How To Safely Clean Wood Furniture
If you’re investing in wood furniture for the added durability, beauty and value, we get it. Solid wood furniture will pay you back over time. Take a solid wood dining table for instance. Crafted with solid wood means it’s going to see you through the rest of your holiday dinners, birthday celebrations, anniversaries and more. The wood will stand strong and endure daily use without wearing out or breaking down. The beauty of the wood and fine craftsmanship of the table will endure and shine year after year, decade after decade. You’ll want to help keep that table in pristine condition. It all starts with cleaning. But wait, expensive solid wood furniture can’t be cleaned with just anything.
What’s the safest way to clean wood furniture? What are the best products to use?
Let’s take a look.
Cleaning wood furniture involves two things: careful regular dusting and using the right furniture polish.
How To Safely Dust Wood Furniture
You’ll want to dust your wood furniture regularly, at least once a week. Regular dusting helps prevent the buildup of tiny particles that can scratch the wood. We recommend you follow this process.
To dust, select a safe, soft and gentle dusting tool. Examples include microfiber cloths, feather dusters, cotton cloths or any soft dry cloth.
Dust gently, moving the cloth in the same direction as the wood grain. Even dust can be abrasive on wood, so you want to be gentle to avoid scratches.
So dusting is one thing, but cleaning wood furniture is another. What should you do if you have more than just surface dust on your wood furniture? Well, then you have to clean it.
How To Safely Clean Wood Furniture
We suggest you use a damp cloth to clean wood furniture. The key here is to make sure it’s just damp, not wringing wet. You don’t want to saturate the wood. You can mist a microfiber cloth or other soft cloth with clean water to dampen it. Gently clean the wood with it. A damp cloth can help remove more dust versus a dry cloth that can just push the dust off the wood and into the air. After cleaning with a damp cloth, go over the wood again with a soft dry cloth to be sure to dry it thoroughly.
What tools can I use to safely clean my wood furniture?
Things you can use to safely clean your wood furniture include: microfiber cloths, feather dusters, cotton cloths or any soft dry cloth.
What polish is safe to use to clean my wood furniture?
Like a nice shine to your wood along with a fresh scent? Wood furniture polish can add a nice shine, you just have to be careful. Too much polish or wax can cause build up that makes the wood look dull or cloudy.
Take notice when choosing a furniture polish for solid wood furniture. Furniture polish containing silicone oil can damage the wood’s varnish. The best and safest polishes to use to clean wood furniture should be water based and free of silicone, wax or ammonia. Silicone or wax can cause a waxy buildup to form on the wood. Water based is best.
To maintain and protect the wood’s finish, a paste wax can be applied every six to twelve months. Paste wax should not be used as often as polishing and general cleaning. A little goes a long way. Don’t overuse polish or wax if you do decide to use them.
Fun furniture polish scents in pretty packaging can be tempting, but many aerosol polishes contain silicone or other contaminants that are harmful to furniture varnish.
An additional tip for keeping wood furniture clean is to be sure to wipe up any food or drink spills right away with a paper towel or soft cloth. If something sticky spills, use a damp cloth to wipe it off the wood, followed by a dry one to completely dry the wood.
It’s not difficult to safely clean your wood furniture. A general rule of “less is more” can be applied here. Just be careful and gentle with it and be sure to use safe products and avoid damaging ones.
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