Simple Bathroom Vanity Cabinet Maintenance and Repair

Top Tips to Keep Your Bathroom Vanity Looking Great Without Breaking a Sweat!



Basic Cleaning

When you go to clean your wooden bathroom cabinet and counters, it is important that you not use anything abrasive when you are doing the cleaning. This means that you shouldn't use harsh scrub brushes or steel wool to clean, and also that you shouldn't use harsh chemicals to eat at stains. Both of these will cause further abrasions to happen on the surfaces, and these scratches and dents are where water will start ruining the wood or causing further cracks in the countertop.

Prepare your cleaning solution before you begin. Fill a container with warm water. To this, add your choice of either Murphy's Oil Soap or a mild dish washing detergent. Murphy's is specially designed for cleaning surfaces such as wood, marble or drywall, so it is good for this purpose. Use a tightly woven cloth, such as a washcloth or something soft of the sort. Dip it into the water solution, wring out the excess, and wipe your wooden cabinet clean. When you are finished with an area, use a towel to dry it off so that it stays spot free.

To keep your vanity in good working condition, you have to practice proper bathroom vanity maintenance techniques. To keep your wooden cabinet and counters in good condition, you should clean them every week.

Repairing Wood Cabinets

Bathroom cabinet repair is an important part of keeping your bathroom looking good. Any scratches in the wooden surface should be dealt with quickly to prevent mold from taking root. When you find a scratch, you should clean it thoroughly using the method described above. Once the area is clean and dry, use a fine sandpaper to sand the area around the scratch smooth. Touch up with wood stain as needed.

If your door pulls start looking dim, use a screwdriver to remove them. Prepare a solution of 1/2 cup ammonia and 2 cups of warm water. Place your fixtures in this solution for about 15 minutes. When they have finished soaking, use an old toothbrush to work any grime loose from the smaller areas. Rinse well, dry, and reattach.

Repairing Counters

For a marble counter, mild scratches aren't too much trouble to repair. Locate a car wax that has carnauba as an ingredient for the best results. Apply the wax liberally to the scratch, and allow to dry. Once it has dried, use a wool buffing pad to shine the area again. The scratch will be filled in by the wax and blend in to the surrounding counter, making the scratch disappear.

Deeper scratches have to be dealt with differently. Locate sandpaper of a 1000 grit or higher quality. Use this to buff the area around the scratch until the area is smooth again. Using a wool buffing pad, restore the shine to the area. Apply a coat of carnauba based wax and shine again to blend the repaired area in properly.

If your cabinets are granite, get your hands on an epoxy resin that is colored to match the stone surface. Fill in the scratch with care, and make certain you get any excess away from the area before it dries. When the area as cured, buff with a wool pad until the shine has returned. This part of bathroom vanity maintenance should be done only as needed.

Cabinet Adjustments

If your cabinet door is hanging lopsided, repairs are simple. In most cases, simply tightening the screws will fix the problem. There will be two sets of screws on a cabinet door, those holding the door to the hinge, and those holding the cabinet base to the hinge. Locate and tighten these screws on the tops and bottoms of the cabinet doors.

If your door needs to be adjusted up or down, you will need to remove the screws holding the hinge to the cabinet door. Once the door is free, position it where you would like it to be, and mark this line with chalk. Using this line for reference, hold the door open and see where the hinges and screw holes would be located by comparing the hinge placement to the new door location. Mark the new location with chalk. Drill the appropriate holes and attach the cabinet door to the hinges again. Close the door, and enjoy your bathroom cabinet repair job.