NEWS
How to Clean Your Wooden Furniture
Posted on March 19, 2019
Basic Methods to Keep Your Wooden Furniture Looking New!
We all know how wooden furniture gives our homes a vintage, classic look. It does have a certain charm to it. There are times when we feel although it may look chic and vintage, there is a certain risk to maintaining our wooden furniture.
As the clichéd saying goes: wooden furniture don’t last as long as the ones made of metal. And it can be costly in maintenance.
It isn’t, in all honesty. With modern technology, wooden furniture is quite likely to last you a long way. This is only provided you do maintain it properly.
Here are ways you can maintain your wooden furniture at home without needing to spend too much!
1. Dusting your furniture
Do this. People often forget dust builds up a filmy layer that can easily scratch the surfaces of your wooden furniture. Frequent dusting removes such airborne deposits.
People often use feather dusters to remove specks of dust from their wooden furniture. Occasionally, people may use clean, soft clothes to effectively remove dust. In most Asian households, they may use a mildly damp rag to do so.
To avoid scattering the dust in the air where it may float and settle on your furniture surfaces eventually, use a slightly damp rag.
Other popular methods of removing dust from your wooden furniture are using treated clothes or terry towels. Treated clothes are non-scratching cloths that pick up and hold dirt. Use treated clothes in place of silicon sprays, which are often not recommended for fine wood furniture.
Terry towels are your normal kind of rags or towels used to remove any moisture left from dusting with a damp cloth.
2. Avoid cleaning too much with water
When it comes to general cleaning, it’s stereotypically best not to clean your wooden with water. Though that stereotype may be true, it doesn’t necessarily mean you should completely avoid maintenance with water.
Sticky spots may need to be treated with soapy water. Here’s how you can do it – dip your cloth or rag in mild soap or detergent-dissolved water. Wring the cloth to nearly dry and use it to wipe the area. Rinse the cloth and immediately dry it with a clean, soft cloth.
3. Use oil polishes, cleaners, and furniture oils
You can get over-the-counter oil polishes, cleaners, and furniture oils from supermarkets. They protect wood by making its surfaces more slippery. However, such polishes, cleaners, oils and such do not offer a hard protective layer.
Surface cleaning products that contain a high percentage of oil can make your wooden furniture surfaces smear. It can show fingerprints. To avoid such a problem, don’t polish with pure olive oil, which can smear and attract dust.
Commercial spray and liquid furniture polishes contain silicone oil, which provides some protection. If you use sprays and polishes often or suspect your wooden furniture has been polished with them, be aware residues can interfere with refinishing and may need professional attention.
4. Homemade recipe for cleaning wooden furniture
If you feel you are not a fan of spending money on over-the-counter cleaning solutions from supermarkets, try making a home-made cleaning solution to clean your furniture.
Some experts recommend treating your grimy wood furniture with a mixture of equal parts of olive oil, denatured alcohol, gum turpentine, and strained lemon juice. Apply the mixture with a soft cloth, then buff it with a clean cloth.
5. Deep cleaning your furniture
The first step to removing layers of grime, try using oil soap and water. Rinse and dry after that. If the finish still looks dirty, clean it lightly with steel wool dipped in a cleaning product.
Some products have a milky appearance, which is formulated to dissolve both solvent-based and oil-based residues.
Try not to use mixtures containing boiled linseed oil, turpentine, or white vinegar. Museum conservators reported that these things darken the wood and attract dust and lint. Try to use a clear paste wax instead.
6. How do I make and apply paste wax?
Here are simple steps to make a wax paste.
Step 1 – Put a spoonful of wax (in a golf-ball size) in a square of 100% cotton fabric. Wrap the fabric around the wax ball and knead it until soft.
Step 2 – Rub the wood surface in circular motion, a small area at a time. Do this until the waxing is complete.
Step 3 – When the surface dulls, wipe off the excess wax. Use a clean, soft cotton cloth and turn it frequently.
Step 4 – Repeat the waxing and wipe it until the entire area is waxed. If you see a streak, keep wiping to remove excess wax.
Step 5 – Then polish the wood with a soft cloth attached to an electric drill or power buffer. If the wax smears, wipe with a soft cloth and continue buffing.
Step 6 – For a deep shine look, apply a 2nd coat of wax in the same manner. To maintain waxed furniture, dust it regularly. Do not use liquid or aerosol furniture polishes because they can dissolve the wax and leave a hazy film.
7. How do I get rid of scratched marks on surfaces?
If you don’t like seeing the wooden scratches on your wooden furniture surfaces, apply paste wax. Alternatively, use a felt-tip touch-up pen.
For deeper scratches that gouge into the wood, use wood filler or a coloured filler wax sticks available at hardware or home improvement stores. Though you may not be able to find a similar colour, try to match as closely as possible to your furniture piece’s colour. Apply in several thin layers rather than in one thick layer.
8. How do I make my old furniture smell fresh?
If you have a vintage wooden piece you just don’t want to let go (sentimental values) and has a lingering smell, air it outside. Air it outside on a warm, dry day. Shade your wooden piece from direct sunlight.
Pour talcum powder or baking soda on the surface to absorb odours. Place a shallow pan of charcoal briquettes inside the drawers. Rub the upper edge of sticking drawers with a white candle.
At times all you need to do is put in a bit of effort into maintaining and keeping your wooden furniture clean. With simple, basic methods, your vintage pieces are as good as new.