You are adding Clean Inside Cabinets to a Philadelphia house cleaning, or booking a Move clean whose checklist says "must be clear." Two questions follow. What do you take out of the cabinets first? And does the finish on your cabinets change how they should be wiped? The second one has no single answer, because the cabinet makers do not agree with each other.
Everything below comes from our booking page, checklists and services pages, plus the care documents of three cabinet makers: KraftMaid, Schrock and Wellborn, all read on October 31, 2026. Those documents are written for owners cleaning their own cabinets, mostly doors and fronts, and only KraftMaid's names the inside. They are not a Hometress method. We have not published which products or methods our cleaners use, so this guide cannot say.
The short answer
- The add-on: Clean Inside Cabinets is $30 and adds 35 minutes, as of October 31, 2026. Its card reads "Hand-wiped, inside + out."
- What to clear: our own pages do not say who empties the cabinets. The Move checklist says "must be clear." Clear what you want cleaned, and say so in your arrival notes.
- The finish: where a damp wipe is allowed, the makers say to dry right after. Past that they split on water, soap, sponges, alcohol and vinegar.
- What to do: find your maker's care guide, name your finish in the arrival notes, and follow what your booking or cleaner tells you.
What our own pages say about cabinets
These are the exact words each page uses today. The right-hand column is only whether the page says who takes things out.
| Where | Exact wording | Says who empties? |
|---|---|---|
| Booking add-on card | "Clean Inside Cabinets" with "Hand-wiped, inside + out" | No |
| Services page, add-ons | "Inside the cabinets" with "Emptied shelves wiped out, fronts included." | No |
| Move checklist | "Clean Inside Cabinets (must be clear)" | No, but it speaks to the state on arrival: clear |
| Recurring cleaning page | "Inside cabinets" with "Before a reorganize or a move" | No |
The included tasks on the Standard and Deep checklists do not go inside cabinets; there it appears only in the add-on list. The Deep checklist has the line "Wipe Down Refrigerator And Cabinet Tops (up to 9ft)." The Move description says it covers "Inside the oven, fridge, and cabinets, interior windows and doors, baseboards," and the inside-cabinets add-on page carries the current price and minutes. So the one line that speaks to the cabinets' state, "must be clear," is on the Move checklist, and none of our pages says who does the clearing. We would rather you ask than guess.
What the three makers agree on
Where a damp wipe is allowed, the starting point is the same in all three. KraftMaid, in its 2020 care guide: "After installation, wipe down all exteriors and interiors with a damp cloth to remove dust." Schrock, in its installation and care guide: "A soft cotton cloth dampened with warm water is usually sufficient to clean your cabinets." Wellborn, for matte and high-gloss laminate: "use a microfiber cloth moistened with soap and water (maximum 1% solution)."
Each then says to dry. KraftMaid: "Always dry the surface immediately." Schrock: "Dry immediately, using another soft, clean cloth." Wellborn: "Dry the cabinets immediately with a clean, dry, soft cloth after cleaning." That is the agreement. Past it, the documents pull apart.
Where the makers disagree
Each row below puts two lines from the documents side by side. The cabinet finish named in the right-hand cell is the section of the document the line comes from.
| Question | One document says | Another says |
|---|---|---|
| Water on the surface | KraftMaid, wood: "Regular cleaning requires only wiping with a damp cloth and then drying." | Wellborn, stained wood, painted wood and MDF: "Never apply water to your cabinetry." |
| Soap or detergent | KraftMaid, wood: "Never use detergent, abrasive cleaners, scouring pads or powdered cleansers." | Schrock: "A fresh solution of dishwashing liquid mixed with warm water." |
| Sponges | Schrock lists "Sponges or dish clothes" under products to avoid. | Wellborn, laminate and melamine: "use a damp microfiber cloth or sponge and a mild soap or detergent." |
| Vinegar and acids | Wellborn, laminate and melamine: "Acidic or abrasive cleaners can damage laminate surfaces; do not use them." | Wellborn, glass doors: "Use 99% isopropyl alcohol, citrus or vinegar-based cleaners on a clean, non-abrasive cloth or paper towel to clean." |
| Alcohol | KraftMaid, thermofoil and foil: "DO NOT USE agents containing acetone, concentrated alcohols, acetate or ethyl alcohol." | Wellborn, glass doors: "99% isopropyl alcohol" is the first product on its list. |
One caution on the detergent row. KraftMaid's chemical-resistance chart for its wood finish rates "Household Soaps & Washing Detergent" and "Vinegar" as 1, and the chart's key defines 1 as "Unaffected; no color or surface texture change." A chart of how a finish holds up to a spill is not a cleaning instruction, so even inside one document the care text and the chart are different statements.
Bleach is the one place only one maker speaks: Schrock lists "Bleach or cleaning products that include bleach" among the products to avoid, and the KraftMaid and Wellborn documents we read do not mention bleach. Wellborn also lists glass doors, laminate and wood as separate sections, so even one maker gives different instructions for different parts of one kitchen.
The point of the table is not that one maker is right. The same wipe is allowed in one document and ruled out in another, so no single product or method is safe for "inside cabinets." The document for your own cabinets is the one that counts.
Two limits. These are three makers' documents, mostly about doors and fronts, and only KraftMaid's says anything about interiors. And many Philadelphia homes have older or unbranded cabinets for which no care document may exist. We do not generalize from three makers to yours.
Before the visit: clear, name, note
This is our planning, not a Hometress rule, and it is built only from the pages and documents above.
- Pick the cabinets. Decide which ones you want cleaned inside, and clear those. The Move checklist says "must be clear"; the add-on card does not say.
- Take out anything under the shelves. If you line your shelves, lift the liners out of the cabinets you want cleaned.
- Name the finish. Painted wood, stained wood, laminate, thermofoil or glass-front doors are the words the makers use. Find the maker's name in your paperwork and its care guide online.
- Put it in the arrival notes. The booking asks "Anything your cleaner should know on arrival?" Write the finish and any maker instruction, such as a no-water rule, and follow the answer you get.
- No care guide? Say so in the notes, along with the age and finish if you know them.
After the wipe, the makers' rule is to dry the surface. That is their rule, quoted above, and not a promise about what happens during a visit.
Two made-up households
These households are invented to show the planning, built only from the figures above. They are not customers.
Priya, painted cabinets with a Wellborn care guide. The guide's line for painted wood is "Never apply water to your cabinetry." Priya adds Clean Inside Cabinets at $30, clears the two lower cabinets she wants done, and writes in the arrival notes: painted wood, Wellborn, and the guide's no-water rule.
Marcus, older cabinets with no paperwork. There is no maker name to look up. Marcus adds the same $30 add-on, clears one cabinet, and writes: older painted cabinets, no care guide, finish unknown.
Where to go next
For what a whole Philadelphia visit adds up to, with each add-on priced as a row, see the line-by-line price breakdown. For what a visit does not cover, see what house cleaners won't do, and for the general list of what to do first, the preparation checklist. When you are ready, start a booking, decide on Clean Inside Cabinets, and use the arrival notes for your finish; the booking page shows the live total.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need to empty my cabinets before the cleaner comes?
For a Move clean, the checklist line reads "Clean Inside Cabinets (must be clear)." For the Clean Inside Cabinets add-on, the card does not say who takes things out, so write what you plan to do in the arrival notes and follow what your booking or your cleaner tells you.
How much does Clean Inside Cabinets cost?
$30 for 35 minutes of added time, as of October 31, 2026. The add-on page carries the current price.
Does a Standard or Deep clean go inside the cabinets?
No. Neither tier's included tasks have an inside-cabinets line, and the checklists list it only among the add-ons. Deep wipes cabinet tops; the inside is the add-on, or part of the Move clean.
Can I use vinegar or bleach on my cabinets?
The makers disagree. Wellborn allows vinegar-based cleaners on glass doors but says acidic cleaners can damage laminate, and Schrock lists bleach as a product to avoid. Check the care guide for your finish.