What’s the one part of your kitchen that can last for up to 50 years or more when cared for properly? Answer: Kitchen Cabinets! Kitchens are one of the hardest working rooms in our homes, so having the cabinets in that room last for that long is pretty impressive! That’s a much longer lifespan than other kitchen components, such as appliances, and certain types of countertops and kitchen sinks.
Here are some ways you can make sure that your kitchen cabinets are maintained for the long haul.
Set a cleaning schedule
Regular cleaning is the key to keeping kitchen cabinets clean and dust-free. It’s easy to forget about this important maintenance task if you don’t add it to your calendar. Plan to clean cabinet doors and drawers every two weeks and the entire cabinets, inside and out, every six months.
Don’t slam the doors
Slamming cabinets doors can lead to unnecessary repairs overtime. It can also lead to dings and chips on the inside lip of your cabinet. By adding hardware, such as cabinet door handles, you can actually deter people from opening and closing cabinets with such force.
Avoid moisture
You want to keep moisture away from your cabinets as much as possible. Hanging a wet rag from a wooden cabinet, for instance, is a huge no-no. As a universal truth, wood and water don’t mix, but sometimes we take the durability of our kitchen cabinets for granted. No matter how many coats of paint or primer a cabinet has, the wood will still wear away and rot if it is continually exposed to water.
Use functional hardware on cabinet doors
When you are cooking or doing some other task in the kitchen, your hands are frequently dirty, oily, or have some crumbs on them. If you open a cabinet without a handle, you are transferring all of that directly to the door. In general, having hardware can help keep your cabinets easier to maintain, but you must also keep in mind the material you choose to keep your kitchen looking fresher for a longer period of time. Metals like chrome and stainless steel show smudges, fingerprints, and water spot much more easily than either brushed or polished nickel, ceramic, or satin or oil-rubbed bronze.
Cabinets can last a lifetime if well taken care of, we hope these tips will help you.