How to Clean White Cabinets

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It is easy to clean white cabinets.
Image Credit: Serghei Starus/iStock/GettyImages

White kitchen cabinets are in vogue and offer your space a clean, fresh look that works well with a variety of colors and styles. Over time, you may notice your white cabinets look yellow or that they have collected dust, grime or grease from years of use. Fortunately, it is fairly easy to get cabinets looking cleaning once again with the proper tools.

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Cabinet Cleaner Basics

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The way you clean your white cabinets is quite dependent on what has made them dirty. If the cabinets that are above your stove look dirty, they may be covered in grease and grime from food splatter and pots that have boiled over.

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You can start by cleaning kitchen cabinets with Dawn or another mild dish soap. When mixed with water and applied on a paper towel, dish soap is a good first step to cleaning your white cabinets. The soap attaches to grease and fats and pulls from away from the surface. Use a bristled brush if need to be get a deeper clean.

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You can also try using equal parts white vinegar and water, mixed together in a spray bottle. Spritz the surface of the cabinets until they are damp and then wipe away the liquid with a soft cloth. It may take several passes, but vinegar is a powerful cleaning tool and can help strip layers of dirt and grime from your crisp white surfaces.

Cleaning Laminate Cabinets

Some cabinets are not just wood painted white, but rather are made from laminate and may require special care. The best way to clean white kitchen cupboards varies depending on the material they are made from.

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To clean white laminate cabinets, create a mixture of 1 tablespoon baking soda and 1 gallon of warm water. Allow the baking soda to dissolve in the water. Then, use a soft cloth to rub the mixture on to the cabinets to scour away grime and stains.

As you go, be sure to ring out the cloth so that excess water is not left on the cabinet doors. Laminate and particleboard can be extremely sensitive to water.

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Protect Cabinets From Damage

To help protect your cabinets from yellowing in the first place, you can try to install shades in your kitchen. Certain materials, including laminate, may turn yellow in the sunlight. Dwell states you can also use tinted windows to block harmful UV rays from your cabinetry.

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Grease, even small particles within steam, is a major cause of discoloration in your cabinetry. Use an exhaust fan to keep this damage at bay. A. G. Williams Painting suggests planning to wipe down your white cabinets once per month to remove surface stains that you might not even have noticed yet.

Depending on the surface of your cabinets, you might wish to avoid abrasive sponges. Painted cabinets can be easily damaged, and the paint can be stripped if you use a scouring pad or another coarse surface.

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