Getting your kitchen cabinet damaged by water can be pretty stressful. It is not something that you would like to deal with at all.
When your kitchen cabinet gets damaged by water, and you do not get it fixed immediately, the damage could reach a point of no return, and all you have to do will be to throw the cabinet away and buy another one.
You are certainly not in the mood to be buying a new cabinet when the year has just started.
If you have become an unfortunate victim of water damage to your kitchen cabinet, you should check out my article which shows you how to get the kitchen cabinet fixed.
This article will show you all the necessary steps to take, and you will have your wardrobe looking good as new in no time.
Your kitchen cabinet can suffer damage from water when placed under the sink in your kitchen.
Now, in case you are still lucky to see that your kitchen cabinet has not been damaged by water, you need to take adequate steps to make sure that that does not happen at all.
Taking the necessary steps to ensure that your kitchen cabinet does not get damaged by water is better than waiting for the damage to occur.
You will certainly not like the kind of stress you will pass through to get it fixed. If you have already gone through the stress and selected a kitchen cabinet that got damaged by water, you probably do not want it to happen again.
This article is for you as well, so please read on.
Now, let us take a look at ways through which you can prevent your kitchen cabinet from getting damaged by water.
Let us get started now. I am sure that you are aware of the saying that “Prevention is better than cure.”
Table of Contents
Get The Cabinet Laminated
I am sure you have heard about laminated kitchen cabinets before. Lamination happens when the wood cabinets and the frames get a layer of ‘laminate.’
This layer of laminates helps protect the wood from damage caused by water.
The laminate thus protects the kitchen cabinet from water damage. The laminate layer is usually smooth and shiny and is generally made from plastic or similar material and resistant to water.
Laminated kitchen cabinets are not necessarily waterproof. However, the smooth outer layer, the laminate, can stop water droplets from going into the core of the wood of your cabinet’s doors, thereby preventing it from water damage.
Although laminated kitchen cabinets usually are glossy, it is still possible to paint over them if you wish to have them match the overall style of your kitchen.
So one way to get your kitchen cabinet protected is to get it laminated. You can also get an already laminated kitchen cabinet in the first place.
Waterproof Varnish, Clear Coat, Or Seal
Another way to keep your kitchen cabinet protected from water damage is by applying a waterproof varnish, seal, or clear coat.
There are many waterproof varnishes, seals, and clear coats that you can get on the market. You have to make sure that you are purchasing an effective product.
The waterproof varnish, clear coats, and seal will prevent the cabinet from absorbing water, especially if the cabinet was made with cheap wood.
The varnish, seal, and clear coats can all be acquired in different formulas, and they can be applied to almost every type of cabinet door wood.
Doing this will also depend on the kind of paint and the wood used in the manufacturing of the cabinet doors.
Once you can settle on a clear waterproof coat, varnish, or seal that you wish to use for your kitchen cabinet, make sure that the finish will match the overall design of your kitchen so that nothing will look out of place when a friend visits you and enters the kitchen. (We know how girlfriends can be, don’t get mad if you are a girl reading this, lol).
Get A Deeper Type Of Sink
If you notice that water keeps dripping all down the doors of your cabinet, you may have to conclude that it is probably time for you to alter the design of your kitchen.
Maybe you need a deeper type of sink that will not quickly splash water outside of it. Perhaps you need a better seal around the edge of the sink so that water will not be leaking out of it.
Altering the style of your sink could probably stop the water spillages once and for all. So when you see that water splashed quickly on your kitchen cabinet doors, maybe it is time for you to change the style of sink you are using and go in for a deeper one that will not be splashing the water out of it that easily.
New Countertop Edges
When you see that it is time for you to alter the design of your kitchen to prevent any damage to your cabinet doors, you might try changing the countertop edges in your kitchen.
Although you may not have thought about it, the countertop edges significantly affect the likelihood of water getting on your kitchen cabinets based on how they are designed.
The water constantly splashing on the kitchen cabinet will eventually ruin it. Let us take a look at an example.
The kitchen countertops with a bullnose edge shape can allow water to drip down over the edges and onto the kitchen cabinet below.
On the other hand, Beveled countertop edges also allow water to drip down below the kitchen cabinet. However, the water drips from the countertop edge of a beveled design will miss the kitchen cabinet and not fall on it.
If you have noticed that the cabinets in your kitchen commonly get damaged by water, swapping the current countertop edge design for a square or beveled one is one of the ways to prevent water damage to your kitchen cabinets.
So always make sure to look out for the edges of your countertops when you find out that your kitchen cabinet has been damaged by water.
If you are getting a new countertop, you should ensure that it comes with an edge that will prevent water from dripping onto the cabinet below the sink.
Better Ventilation Or Dehumidification
Once again, we come across the word ‘ventilation’ if you have read our articles on how to keep your room cool and any of our other articles on air conditioners, you would see that we made a lot of comments on the word ‘ventilation.’
We can see that ventilation is essential in the home because it seems to affect so many things inside the house.
When you find out that your kitchen cabinet has been damaged by water, it could be that moisture is also part of the cause.
One way to get rid of moisture is to have better ventilation in your kitchen. There should not be any small windows in your kitchen, and windows should be quite big enough to allow proper air circulation in and outside.
When you cook, much water is involved, and boiling the food typically causes some of the water to evaporate into the kitchen.
You need to make sure that the steam can find its way out of the kitchen and condense outside your home.
Apart from the steam helping to cause havoc to your kitchen cabinet, it can also drive mold growth when the concentrates are in one place for a long time.
This is the reason having ventilation is so essential in the home. You should take ventilation very seriously if you do not want to be encountering any health issues associated with water in your home.
It is rocket science. So one of the best ways to keep the kitchen well-ventilated is to make sure that the windows are open all the time so that moisture and steam can escape from the kitchen.
Another way to promote ventilation is to use dehumidifiers, and these devices soak up the excess moisture in the air in the kitchen.
This will reduce the amount of moisture in the kitchen and help to reduce the risk of water damage to your precious kitchen cabinet.
Conclusion
It is not all that easy to repair a kitchen cabinet that has been damaged by water. However, you can do that once you make up your mind about it.
You will have to put in a lot of time and effort because this could take about two or three days to complete.
However, if you do not want to go through the stress of fixing a kitchen cabinet that has been damaged by water, you can use these tips to prevent that from happening.
As the saying goes, prevention is better than cure. You can take the necessary steps to prevent your kitchen cabinet from getting damaged by water, and all you have to do is keep it protected from moisture.
Ensure there is enough ventilation in your kitchen, and check the edge of your countertops to see if they aid in the damage process.
Once you see that your countertops drip water onto the cabinets below, you should immediately take the necessary steps to alter the edge of the countertop to rectify the issue.
You should see if the sink can be changed to a deep one so that water does not splash out easily from it.
I hope this article has been helpful to you, and you now know how to keep your precious kitchen cabinet protected from water damage.
