How to Clean Wood Cabinets – Tips for Effectively Cleaning Cabinets and Make the Shine

Gone are the days when wooden cabinets were considered only storage units. In the contemporary interior, they have become a decorative piece of furniture that can also be used as a storage unit. Nevertheless, with time they can become dingy and dirty. Painful, isn’t it? Relax! Here is an article about how to clean wood cabinets to help you manage a clean and shiny home interior. 

Wood cabinets are the perfect choice to make the interior of your house shine out. Wood cabinets in our house go through a lot every day with dust and dirt that leads to building up over time.

Now the question is how to clean wood cabinets and make them shine? It is difficult to clean greasy residue stuck to the wooden cabinets. However, there are some ways to clean wood cabinets to restore the shine and make them look new. 

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How to Clean Wood Cabinets

When it comes to cleaning your house, you need to clean tile floors, bathrooms, and everything to make sure the home is clean. If the wood cabinets in your house look dirty and greasy, then it is time to clean them and restore their shine. Here are some tips on how to clean wood cabinets that can help you to manage a clean and shiny house. 

DIY Vinegar Wash

How to clean cabinets and make them shine? A vinegar solution is a non-toxic and best way to clean the wood cabinet. Vinegar not only acts as a wood cabinet cleaner but is also an effective natural disinfectant. It means it will kill all the bacteria on the wood cabinet while cleaning them. You can also use this remedy to clean kitchen cabinets.

• Mix one cup of white vinegar and one cup of water. 
• Put it in a spray bottle and shake to mix. 
• Spray it on the wood cabinets and let it sit for some time. 
• Wipe it off using a sponge or microfiber cloth. 

Pro Tip – Vinegar is an acid, so make sure to mix it with equal quantities of water in order to avoid any type of damage to your cabinets. 

DIY Baking Soda Cleaner

Baking soda is a versatile ingredient that can be used for cleaning. It neutralizes odor and effectively cleans the cabinets, making them shine. It can help to remove stains while eliminating foul odors. Baking soda is mildly abrasive, which helps to remove the dried substance. 

• Make a paste by mixing baking soda with sufficient amounts of water. 
• Dip a clean cotton cloth into the paste and scrub off the caked substance using the cloth.
• In case the substance is hard, apply the paste on it and let it sit for around 15 minutes. 
•  Scrub it off using a clean cloth.

Pro Tip – Avoid harsh scrubbing or using a spatula to remove the substance. It can cause scratching. 

Hot Water and Dish Soap

How to clean cabinets and make them shine? Stop buying expensive wood cabinet cleaners as the solution is already present in your home. All you need to make a cabinet cleaner is dish soap and hot water. Dish soap is an alkaline-based solution that can effectively clean grease. Trust me; it is the perfect answer to the question of how to clean wood cabinets.

• Mix a squirt dish soap into a bucket of hot water.
• Spray it on the wood cabinet and let it sit for some time. 
• Use a nylon scouring pad to scrub teh cabinet grease. 
• Make sure to keep the water hot and use light pressure while cleaning with the nylon pad. 
• When done cleaning, rinse and dry the cabinets.

Pro Tip – Do not apply pressure while scrubbing with a nylon pad to avoid scratching. 

Oil Soap

Sometimes natural methods are not enough for cleaning wood cabinets. It leads to the question of how to clean wood cabinets? There are some commercial wood cabinet cleaners effective enough to clean wood cabinets adequately. 

You can use oil soap to clean tough grease. It is the best way to clean wood cabinets and get rid of stains and dirt. This cabinet cleaner can remove caked substances without damaging the cabinet. 

• Spray some oil soap on the greasy and caked-on areas. 
• Cover the whole area.
• Use a cotton wipe or rag to do the cleaning.
• Gently scrub and wipe the greasy area.

Use Orange Oil Cleaner

If your wood cabinets are really dirty and grimy, then you can use an orange oil cleaner. Orange oil has antifungal and antibacterial properties. It can also remove the stubborn stains on the surface. Orange oil not only cleans grease and dust but also eliminates disease-causing germs which makes it an ideal wood cabinet cleaner.

• Spray the orange oil cleaner on the dirty and greasy wood cabinet. 
• Let it sit for around ten minutes.
• Wipe the cleaner off with a damp and warm microfiber cloth. 
• Wipe down the remaining cleaner using water to reveal a stain-free and clean cabinet. 

Deep Clean Wood Cabinet Hardware

Cleaning the cabinets is incomplete without cleaning the hardware. The cabinet hardware in the house can be the dirtiest items with a lot of germs on them. Different hands touch them multiple times a day, which can make the cabinet hardware dirtier. Therefore it is essential to deep clean the wood cabinet hardware. 

• Mix a spoon of dish soap in a glass of hot water.
• Put it in a spray bottle and shake it well.
• Spray the solution on the hardware.
• Let it sit for 5-10 minutes. 
• Use a toothbrush to scrub the knobs and handles. 
• Wipe off the handles and knobs using a damp clean cotton cloth. 

Use Polish to Restore Shine

How to clean wood cabinets? Now that you know the answer to this question. The next step is to restore shine to your wood cabinets. For this purpose, use furniture wax or polish after cleaning. 

A polished cabinet will give a lustrous and warm look to your house. Most polishes leave either a low luster or high shine; therefore, make sure to choose the polish that perfectly suits your home’s interior. 

• Rub the wooden oil all over the cabinet exterior. 
• Make sure to cover all the small areas. 
• Apply polish while working in four or five-inch areas in order to ensure that the entire surface is covered properly. 
• Rub the polish gently in a circular motion. 

Tips to Manage Clean Wood Cabinets

• Regularly dust the cabinets.
• Clean Inside of the cabinets Regularly.
• In the case of spilly, immediately clean them with a clean microfiber cloth to avoid building up greasy substance. 
• Never skip periodic deep cleaning.
• Disinfect wood cabinets and interiors regularly. 

Final Words

Cleaning wood cabinets in your home is an essential part of cleaning. If you do not clean wood cabinets in your room or drawing room for a long time, it can cause the development of greasy material on them and can make them look dirty. Now that you know how to clean wood cabinets make sure to clean them regularly to manage a shining home. If you find this information helpful, tell us by dropping a comment.