Kitchen cupboards without fingerprints

Q: Do I have to soak my cloth every time?

No. You soak it once per cloth, and only when it is new: 15 minutes in lukewarm or warm water, then wring it out well. After that it is the same every time: run it under the tap and wring it out well. That is all there is to it, and it does not change after a wash.

Short answer

Your cupboard doors come up free of fingerprints with water alone and a single cloth, matt black and high-gloss kitchens included. Dampen the cloth, wring it out firmly and wipe along the grain or in one direction.

No multi-purpose cleaner needed, and no haze you have to take off again two days later.

How to clean your kitchen cupboards streak-free

Damp, following the grain, and folded on to a clean side.

For the rest of the kitchen everything is together under kitchen cleaning.

1
Wet the cloth and wring it out firmly. It should feel damp. Too wet leaves water behind that dries into streaks, and that is by far the most common mistake.
2
Wipe along the grain or in one direction. On wood and textured laminate, follow the grain. On smooth materials the direction does not matter, as long as you are not going back and forth.
3
Fold the cloth in four and turn it as you go. On greasy doors a side fills up quickly. Eight clean sides get you through a whole kitchen in one go.
4
Is there baked-on grease? Then add a little mild soapy water, and go over it afterwards with a damp cloth and water alone. That way no soap residue is left to come back later as a haze.

Is your cloth new? Then soak it first for 15 minutes in lukewarm or warm water and wring it out well. You do that once per cloth, and only when it is new. After that it is the same every time: run it under the tap and wring it out well.

High-gloss, matt or matt black: what is the difference?

The material decides how visible a streak is, not how you clean.

Type of kitchen	What to watch for
High-gloss	Shows every streak. Work with light pressure and a clean side of the cloth. Never use the cloth like a scouring pad, because high-gloss lacquer is delicate.
Matt black	The trickiest material there is: fingerprints and haze show up immediately. Working damp and without much pressure makes the biggest difference here.
Matt or textured	Wipe along the texture. Go across it and moisture sits in the grooves, and you will see that later.
Lacquered wood	Damp works fine. On old or fragile lacquer, test on an out-of-the-way spot first.

The big clean: inside first

Work from the inside out and you only do the doors once.

Empty the cupboards and wipe out the inside. Stubborn patches and baked-on grease come off with sugar soap or a degreaser, and then you go over them with water alone. Let the cupboard dry properly before you put everything back.

Only then do the doors. The other way round works against you: you end up with dust and grease back on the fronts you have just cleaned.

Do not wait until it dries on

A splash you wipe away straight away costs you five seconds.

A kitchen is lived in, so splashes come with the territory. The difference is in how long they sit there. Fresh grease comes off with a damp cloth in no time; dried-on grease wants soapy water and a good deal more effort. So keep a cloth within reach and you will just do it while you are standing there anyway.

Still getting streaks?

Then it is nearly always a cloth that is too wet, an old layer left by your previous cleaning product, or grease that was already in the cloth.

Work through the six causes, with the fix for each one.

What you need for this

iZi-Clean Wonder Cloth, pack of 12 · enough for a cloth of its own in every room
Wonder Cloth, pack of 4 · to try it out first
Drying Towel M · for when you would rather buff dry

Frequently asked questions

Do I need a multi-purpose cleaner for my kitchen cupboards?

Not for everyday fingerprints and splashes: water is enough. Only for baked-on grease do you add a little mild soapy water, and then you go over it with water alone so that no soap residue is left behind.

Why does this cloth pick up more than an ordinary cloth?

Because the fibre is made using nanotechnology and woven in a particular way. That creates far more surface area to draw dust and grease towards it and hold on to them. For you that means one pass does what takes three with an ordinary cloth, and no fluff or hairs are left behind.

How do I get matt black kitchen cupboards streak-free?

Work damp and do not press hard. Matt black shows every fingerprint and every haze, so move to a clean side of your cloth as soon as the last one is full, and wipe in one direction.

Will a microfibre cloth scratch my high-gloss kitchen?

Not if you use it damp and press lightly. Dry, the cloth feels harder, and that is when high-gloss lacquer can be damaged. So never use it dry and never like a scouring pad.

Do I have to soak my cloth every time?

No. You soak it once per cloth, and only when it is new: 15 minutes in lukewarm or warm water, then wring it out well.

After that it is the same every time: run it under the tap and wring it out well. That is all there is to it, and it does not change after a wash.

Does this work on my stainless steel cooker hood too?

Yes. Follow the direction of the grain in the steel and fingerprints come off in a single pass. If there is a lot of grease on it, start with warm water and a little washing-up liquid, then go over it with water alone.