How to Clean Wood Cupboards

Wood cupboards anywhere in the house will collect dust and need to be cleaned. In addition to the usual dust, kitchen cupboards will also collect grease and grime from cooking, plus debris from food items on the shelves. If cleaning is neglected for a time, this grime can attract bugs, discolor the wood and give the cupboard a bad odor.
Frequent cleaning eliminates this problem and, at the same time, can help you take stock of items you need to buy or discard. Cleaning wood cupboards is not difficult, though you will need to allow plenty of time for it---especially if you have a lot of items to remove.

Things You'll Need

• Drop cloth, tarp or newspaper
• Small hand broom
• Clean bucket
• Dusting cloths
• Water
• Dish soap (or an oil soap for wood)
• Sponges
• Towels
• Feather duster (or similar hand-held duster)

Instructions

1. Spread a tarp, drop cloth or newspaper on a table. Remove everything from the cupboard and place the items on this table.

2. Dust top shelves of the cupboard, using a hand-held broom or similar item. The gentle abrasive action of the bristles will help remove dust from crevices in the wood.
   After the top shelves have been dusted, wipe them down with a dry microfiber or cotton dusting cloth. Dust the lower shelves in the same manner.

3. Mix dish soap and warm water in a clean bucket. Place several clean sponges in this to soak.

4. Wash the top shelf with the wet, sudsy sponge. Do the back and sides (on the cupboards interior) first and then wash the floor of the shelf. Rinse the sponge under running water and place it back into the bucket. Move to the second shelf from the top. Use a new sponge to wipe it down.

5. Wet a clean sponge under water. Rinse off the top two cupboard shelves. Dry the shelves well with a towel.

6. Move down to the lower shelves. Wash and dry them in the same manner as the top shelves. After the interior areas of the cupboard have been cleaned and dried, wipe down all exterior edges.

7. Remove dust from all items that had been in the cabinet. This will prevent transferring old dust into your newly cleaned cupboard.

Tips & Warnings

• As an extra, beneficial step, use an oil soap for wood and a wood polish to perk up old, tired-looking wood cupboards. If using these on kitchen cupboards, however, just make sure the product is safe to use around food items. If you have a vacuum cleaner with attachments, or a good handheld vacuum, you can use this instead of the hand broom. If you are allergic to dust, wear a dust mask when dusting the cupboard. If your cupboard also has drawers, remove these to clean separately.

• Don't allow the soapy water to sit on the wood for long. Make sure cupboards have completely dried before returning items to the shelves.

References

• More information about cleaning wood cupboards