To keep your white cupboards looking bright and fresh, create a cleaning solution with one cup of vinegar, one tablespoon of baking soda, and two cups of warm water. Dip a rag in this solution, wring out the access liquid, then wipe down your cupboards. Do this at least once a month.
To keep cabinets white, give them a monthly “bath” with a solution of warm water and a grease-busting dish soap. Then there is the inevitable muck and grime that accumulate from oil and grease splatters.
A quick wipe-down with warm water, dishwashing liquid, and a soft cloth will prevent discoloring. If that feels like too long in between cleanings, loveandrenovations.com recommends wiping down your cabinets with a baby wipe or Clorox wipe every night.
Wipe Cabinets with a Microfiber Cloth
Our first and most important trick for keeping your white cabinets clean is to wipe them down regularly. It might not be groundbreaking, but it works! Use a clean microfiber cloth and warm water to wipe splatters off the walls and cabinets as soon as you spot them.
White kitchen cabinets are actually no harder to keep clean than any other. Sure, they aren't as forgiving as darker colors, but that doesn't mean they have to be any less durable or easy to clean and maintain.
Water-based polyurethane is well-suited for low-sheen flat, eggshell or satin latex paint. If you painted your cabinets with any of these paints, apply a water-based poly over the top to prolong the life of the finish. Do not apply water-based polyurethane over the top of gloss latex and acrylic enamel.
Keeping your white cabinets white
Keep white cabinets out of direct sunlight to prevent them from turning yellow. To make a kitchen feel warm and inviting and useful you need plenty of sunlight and a functional space to cook.
Moisture. It may also release air moisture into the air, leading to yellow paint on the paintwork because moisture settles. The cause for white cabinets that turned yellow from being painted on white walls is caused by moisture; as the cabinets are often on areas of lower humidity than their white counterparts.
Avoid These Cleaners on Painted Cabinets: Magic Eraser or similar sponges, abrasive powder or scrubbing pads, cleaners with abrasive particles, intense detergents, or ammonia oil soap, spray polishes containing silicone, petroleum products, or wax citrus/orange cleaner.
White kitchens get dirty.
Unlike darker cabinets that can hide everyday grime—like fingerprints and smudges—light colored cabinets will only make them more noticeable. Dust and dirt that you might not have even thought about in other rooms will show in a kitchen that's predominately white.
Create a cleaning solution with 1-part baking soda, 2 parts warm water and the lemon juice. Add the solution to a spray bottle and spray the liquid onto the kitchen cabinets. Leave for 2-3 minutes, allowing the baking soda to work its magic. Use the soft sponge to gently scrub the grease away.
Don't Use Vinegar and Water
Vinegar is acidic and will damage your wood cabinets. While it is true that if heavily diluted, vinegar will lose much of its acidity, but when diluted it will also lose much of its properties that make it an effective cleaner. Diluted vinegar is no more effective than dish soap.
Vinegar is the go-to natural cleaner when faced greasy cabinets. Mix a 50/50 solution of vinegar and warm water and pour it into a spray bottle. Mist on cabinets, let sit for a minute or two and then wipe clean with a soft cloth.
After wetting your brush with warm water, add a little baking soda, then scrub away on the cabinets. Follow with a damp, warm cloth to remove the residue. Not only will the baking soda cut through the grease, but it's also non-abrasive, so it won't harm your wooden cabinets.
Bleach is also an excellent whitener. Allow the bleach to sit on the cabinet for a long time, and then rinse the entire surface with warm water. If you do not want to use bleach, you can use club soda and lemon juice. Let the mix stay on the stains for a long time, and then wash it off with warm water.
Yellowing is often a natural and common side-effect of the drying process and the aging of oil paint. Aging is a common cause of white painted cabinets turning yellow and white paint turning yellow on wood.
Buy cabinet door bumper pads and stick them to the corners of doors and drawers to prevent paint chipping when the doors bump onto the frames. These are small cork, vinyl or felt pads and available at hardware stores.
So, to recap the answer to this question: You should always use a clear coat on painted cabinets unless you feel like doing a lot of repainting.
I like to use Protect or a polycrylic. With this step, you can also use a paint sprayer or a high-quality paintbrush. A good topcoat will make your paint job stronger and hold up against little circuses that may be roaming around.
Oven heat shields can keep your refrigerator working more efficiently and protect cabinets from excessive heat. The Kitchen Sticky Shield is suited for both home use and commercial applications.
You can also try applying a coat of polyurethane to your cabinets. If you do notice some spots after cooking, wipe down the cabinets with soapy water and rag or all-purpose cleaner. For any messes that might happen inside your cabinets, particularly within the pantry and spice cabinets, try shelf paper or liners.
Deep cleaning:
Place about 1/2 teaspoon of dish soap or oil soap wood cleaner on the scouring sponge. Wet the sponge slightly and gently scrub the cabinet allowing it to form a lather. Wipe with a slightly wet cloth with fresh water in it. Then dry it with a microfiber cloth.