Cabinet Maintenance 101: Keeping Your Investment Beautiful
Cabinetry is an essential and beautiful element of your kitchen or bathroom and an investment. Properly maintaining and caring for your cabinetry can ensure it looks as good as new for years to come. This blog post discusses cleaning tips, handling wear and tear, and recommendations for the best cabinet finishes for your home.
Maintenance and Care
Tedd Wood Fine Cabinetry recommends using cleaners with a degreasing agent. When selecting a cleanser, check the label to ensure it does not contain silicone. Although silicone won’t necessarily damage your cabinets, it will limit the repairs you can make in the future. Silicone can have a repellent effect on the aerosol in repair kits.
Although washing with soap and water is a go-to for many home messes, it isn’t recommended for cabinetry. Soap can leave a film that, if left on the surface for too long, can cause damage to the finish. If your cabinets have experienced a water spill or are wet due to an overly humid environment, dry them immediately.
A Tip for Wood Cabinets: It takes approximately six months for cabinet finishes to cure fully. This means until this time, the finish has yet to reach peak performance. During this time, it is essential not to exceed the recommended weight limits on your cabinetry and to be cautious about causing scratches.
Handling Wear and Tear
Filling is the most popular option when handling wear and tear to your cabinets. This is needed when your cabinet has a hole or ding. The most popular choice for filling is using an all-purpose Wood Filler. They come in many colors, which appear when they dry. You can sand and re-stain that area to restore your cabinet when this happens. After this is complete, you can apply acrylic lacquer to seal the area and create a similar sheen to the rest of the cabinets.
If the damage to your cabinet is a small, chipped area, filling may not be necessary. Instead, you can use a Felt Tip Pen or Patchall Pencil in a matching color.
Cabinet Finishes
According to design expert Donna Revens from our Nashua Home Design Center showroom, “A clear natural wood finish is very durable and will require the least amount of effort to maintain. Wood finishes with a stain applied are rather easy to maintain as well. If your stain is much darker, this might require occasional touch-ups with the kit provided by the manufacturer.
“If you are in love with an opaque painted finish, be aware that this may need a little bit more attention than some wood finishes. Painted finishes, even the best ones, are more prone to chipping and marking than natural wood and stained finishes. A manufacturer's touch-up kit, provided with your cabinet purchase, is a useful tool for a painted finish.”