As of today, I am now the proud owner of (a) an almost-complete, fully-renovated kitchen and (b) very little money (see (a) above). Is there any real reason to put shelf liner down, when the shelves are brand new melamine?
Probably not. Isn’t the shelf liner just to protect wood/paint from stains if something gets spilled?
Well, right, that’s what I thought, which makes it pretty redundant for melamine shelves. I just thought there might be some reason for it other than funding the dreaded Contac-Paper Trust.
Speaking as someone who is married to an interior decorator, I can safely say 2 things.
- Don’t ask this question to a female interior decorator, unless you want to be both scoffed at and lectured to for about an hour.
- After I went through above trauma, I boiled it down to the facts that A) Shelf liners are there to prevent wood rot or staining if you put something wet/stainy on them, and B) They make the inside of your cabinets look pretty.
After going through said lecture, I wasn’t ABOUT TO EVEN ASK why in the world you would want your shelves to look pretty, especially since most likely they will be covered with macaroni & cheese boxes and dishes. I therefore gave the standard male conflict-avoidance response: “Yes, dear.” 
Shelf liners primarily serve to feed cockroaches, who eat the glue. They whisper in the ears of women at night, to tell them how pretty shelf liners look.
–Nott, the large
Hello Oxy,
There is no need to line your melamine shelves.Melamine panels are coated with paper which has been dipped in melamine resin,and is then thermally bonded to the surface.It is a foodsafe,sterile surface which will clean easily with water.It is also waterproof.This is why it is approved for medical and institutional use.For tough spots,like jelly,you may want to use warm soapy water.
Concerning the waterproof quality however,I would be remiss if I did not point out that the substrate(the particleboard panel that the melamine is bonded to)is not waterproof.If you do have to wash the shelves and other parts,don’t let the water linger where it can contact the particleboard directly through the edges.That would be very damaging.Particleboard has a nasty habit of rising up or expanding if exposed to excessive water which is allowed to linger.Don’t be afraid of this though,it only happens when a lot of water is present,and is allowed to linger.
One thing that I do recommend is to put a little linoleum floor in the compartment under the sink.In the event of a leak or any servicing of the garbage disposal the floor will protect the particleboard from any infiltration of water.The floor should have curved little sidewalls,just as if it was on your real floor.The point is it should cause water to flow out of the cabinet as much as possible.Although this step isn’t required,it is a simple thing to do,and really provides a long service life to the one cabinet in a kitchen that is usually the first to go.It should also be rather inexpensive,and within the grasp of the average home handyman.
Building cabinets for twenty years,
Forbin
Gee whillikers (sp?) thanks everyone, especially Forbin - I’ll go get myself a cheap scrap of lino straight away. (Whistles happily away, surpressing vague, grim visions of grubby, nasty-tempered Leninist particleboard “rising up” against bourgeois kitchen owners…)
Shelf lining is used by mommies everywhere to give them something to do while the big furniture gets shoved about. I am also told that it has some chemical in it that is unpleasant to yucky bugs.
Yeah, what Forbin said!
In addition if you want to spend a little money down the road, talk to a local cabinetmaker type (like Forbin!) who orders from Hafele and se if you cant get one of their nice undersink spill containers…it is a liner that will hold a gallon or two of liquid IIRC.
Lino will work fine for now, but only if you seal it so the water doesn’t run under and collect, a little silicon will do the trick nicely.
MikeG who was a cabinetmaker for years and now is a designer.