Cleaning Kitchen Cabinets: A Short How-To Guide

Dust. Mold. Grime. Bacteria. Fungi. Things collecting in your cabinets, in the corners, nooks, and crannies- the places that your eyes don’t see and your fingers don’t touch. The very places where you place your food, dinnerware, and plate ware. This is the cause of illnesses, infections, and poor health. And, unless you’re prepared to get down and dirty, it’s not going anywhere.

If you’ve decided that the time has come for you to clean your cabinets it’s probably not a moment too soon. The amount of bacteria and other microscopic infestations that can flourish in your cabinets is nothing short of sickening, and without proper warning you can become ill as a result.

So, what can you do?

1. Remove all cutlery, dinnerware, and food from the cabinets in question.

Place everything on your kitchen table and run all the dishes through the dishwasher. You’re going to want to sanitize everything at least every couple of months, and that includes the utensils that you eat from and the plates that you eat off of.

2. Arm yourself.

You’re going to want to have every possible tool at your disposal to make cleaning your cabinets an easy and stress free experience. Do not use anything abrasive (steel wool or scrubbing pads), as you don’t want to scratch and scuff your cabinets.

You will need some kind of disinfectant (I use a solution of bleach and water), a cleaning agent (soap and water tends to do it for me), and some soft cloths and sponges. Make sure that everything is prepared and ready to go – cleaning your cabinets can quickly become an all-day experience if you aren’t thoroughly prepared.

3. Strip the cabinets.

Take off the doors and mounting hardware and ensure that everything is thoroughly cleaned. Having the mounting hardware/doors removed will make it easier to clean those individual pieces as well as the interior of the cabinets.

The fewer things that you have in your way the easier this job becomes.

4. Scrub the place down.

Get rid of all of the sticky gunk with the soap and water solution and wipe off the cabinet surfaces with a dry towel after. Once you have thoroughly dried everything it is time to disinfect. I prefer to use a spray bottle and spray a 60/40 water/bleach combination and then wipe it off with a wet towel (followed by a dry towel), though you may find it preferable to use a commercial grade disinfectant.

The key here is to make sure that no bleach is left over on any surfaces- you sure don’t want to be eating that! Also, do not forget on top of the cabinets.

5. Disinfect everything.

Leave no stone unturned! Make sure that every single crevice has been disinfected. If you don’t the bacteria/germs will simply regroup with time, forcing you to take on this project again. I prefer to do two “passes” with the disinfectant to make sure that I got everything.

Once you have sterilized the dishes it is then okay to place them back in the cabinet.

You’ll want to really clean everything at least once every few months. Remember to make sure that you are scrubbing everything off fairly regularly, and when the time comes for a serious clean/disinfection your job will be that much easier.