Your beautiful new kitchen won’t stay bright and shiny for long without proper care. Here are six tips that will help you care your New Jersey home’s kitchen.
Make Dusting and Cleaning Your Cabinets a Regular Habit
Dust is easiest to eliminate when it has just settled on your cabinets. After a few weeks or months, dust mixes with dirt and grime to create a coating that can be difficult to remove. Dusting every day with a soft cloth will keep your new cabinets dust-free. There’s no need to wet the cloth or even use furniture polish. Simply passing the cloth over the cabinets will dislodge dust.
Clean the fronts, sides and doors of your cabinets every few weeks. Wet a microfiber cloth with a cleaning mixture made by combining a few drops of a mild dishwashing detergent with a gallon or two of warm water. Wring out the cloth until it’s only slightly damp before you concentrate on removing dirt and grime from every nook and cranny of your cabinets.
Don’t Let Moisture Damage Your Cabinets or Floors
Even the smallest bit of moisture can affect your cabinets. If you don’t wipe up a spill promptly or if you sling a wet dish towel over a cabinet door, the wood may discolor or warp. When the damage affects a door, it may no longer close properly. Unfortunately, if it’s been a while since you moved into your new home, it may be hard to find a perfect match for a replacement door. As with so many things, it’s far easier to prevent damage than it is to repair it.
Leaks can cause significant damage to your kitchen long before you’re even aware that there’s a problem. Regularly check the areas under your sink and around the dishwasher and refrigerator for drips or leaks. Fixing those issues promptly will keep your cabinets and floors in good condition.
Use Special Care When Cleaning Glass Insets in Cabinets
Harsh cleaning products can scratch glass or cause it to become hazy. Use non-abrasive glass cleaning products that don’t contain ammonia. Although commercials show homeowners happily spraying cleaners on windows and cabinets, it’s not a good idea to apply the product directly to the glass in your cabinets.
No matter how carefully you spray, some of the product is bound to reach the wood surrounding the inset. Months or years of spraying can eventually warp the wood and affect the fit of the glass panel. To prevent these issues, spray the cleaner on to a soft cloth before applying it to cabinet doors.
Follow Your Manufacturer’s Recommendations for Countertop Cleaning
In the days when laminate was the only choice for countertops, cleaning was easy. Because the stuff was nearly indestructible, it didn’t really matter what you used to clean it. With so many countertop choices available today, the best cleaning method isn’t always intuitive. Architectural Digest offers a handy guide for cleaning the most common type of countertops, from granite to wood to stainless steel.
Cleaning instructions can vary widely depending on your countertop material. For example, vinegar, an ingredient used to clean wood countertops, may etch granite countertops and dissolve the protective sealant.
Skip the Water When Cleaning Your Kitchen Floor
A bucket of soapy water may still be the best way to clean ceramic tile floors, but it’s not the ideal method to keep your hardwood, bamboo or laminate floors in pristine condition. Experts recommend using a microfiber mop instead. Spray a little floor cleaner intended for use on your particular floor type on the mop head, not the floor. Before washing the floor, vacuum or sweep it to remove tiny pieces of dirt and debris. If you skip this important step, you’ll risk scratching the surface of your floor.
Use Your Range Hood Every Time You Use Your Cooktop
The fan in your range hood not only gets rid of cooking odors but also prevents grease from coating your countertops, cabinets and dishes stored on open shelving. If you don’t always remember to turn on the fan, consider an automatic hood that turns on when it detects heat.
Does your dream home include a spacious kitchen with all the latest amenities? It’s easy to turn your dream into a reality when you purchase a brand new home in a Country Classics community. Contact us to learn how you can become one of our newest homeowners!
Sources:
Architectural Digest: How to Clean Kitchen Countertops
https://www.architecturaldigest.com/story/how-to-clean-kitchen-countertops
This Old House: How to Clean Wood Floors
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