Guelph Handyman: Maintain Your Kitchen Cabinets Using These 5 Tips

The kitchen is the undeniable heart of the home. It is where you cook meals, prepare your children’s lunches, and likely share family conversations. It is the home’s most used and treasured room, which is why cleanliness and upkeep matter. Your countertops, floors, devices, and Guelph kitchen cabinets make the kitchen functional.

Kitchen cabinets represent a significant amount of storage space in your home. Unfortunately, cabinets are also more susceptible to damage than other kitchen elements. Thankfully, there are many ways to ensure a cabinet’s longevity.

1. Daily Cleaning

No one enjoys adding extra work to their plate, especially when it is a daily task, but your cabinets need regular wipe-downs. Spending hours wiping down cabinets is unnecessary. Daily cleaning can be as simple as mixing a bucket of warm water and a dab of mild dish soap, dampening a rag, and wiping down all the surfaces in only a few minutes.

When you finish washing the cabinets, you will need to take a dry towel and remove any excess moisture. Also, once a month, wipe down all pulls and knobs.

2. Keep Water and Moisture Away

Ask any handyman near me, and they will tell you that moisture is the number one enemy of your cabinets. Too often, people drape damp clothes over knobs or drawer pulls and wonder why the cabinet finish and surface are bubbling or warping. Despite sitting in a moisture-rich environment, manufacturers do not design cabinetry for direct or prolonged contact with water.

While it might seem hopeless, there are many things you can do to protect your cabinets. The most common practices include:

• Using the exhaust fan while cooking
• Using a splatter screen
• Installing lining in cabinets
• Ensuring dishes are dry before putting them away

3. Avoid Heat Damage

Appliances like microwaves and ovens can give off tremendous heat. Proper installation is vital to reducing the risks of heat damage. If you do not install or vent the microwave correctly, it can cause damage, including warping and discolouration.

A self-cleaning oven can also cause significant damage to surrounding cabinetry. The self-cleaning process relies on intense heat that inevitably affects the cabinets to the right and left of the oven. Removing cabinet doors is the best way to reduce the risk of damage. Most kitchen cabinets come with quick-release hinges, making removal a breeze.

4. Avoid Sun Damage

Everyone wants a bright home, one with a lot of natural light. While it is nice to have sunlight pouring into your home, it can become problematic.

Kitchen cabinets are susceptible to sun damage. Typical results of sun damage include discolouration and irregular fading.

If you want to protect your cabinet, invest in window coverings. You do not have to keep blinds or curtains closed all the time, only when the sun is especially bright.

A bonus of using window coverings is they will save you money on your heating and cooling costs. In the summer, keeping shades drawn will keep the sun out and the cool in. In the winter, curtains help keep the heat in.

5. Keep Them Organized

It might seem like cabinets are a perfect place to hide clutter, but hiding too much or storing things improperly can lead to damage. For example, putting heavy objects in upper cabinets can strain anchor points unnecessarily, causing the cabinets to pull away from the wall. Also, storing chipped plates and mugs can cause gouges and scratches in a cupboard’s finish.

Keeping shelves organized, storing items in appropriate locations, and eliminating excess can protect your cabinets from premature wear. Still, wear and tear are inevitable.

Are your cabinets looking a little worse for wear, or are you considering upgrading to newer cupboards? Contact Handyman Connection and schedule a kitchen assessment.