Get Rid Of Stubborn Grease On Kitchen Cabinets With An Everyday Cleaning Essential

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If grease is taking up residence in your kitchen — and making you wonder if you're cleaning your kitchen cabinets often enough — you're not alone. Grease feels like one of the stickiest, most-stubborn residues. The good news? There's one go-to cleaning necessity that can tackle it for you. And luckily, it's probably just steps away: Dawn dish soap. This staple has become an everyday cleaning essential thanks to its ability to cut through dirt, food, grime — and yes, grease — around the house. There's even evidence that you should pour a little Dawn dish soap down the drain after a bath to help clean out soap scum and more.

With this grease-fighting reputation, it's no surprise that Dawn dish soap is a popular choice among DIYers to get rid of grease on kitchen cabinets. But how does it work? While Dawn's formula is confidential, a spokesperson for the company said that the product's ability to remove grease can be credited to finding the right amount of surfactants that break it down.

Ready to get the grease off your kitchen cabinets? Mix together warm water and a few squirts of Dawn. Then dip a microfiber cloth into the mixture and scrub the grease away. Medium pressure is key here — too light, and the grease won't budge; too heavy, and you risk damaging the cabinet, especially wood ones. To spot clean, make a smaller batch of the same mix and rub gently with a soft cloth to remove. Finally, rinse the newly-cleaned area with a moist towel to make sure there's no residue — grease or cleaner — left on the cabinets.

If you have extremely greasy cabinets, you may need to pull out a cleaning heavy hitter that professional cleaners swear by: degreaser, like Dawn Degreaser. Or, if you have just a sprinkle of grease and prefer something more eco-friendly, try the orange peel hack to clean grease off your kitchen cabinets. (We tried it and loved it.) Once your cabinets are grease-free, spot clean once a week or so, and regularly deep clean every six months to keep pesky grease at bay.