Repairing Water Damage in Your Under Sink Cabinet

Water damage is not uncommon in an under sink cabinet. There are several ways to repair it, depending on how bad it has become. If you have slight water damage, it is pretty easily fixed. If it is a little more severe, or you feel that the common household items will not help, you may need to replace the cabinet. If the damage is mild, you can follow the steps below to repair your under sink cabinet and bring it back to its normal state.

Step 1 - Dry Visible Water

The first thing you will want to do is absorb any pooling water that is present. Take a dry cloth and soak up any water that is visible.

Step 2 - Hair Dryer

Now that you have soaked up the initial water, you can remove even more water by using your hair dryer. Take your hair dryer and set it to one of the lowest setting. Hold it about 9-inches above the wet spots and leave it on there for about 3 minutes. Than move to the next spot, and follow those same steps.

Because it may be a little more severe than just some spots, you can use the dryer to go back and forth in strips to dry the complete area.

Step 3 - Dry Mold

You may have to deal with dry mold as well as water damage. This is best taken care of by a good hard scrubbing of bleach and water. Dampen a sponge with a bleach and water mixture and scrub the dry mold area. This not only will clean your dry mold, but it will disinfect at the same time, making it safe for you and your family.

WARNING: Bleach is toxic to inhale, so be sure to open any windows to get proper ventilation and (especially if you have a history of respiratory problems) wear a respirator or face mask. It also stains clothing, so be sure to put on work clothes before you start.

Step 4 - Apply Cleaner

There are several different things you can use to clean the water damage from your cabinet. Ammonia on cloth is among the most common cleaners that you can use. Apply ammonia to your cloth, and rub the spots, or the entire cabinet thoroughly. You can also use mayonnaise mixed with cigarette ashes. Apply this paste to a cloth and put it on the affected areas.

Toothpaste and baking soda also make a good water damage cleaner. Again, you will want to mix the two items to create a paste, and apply it to the affected area. Mineral oil on some steel wool will make those water damage disappear as well. Mineral oil and steel wool should be used if you have tried all other options, and have gotten nowhere.

Step 5 - Rub Dry

Once you have applied the cleaner, and let it set about 20 to 25 minutes, you can start to take off the cleaner. This is not done with water. Rather, take a new, dry cloth and rub in circular motions to remove the paste or cleaner. This will hopefully remove and lift the water damage as well.

Step 6 - Rinse and Polish

Take cool water once again, and rinse down your repaired cabinet. After you have rinsed and dried your cabinet, you can take some polish and give it a good polish so it is back to new once again.