Cleaning Cabinets: How should I do it?

The answer to that question depends on a couple of things:

Are the cabinets finished in a factory or finished in the home? Factory finish cabinets are modular boxes (looking inside each cabinet you will see them separated from each other by sidewalls) and have been installed more recently, in the last 15 years. For these cabinets, soap and water can be used, or for heavier grime and grease, a product called Cabinet Magic works great. Other products similar to this should available at a local hardware store near you. Just make sure, with a factory finished cabinets you do not use a silicon-based product, it will strip the finish.

Be careful cleaning a cabinet finished in the home, by the time the grease has build up it is mixed in with the top finish coat of the cabinet. To clean the cabinets is to take off this top coat. A properly “cleaned” cabinet at this point involves removing this top layer and reapplying a new top coat.

However, for a small confined area, such as around the handles, you can use a very dull razor blade to scrap off any built-up grime and then clean with a wet sponge and grease cutter, such as Dawn soap. If touch-ups to the finish are necessary, a top coat, such as polyurethane, can often do the trick. Consult with your local paint store about what product is best to use for your cabinets.



This article from our website has details on how to identify the difference between factory and finished-in-home cabinets: http://cabinets-q-and-a.com/exist-kitchen-cabinet.html

Q: Why aren’t the prices of the cabinets listed on the website?

A frequent question homeowners have when searching the web for information about kitchen cabinets. There are two main reasons why many of these websites do not have answers:
1) The site is for a manufacturer of cabinets. They do not deal directly with the homeowner and instead sell the cabinets to showrooms or hardware stores (called dealers). These dealers then sell the cabinets to the homeowner.
2) If the site is for a showroom (dealer), the prices are not listed because every job is different and many dealers have more than one cabinet line. The cabinet lines often have a variety of options and combinations to choose from making pricing on the internet impossible.
Cabinet companies that sell cabinets online typically have a simple product line and few (if any) customizations. If you have a complicated job, want more design choices, installation referrals or have your jobsite looked at and measured by a design professional, these companies are not for you.

NKBA Design Contest Winners

The NKBA has released its winners of the national contest for kitchen and bath design. Projects include large, small and medium kitchens, bathrooms and even specialty rooms. See real life projects done by designers from all over the US and find out what is current in kitchen design. http://www.nkba.org/

Houzz

This site is perfect for gathering ideas. It not only contains professional photos from manufactures and magazines but also shows "real" kitchens from designers. Also, Houzz lets you create your own idea book for your upcoming projects. Great way to organize your thoughts for upcoming projects. http://houzz/

Hello!

Hello!
Welcome to the blog Kitchen Designers Talk. This is the blog for the website CabinetsQandA.com, a website devoted to providing the home owner with information about kitchen cabinets. This blog will feature the opinions and ideas of kitchen designers and also provide tips and tools for a home remodel.