How to Use Awesome Orange Degreaser to Clean Kitchen Wood Cabinets

They are affordable, attractive and fairly common. Wood kitchen cabinets are a staple in homes across the world. But what makes them so attractive can also be their downfall. The natural beauty of wood can get covered in dirt and grease that clings to the porous surface.

The best way to clean wood kitchen cabinets that are covered in layers of old grime and grease is by using a good commercial or homemade degreaser for wood. These are gentle enough to use on the porous surface, yet strong enough to take down years of yuck on kitchen and bathroom cabinets.

Citrus is a natural degreaser. The limonene in the citrus peels cleans, disinfects and takes down stains and grease easily. Because of this Awesome Orange degreaser is able to get the grease out of wood kitchen cabinets quickly.

Before applying the citrus-based cleaner, the cabinets should first be wiped down thoroughly. This will remove the first layer of daily dust and dirt that can collect on the cupboards. This also allows the Awesome Orange degreaser to get to work on the tougher streaks of grease and grime without having to cut through the dusty top layer.

Apply the Awesome Orange degreaser with a damp sponge or spray directly onto the greasy cabinet surface. For truly grimy kitchen cabinets, allow the degreaser to sit on the surface for a good 20 minutes before wiping away with a clean, damp cloth. Always wick away any leftover moisture so that it doesn't sit on the wood cabinet's surface and cause warping, discoloration or other damage to the facade.

Greasy kitchen cabinets can also emit an acrid odor. Add smoke from cigarettes, pet dander and other every day odors to the mix, and the cabinets can reek from lack of a good scrubbing. Using backing soda to clean cabinets not only gets rid of the caked-on dirt and grease, but also acts as a natural deodorizer.

A mix of baking soda and plain, warm water can remove dirt, odors and troubling stains from the surface of the cabinet, according to the Maid Brigade. Mix enough baking soda to make a paste and apply it to the surface of the cabinet. For globs of tomato sauce or splatters of oil, leave the paste on the stains for up to an hour to loosen the hardened substances.

Carefully clean the baking soda paste from the cabinet with a damp sponge or cloth. Follow this up by wiping down the cabinet with a mix of 1 gallon of warm water and 1 tablespoon of mild dish detergent. This will thoroughly clean the cabinets and remove any baking soda residue. Buff the cabinets dry with a clean cloth and repeat, if necessary, on stubborn areas.

A simple and effective cleaner is 1 tablespoon of Dawn dish soap mixed with a 1/4 cup of vinegar and 2 gallons of hot water. The Dawn detergent will wick away dirt and grime on the cabinet surface, while the vinegar will cut through globs of grease.

Scrub the cabinets well with a non-abrasive sponge. The experts at Dawn recommend that this process is repeated until the cabinets sparkle. Wash the detergent away with warm water and wipe down with a clean cloth until the cabinet surface is completely dry.