Tackling the smallest projects in my home always seem to create the most happiness. Sure giving a room a new coat of paint is exciting, but most of us live with some silly repair need for far too long, so when it's finally fixed, it's like this marvelous miracle. So today, I'd like to talk about the area under your sink. Did you know it could make you happy? Oh it totally can.
Most cabinets (unless yours are metal) have a pressboard bottom and when it comes to the area under your sink, things can get a little, uh, moist. From leaky pipes (or just condensation from them), spills and household cleaners, this area actually sees quite a bit of use.
It's never an attractive area, you don't tour a new house and the realtor opens up the sink cabinet for everyone to view, but sometimes an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. In this case, simple, inexpensive stick-on tiles from your local hardware store can be applied to the cabinet floor.
Why? For starters unless your house is new it covers up old leaks or spills that are unidentifiable to you and helps prevent against anything new that your usage might cause. Things can easily be wiped up without soaking into the pressboard and making it less structurally sound (to which it obviously doesn't need any help). In addition, if you've ever been the one laying under a sink to change or repair something, the tiles will make it easy to wipe the space out without fear of what old ick you're laying in.
Check out this project, as well as a few other organizational and cabinetry helpers, at Family Handyman.
Image: Family Handyman
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I've done this twice. Once I had a linoleum remnant, and I lined all the cabinets, including under the sink.
The second time, the cabinets, especially under the sick, were in perfect condition. I also happened to have inherited a contact paper collection. (Don't laugh. That stuff used to be pretty.) I did not peel the contact paper, and just laid it like shelf paper. It has worked beautifully. The back gives the paper serious strength. I'll never peel the back off contact paper again.
<forehead slap!> Such a simple brilliant idea, can't believe I haven't done this!
I also put a small CFL light under the sink & in the bigger cabinet spaces. Especially useful for finding things, inspecting the plumbing, checking for stains etc. Good idea to protect the boards.
Never seen this before, and it never would have occurred to me. Great tip.
The CFL light idea is a good one, too, rapidtransitman.
My dad insisted I do this in all my cabinets when I bought my house last year and it has been a lifesaver. So easy to clean!
GREAT idea. Mine are grody.
Oops. I spilled something under the sink. Instead of cleaning it up I'll just put these peel and stick tiles under here.
Oops. I spilled something on my peel and stick tiles. Instead of cleaning it up I'll just put some carpet under here.
Oops. I spilled something on my carpet. Instead of cleaning it up I'll just put some laminate flooring under here.
It's not a bad idea if it's really damaged under the sink, but at least clean up first.
I love this idea. We have metal kitchen cabinets. The area under our sink gets rusty quite easily. We sand and repaint that area yearly! How can we protect our cabinets without moisture remaining trapped underneath? Would the peel and stick tile work fine?
I just bought boot mats at Menards (the cheaper $2 ones) and place them under the sink. If they get dirty, I can take them out and wash them off in the tub or outside.
I too have done this in every house I have lived in. It makes a huge difference!
I've used draining mats and boot mats, too. Easy to pull out and wipe off. You have to find them pretty flat, though, or everything you put down on them will rock and fall over.
I spent about 20 minutes under my sink with some paint and contact paper, and it made such a huge difference. Really like the peel and stick linoleum idea.
http://waldorfmodern.com/2010/12/under-sink-15-minute-makeover/
Thank you for validation. When I told friends I spent a Saturday painting the exposed drywall in the back of a couple of lower cabinets and put down contact paper after, they looked at me like my OCD had finally done me in.!
Ahah! my sink valves leaked, so I found damp and mold under the floor vinyl I put down years ago. It would have been worse otherwise. Time to wipe it all out with bleach, paint it white and get the peel and stick. Thanks for another viewpoint.
Love this idea....I'm going to do this
Metal cabinet owner, why is the cabinet moist? Is there a drip? Even a small one? I would wrap paper towels around each juncture with a wire and see where the water is coming from. You might have a very small leak. If you live in a naturally damp habitat, and the moisture is from the air, then peel and stick tiles might not keep that moisture from collecting underneath anyways. However, a bucket of damp-rid in the cabinet,regularly replaced, might help that situation.
except... in the house we just bought, we inherited the long-term effects of sticky tiles in cabinets. I don't know when they were installed by the previous owners, but when we moved in, they were warped, curled, flaky and gross (not just unclean... gross). So now, they are in a landfill, and we spent a few hours scraping the cabinet floors clean.
And here's a question/comment about the "linoleumness" of these tiles: are peel and stick tiles ever true linoleum? My understanding, after talking with the local green flooring center is that they are **not**. Linoleum is biodegradable. Vinyl - which is the usual peel-n-stick stuff - is not.