremes, such as extreme heat, extreme steam, or extreme smoke. While excess can be ok in small doses, too much is just…well, excessive.
Unfortunately, too much exposure to excessive heat, excessive cold, or excessive moisture can discolor or potentially even damage the surface of your cabinets. So, as for most things in life, aim for moderation in your kitchen.
3) Don’t be Abrasive
While your new wooden cabinets may have been designed to by sturdy and durable, they can still get scratched and nicked by sharp objects.
For this reason, try to keep the pointy ends of your sharp cooking utensils away from the surface of your cabinets. Also, you don’t want to use an abrasive sponge or cleaning pad on your cabinets in order to prevent scratching.
4) Use a Hood Fan
When you’re cooking, it’s common for grease to be released into the air, and this grease can stick to your cabinets and create quite a mess over time. Luckily, by using a hood fan, you can minimize the mess.
A powerful hood fan will pull smoke, gas, grease, steam, and other by-products of the cooking process out of your kitchen and away from your beautiful kitchen cabinets.
5) Keep Away from Open Flames
In general, you want to keep your cabinets away from the effects of any open flames. While a hood fan will help you do this for flames from the stove, be observant about other forms of fire.
For example, many people enjoy lighting candles in the kitchen for the atmospheric effect, but you can preserve the surface of your cabinets better over the long-term if you keep the open flames away from your cabinetry.
6) Try Gentler Cleansers
If your cabinets get dirty, you might be tempted to use harsh chemicals like bleach or ammonia to try to sanitize them. Unfortunately, these harsh cleansers can ultimately damage your cabinets in the long-run.
When it’s time to wipe down your cabinets, just try a soft cloth with water and a mild detergent to do the job.
7) Clean Regularly
While we’re on the subject of cleaning, it will be easier to maintain your cabinets for the long-term if you make a point to clean them consistently.
If your meal preparation turns into a kitchen experiment gone awry, be sure to clean up any mess on your cabinets as quickly as possible. Otherwise, by wiping down your cabinets at least once weekly / bi-weekly, you can keep cabinetry maintained for long-lasting use.
Ready to just start fresh? At a certain point, cabinets do become worn and dated. Or maybe you’ll just feel better starting with a blank slate. When you’re ready for a new set of cabinets, be sure to get in touch with our team here at RTA Wood cabinets.
Our assembled and ready-to-assemble cabinetry is made with quality construction and materials so it can last for many years if you treat it well. We even offer a FREE kitchen design consultation to make sure you optimize the layout of your space. Get yours by giving us a call today at: 877-247-6918.