Kitchen cabinets are more susceptible to more water, steam, and other potentially harmful elements than cabinets in most other parts of your home. Because of this, they need to be continuously checked replaced more often than others. You should consider these 5 signs to know exactly when to replace your cabinets.

Water Damage

Your problem might be water damage if your cabinets are:

• Swollen
• Not closing properly
• Discoloration

Water damage is a likely occurrence due to the fact that most kitchen cabinets are constructed from wood, which is easily damaged by water.

These commonalities in Kitchen Cabinets can help you determine whether or not to replace them.

• Warped wood
• Cabinets have “bubbles”
• Outsides of cabinet are de-laminating.
• Wood discoloration
• Cabinets showing signs of mold
• Cabinets not closing properly

The first step is always to find and then stop the source of the water from getting into the wood in case of potential health risks.  In particular, there are certain types of molds that produce mycotoxins, which can impair the entire human system, and can even lead to death.

Overall Function Is Inadequate

If the overall functionality of your cabinets doesn’t work for you, you may want to replace instead of repair.

Your cabinets would benefit from replacement if:

• Your cabinets are hard to access and require removing items in order to reach other items tucked in the back.
• The cabinets were not installed in a smart and efficient manner. (if you open two cabinet doors at once and they slam into one another, etc.)
• The drawers themselves cause frustration. If they do not open without getting stuck, make an odd sound, or cause some sort of issue, this is a sign of further damage beneath the surface. Simply removing the drawers and refacing them will not fix the problem.

“Soft” Cabinets

When you push on the sides of your cabinet walls, do they feel soft at all? If so, this is a sign that your cabinets are badly damaged, to the point in which they may fall apart completely.

Moldy Cabinets

When mold is caught early on it can be treated, but when mold is left unidentified it will continue to grow and eventually ruin your cabinets. Not only can mold compromise the backbone and durability of your cabinets, but also hinder you and your family’s health. Mold is caused by moisture or a water, so at the first sign of mold you should attempt to fix any leak.

The Cabinet Box Isn’t Sturdy

If the cabinet box is too worn for you to re-drill new holes or mount new hinges, the structure of the cabinet box will not be sound enough to support any new additions. Hence, purchasing a new set of cabinets will be inevitable.