Rid your kitchen cabinets of grease marks, dirt and grime and keep them looking as fresh as the day they were installed with some simple, yet effective painted kitchen cleaning tips. Get the handy hints you need right here from an expert hand painted kitchens team.
Freshly painted cabinets can provide the ultimate facelift to a kitchen. But just like any new improvement, it is important to nurture the refreshed appearance with proper maintenance as well. So, how exactly do you keep up the new look? Our experts at Highlands Hand Painting have put together a few painted kitchen cleaning tips to help you with the job at hand.
Keep your painted kitchen looking immaculate with these painted kitchen cleaning tips
No matter how hard or gentle you treat your kitchen, over time it will succumb to the remnants of cooking with grease, heat and steam, and all the extras like dirty fingers and sticky sauces, because it is a kitchen after all. But with the right advice and trusty tools it is quite simple to keep up a sparkling clean appearance on your painted kitchen cabinets.
#1 Painted Kitchen Cleaning Tip – What Type of Cloth is Best?
Firstly, it is important to note that when we refer to “cloth” in our painted kitchen cleaning tips, we mean a good quality microfibre cleaning cloth. If you have any other cleaning cloths in your kitchen stash, please do not use those on your painted cabinets. Microfibre cloths promote good absorption and are generally effective for any scrubbing efforts, without being abrasive.
#2 Painted Kitchen Cleaning Tip – What Cleaning Solution Do We Recommend?
The majority of our cleaning solution is best attributed to Mother Nature – and, it’s water! The rest is a gentle formula of dish washing liquid, baking soda, and white vinegar, all which can be purchased for very minimal outlay. Furthermore, the ingredients for our painted kitchen cleaning solution contain no harsh chemicals and are also easily accessible – there is no need for a special retailer or trying to source a product that is always out of stock!
Painted kitchen cleaning tips – cleaning solution:
- 1 cup white vinegar (standard, cooking white vinegar is perfectly fine)
- 3 tablespoons baking soda (which is kind to the environment and non-toxic)
- 2 teaspoons dish washing liquid (to help cut through any grease and oil marks)
- 3 cups water (use warm water to help cut through grease and dissolve the baking soda more efficiently)
Mix together the cleaning solution until the baking soda is all dissolved. If you are only cleaning a small area, you might like to cut the solution down by half.
Once your cleaning solution is ready to go, simply follow the below method:
- Firstly, we recommend that you test your cleaning solution on a small, inconspicuous section of your cabinets. Although our cleaning formula is gentle and non-abrasive, this will ensure that it does not discolour any paint, especially on older surfaces.
- Once your solution is tested, and for ease of application, pour some of the solution into a spray bottle. Spray it directly onto your cabinets and let it soak until the next step.
- Using the remaining cleaning solution, soak your cloth and wring it out so that it is just damp, not dripping wet.
- Then get to work on cleaning your cabinets – scrub the cabinets with the cloth in a circular motion.
- Using another cloth and warm water, wipe over the cabinets to remove any residual cleaning solution.
- Go back over the cabinets again with a third, dry cloth to buff them clean. Ensure there is no solution left sitting on the cabinets, as we want to alleviate any potential of damage to the painted surface.
When you are done cleaning your cabinets, you can simply discard the solution down the sink as it is completely safe for plumbing systems and can often help to give the pipes a clean too. Most microfibre cleaning cloths can be laundered and used over again.
To maintain the fresh look, we recommend cleaning your kitchen cabinets with this method at least twice a month, or more often if there is an obvious mess or splatter to clean up. Of course, you’ll want to give it regular wipes downs with a damp cloth as you use the space in between those times too. But a regular fortnightly routine will help to keep any build up in check and keep your painted cabinets in great condition.
#3 Painted Kitchen Cleaning Tip – Formula for Stubborn Stains
If you come across a stain or mark that is proving a little more tough to move, we have a solution for that too! The best part is that you can use the same ingredients as the standard cleaning solution, just change it up a little bit:
- 2 parts baking soda
- 1 part warm water
- 2 – 3 drops of dish washing liquid
Mix the ingredients together, then dab your damp cloth into the mixture to get enough on it to apply to the stain. Work the paste over the area in a gentle, circular motion. Remove the paste then go back over the area with the standard formula and method.
Regular cleaning is certainly important when it comes to keeping any kitchen cabinetry, painted or not, in pristine condition. While gentle and regular cleaning is essential to maintaining your hand painted kitchen, the key to an amazing hand painted kitchen is starting with a superior quality paint finish in the first instance. That is why it is strongly recommended to enlist to services of experienced, professional kitchen cabinet painters to ensure you start off your kitchen in the best possible way.
The team of professional painters at Highlands Hand Painting have many years’ experience painting kitchen cabinets in a wide range of finishes, styles and colours. We offer a seven-year warranty on our paint finishes and workmanship. Phone us on 1300 662 112, submit an online enquiry, or visit our showroom at 12 Graham Hill Road Narellan NSW to see samples of our hand-painted kitchens and discuss your custom, hand-painted project requirements.