Learn how to clean your wood kitchen cabinets with a couple of easy methods and simple steps, including our favorite approach.
Kitchen cabinets are often forgotten in my cleaning routine until I suddenly notice a stain or a mess and realize it’s been a while since I’ve tackled them. Unfortunately, with the bustle of a busy home, certain things that don’t feel high priority get pushed to the side. It’s all too easy just to wipe clean the areas you touch and leave the wood for another day — again and again. If you’re in the same boat, this may be your inspiration for a perfectly clean kitchen. Let’s talk about how to clean wood kitchen cabinets!
Dish Soap Method
Dish soap is a great way to clean wood cabinets because it can help remove oils and grease that have accumulated on the surface.
Use warm water and a few drops of your favorite dish soap in a bucket or large bowl and swirl until blended.
Using a soft cloth that has been rung out well, wash the cabinets by following the grain of the wood. I really like microfiber cloths for cleaning my cabinets.
Use another wet cloth with no soap to wipe down cabinets afterward in order to rinse off any residue.
After rinsing, wipe with a dry cloth to remove any excess water. I prefer using a lighter colored cloth so I can inspect the cloth for any discoloration that might indicate I need to do a more thorough cleaning.
Cleaning Solution Method
You can use a stronger cleaning solution than dish soap if you want to really disinfect your cabinets.
Make sure the cleaning solution is safe for wood before using it. If you’re not certain, test a small, inconspicuous area, like the back side of a cabinet door.
Wood floor cleaners and wood soaps, such as Murphy’s Oil Soap, are safe for wooden cabinets and should be applied using a soft cloth. Always use cleaners as indicated, particularly if the package suggests diluting them with water.
When using cleaners, it is important to wipe down the cabinets after cleaning with a wet cloth that has no solution on it. Rinsing off the cleaner is an important step to preserving your cabinetry and displaying the perfect finishing shine.
Drying after rinsing is also an essential step, as wood can hold onto water and cause staining or greater issues such as rotting.
Vinegar Solution Method
Homemade vinegar cleaner is easy to make and can be used on finished wood cabinets.
It’s safe when diluted with water as recommended and can help remove stubborn stains and grease.
One of the benefits of cleaning kitchen cabinets with vinegar is that you can also use the solution on appliances in your kitchen at the same time, making it even easier to achieve a fully clean kitchen in fewer steps.
Even if you don’t want to use vinegar on your cabinetry, I recommend keeping it on hand as a kitchen cleaning staple for items such as your Keurig, refrigerator, microwave, and more. It’s also helpful in clearing out mild sink clogs quickly and affordably.
Combining Methods
An effective way for how to clean wood kitchen cabinets is to combine methods.
My favorite way to do this is to prepare a spray bottle of vinegar and water in equal parts and add a few drops of dish soap.
If you shake it well, a thin layer of bubbles will form at the top. That’s how you’ll know it’s mixed!
Spray this mixture on cabinets and let it set for a couple of minutes.
Some spray bottles don’t seem to spread the solution evenly, so I like to take a cloth and wipe the spray to form a thin, even layer.
Cleaning Stubborn Stains or Grease on Wood Kitchen Cabinets
Kitchen cabinets are exposed to a wide variety of messes every day. Kitchens are notoriously high-use, with food spills and splashes, lots of hands opening and closing cupboard doors, and even children and pets touching and rubbing against the lower cabinets.
This can lead to a variety of hard-to-clean stains and stuck-on messes that require a little more effort to clean. Have you ever tried to remove pancake syrup from wood? Yeah…
For more challenging stains and messes, I suggest making a paste to start.
Add 1 part salt to 1 part vinegar and modify until you have a thick, textured paste.
Dip a clean, unused toothbrush into the paste and lightly scrub the affected area. Do not scrub too hard and do not use a more corrosive tool like steel wool.
Wipe the paste off to check the cleaning progress as you go. When you are satisfied with the results, wipe the paste off completely and then rinse off with clean water on a soft cloth.
Dry with a clean towel.
If you don’t have a toothbrush, use the soft side of a kitchen sponge or a washcloth.
How to Protect Wood Cabinets from Stains and Messes
A critical step to cleaning your wood cabinets is to help prevent future stains or messes. One way to do this is to reinvigorate the wood’s health.
Mix equal parts vinegar and vegetable oil in a bowl.
Apply your mixture lightly on cabinet surfaces.
Rub it in with a soft, dry cloth. Continue buffing until the wood is shiny.
How to Deep Clean Inside Wood Kitchen Cabinets
I recommend deep cleaning the inside of your kitchen cabinets at least twice a year.
Doing this will help you sort out expired foods and move soon-to-be expired foods toward the front. This is especially useful when you have children and teenagers at home who might be preparing food and will not think to check the dates.
This also helps me meal plan, as I find uses for foods I’ve kept on hand for “just in case” dinners that never happened. Or, if you’ve done as I do and stocked up on a big sale at the grocer, you might have a lot of a certain product on hand and need to use them up in a timely manner.
Even if you don’t keep a lot of food on stock, odds are you have kept items in the cupboards that have been opened at one point (like the cursed flour bags that never quite close cleanly), which means that now and then there’s been a spill.
Here’s how to deep clean inside your wood kitchen cabinets:
- Remove all items from the cabinets. Inspect them for expired “use by” dates, holes or tears, and any dust or other debris. Wipe them down if still good and set them aside for later.
- Clear out any dust, crumbs, or food pieces left in the cupboard. I prefer using the vacuum hose when possible to avoid dropping anything.
- Using any of the above methods, wipe down the interior cupboard walls and shelving, including the underside of shelves.
- Dry thoroughly and wait until completely dry before putting food items back.
- Make sure you clean the countertops or floors near the cupboards to remove any food or packaging that may have fallen.