Do you want to know how to clean kitchen cabinets?
Do you want to know how to clean kitchen cabinets? It’s time to spring clean and I wanted to share how I clean my greasy kitchen cabinets. It is so easy and it’s the best way I have found to clean my wooden cabinets without using cleaning products with harsh chemicals or abrasive cleaners. All you need is 1 key ingredient for success! Here is a step-by-step guide to cleaning wooden kitchen cabinets. Just follow these simple steps to give your kitchen cabinets a deep cleaning.
How To Clean Kitchen Cabinets: Quick and Easy Video
How To Clean Kitchen Cabinets
With years of use, the surface of the cabinets in the kitchen collects cooking residues like food stains, grease particles, and greasy residue. In addition, there are hand prints, splatters, and more that just need to be cleaned up.
The key ingredient I use is Murphy’s Oil Soap. I have been using it for years, it’s a great all-purpose cleaner for wood surfaces. In fact, if I remember right my mom uses it and I learned from her.
You’ll follow the directions on the back to decide how much to use, but basically, it is 1/4 – 1/2 cup depending on how dirty or greasy your cabinets are. Place the desired amount in a 1-gallon bucket and fill it with warm water.
Use a clean cloth or any soft cloth (preferably a lint-free cloth), dip it in the mixture, ring it out, and start wiping your cabinets. With this gentle cleaning solution, you don’t have to use a lot of elbow grease, that is the beauty. Pay extra attention to all the grooves and such where dust has collected over time as well. You can wipe the outside of the cabinet doors as well as the top of the cabinet, the interior of your kitchen cabinets, and the inside of the doors, basically all the cabinet surfaces.
Once you have cleaned all of your wood cabinets, you’re done. All the grease, dirt, and grime are gone! If you really want to go all out, you can clean your drawer pulls as well so you also have clean cabinet hardware. Murphy’s Oil Soap is one of my favorite cleaning agents and the best part is it doesn’t take hard work to restore your cabinet’s finish.
I use Murphy’s Oil Soap and a little water. Cleans the grease right off.
The sticky residue you feel is the grease particles that float in the air while cooking and then attach to the cabinets. I use Murphy’s Oil Soap and a little water. Be careful not to rub too hard or you’ll rub off the finish.
I use Murphy’s Oil Soap and a wash cloth. Gently wash the cabinet but do not rub too hard. Getting the wood wet and scrubbing too hard is what removes the finish.
How To Clean Kitchen Cabinets Video
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Cabinet cleaning tips:
- Clean water and hot water is more effective to cut through grease stains. Just treat the affected areas.
- Old toothbrush for those tough corners
- Paper towels, washcloth, dry microfiber cloth, damp microfiber cloth, or clean towel
- Magic erasers for tough spots and stubborn stains
- It isn’t a great idea to use white vinegar as that can be very drying to cabinets which you don’t want.
- You also won’t want to use baking soda as it can be abrasive and scratch your cabinets.
- You can use this on many cabinet types including laminate cabinets.
- It’s a good idea to always test in an inconspicuous spot before doing the entire kitchen to make sure this is a good option for you.
- Murphy’s Oil Soap is an effective cleaner and is a 99% natural cleaner, and grease and food particles are the main culprits as to what is making your cabinets dirty.
- You can use a squirt of dish soap to make some soapy water, but be sure to rinse it off with a clean damp cloth afterward.
- You can moisturize your cabinets with olive oil.
- Never use steel wool, a soft-bristled brush, or strong detergents or they can scratch and ruin your finish.
When you get done cleaning the exterior of your kitchen cabinets, you’ll feel the clean finish and like you have a new kitchen. It’s a good idea to incorporate this into a regular weekly cleaning to help keep up and fight those tougher stains from happening.
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Hey Chas, Before we painted our dark walnut cabinets white, I used to use Murphy’s Oil Soap all the time. It always was my go to for cabinet cleaning. I also would finish it with Liquid Gold at least twice a year. Murphy’s Oil Soap and Scott’s Liquid Gold have been around for generations and I still think they are the best for wood cabinets! Great tutorial. 🙂
Thank you Linda, and thank you for sharing your experience with these products and adding the Liquid Gold. I will look into that one 🙂
I love clean cabinets. I have dark wood non painted cabinets where I am moving too in a couple of months. I am so going to do this as one of my first things! So glad to find your blog at the create with me monday party!
Welcome Susan, and I’m so glad you will be able to use this tutorial. Congrats on the move 🙂
Love using Murphy oil soap for cleaning. Found you on Over the Moon link party.
Thank you Candy 🙂 Thanks for stopping by
I’m going to have to try that with ours! I have never found anything that really cleans the grooves in our cabinets well. Pinned.
I’m so glad you want to give it a try! Let me know what you think 🙂
Murphy’s oil soap is fantastic for cupboards, it’s a wonderful product. On a side note, I was glad to see you have kept the colour of your cabinets. We recently refurbished ours but I love that particular colour so we kept it as well.
Thank you Leanna, I’m so pleased you like Murphy’s Oil Soap too. Thank you on our cabinets as well. We get asked a lot if we would consider painting them with the latest trends, but I truly like them just the way they are 🙂
I’m going to have to try this – my cabinets are filthy. Time for some spring cleaning! Thanks for sharing at Merry Monday! Can’t wait to see what you link up next week! Roseann from This Autoimmune Life
Thank you Roseann, I totally know what you mean about spring cleaning time! I hope this helps you as much as it has helped me.
My grandma used Murphy’s on her farmhouse cabinets back in the day and whenever I use it, my mom says it makes her feel like home. 🙂
Thank you so much Kari for sharing that story, love it!
I have these exact cupboards! And they need a good cleaning! I’m really glad I read your tutorial. Thank you, I’m going to do this this week!
Thank you so much Whitney, and I’m so pleased to hear you want to give it a try! Let me know how it goes 🙂
This post was just what I needed to get me going on my spring cleaning! Thanks for the inspiration. Pinning.
Thank you Jean, and I’m so pleased to hear you want to give it a try 🙂 Thank you for the Pin.
Does this work on cabinets that are full of grease and smoke?
Hi Kathy, in my experience it does take the grease off. As for the smoke do you just mean smoke that comes from while you are cooking? I guess I haven’t had any heavy cooking smoke on my cabinets that I could see easily, but it does clean everything off of them that I can tell.
I’ve used Murphy’s Soap for years – it does an excellent job! Thanks for sharing with Party in Your PJs!
Thanks for throwing in your experience and expertise Lynda 🙂
After cleaning with Murphy Oil Soap, do you have to dry them with a clean cloth? Or they don’t need to be dried?
Hi Toni, I ring my cloth out so it isn’t soaking. I wipe them down good and let them air dry. If they need a second round because there is oils and such, I’ll get a clean rag and if needed a fresh bucket of water and repeat. Thanks for asking 🙂
I can agree with you that the kitchen cabinets collect grease from the cooking and sooner or later, they will have to be cleaned off. That is one of the things that we never really paid attention to and now the kitchen cabinets are dirty beyond cleaning. Mom decided that we should just replace them. Anyway, I will keep this in mind so that the new set will not have to suffer the same fate. Thank you for sharing.
Thank you for sharing and I’m so sorry to hear your story. I hope that this will help you in the future.
You were right when you said that the cabinets need TLC while being cleaned and that the person does not need to scrub hard if they are using a rag or washcloth. I will keep this in mind because the previous cabinet was actually damaged because of too much cleaning. Now I need to install a new set. I will see to it that, this time, I follow your tip so that I do not damage it again.
I’m so sorry to hear that about your cabinets, that has to be frustrating. I hope that this helps you in the future.
Love Murphy’s oil soap, have used it for years. thanks
Thank you Gladys and it’s it the greatest stuff? 🙂