How to Clean Wooden Furniture

How to Clean Wooden Furniture: I’m going to show you exactly how I maintain all of my wood furniture as surprising as it sounds the less you do to your wood furniture the better it is for the furniture in fact varnished wood furniture in my home gets cleaned once a week using nothing more than a microfiber cloth and ho this removes any dust and the microfiber helps shine up the surface if your wood is unfinished just clean it using a dry microfiber cloth because moisture can parch and/or warp the wood and to determine if your what is unfinished just add a drop of water to the surface if it beads it’s got varnish and if it absorbs and leaves a little mark which will dry up don’t worry it’s unfinished.

What about furniture polish aren’t I supposed to use that well let me explain the FP situation here a little bit further for you according to a manufacturer of a popular furniture polish brand it’s designed to bring out the shine of your wood and to polish and protect your furniture. But here’s the kicker not all wood and wood finishes are created equal because of course different wood specimens and varnishes have different requirements so furniture polish is really not an all-in-one solution further and here’s a misconception it doesn’t even clean anything in fact it can dull the finish and leave a buildup on your furniture over time so in my professional opinion leave store-bought furniture polish out of your cleaning kit if you have been overusing furniture polish and you find your wood is super dulled out you’ll see this haze or streaks that you just can’t get rid of so what you can do to manage that is apply a bit of vegetable based enzyme cleaner to sit on the wood for a couple of minutes which will sort of remove that buildup and then you can wipe that away with a cotton cloth and buff it dry now if you can’t find that you can use steeped black tea to do this the tannins and the tea will help break down that dull finish and reveal a beautiful shine.

So when do you polish your furniture and how often well the simple answer is to do it whenever the wood looks dull or uneven and as I so often do I’m going to recommend that you just make your own furniture polish in a clean spray bottle add one part white vinegar to three parts olive oil and shake well spray the Polish onto a soft cotton cloth and apply in a buffing motion to the wood furniture the oil moisturizes the wood and the vinegar cleans it and of course you can use the leftovers on your salad remember using it too often will create a sticky build-up which attracts dirt and dust you can also use this mixture on antiques however do be very careful when dealing with old antique pieces or furniture made from exotic wood they may very well have specific cleaning requirements so do your research if you have heat or watermarks you can restore the wood by applying mayonnaise to the area leaving it overnight and then buffing it into the table in the morning now this one is hard for me to do because I have a major and I mean major aversion to mayonnaise I don’t know why this disgusting product works so well on wood but it just does the key to keeping your wood furniture in tip-top shape is preventative maintenance always wipe up spills and messes as soon as they happen and try to use placemats and coasters whenever possible it’s best to make sure that everything decorative which is placed on your furniture has felt pads or something similar on the bottom to avoid scratching and also try to keep your wood furniture away from fireplaces and radiators and guys if you do all that your wood furniture is going to last you for a real long time.

If you liked this tip leave me a comment and let me know or if you have any cleaning questions, if you’re really interested in my cleaning tips on an ongoing basis subscribe to our blog and don’t forget to follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Linkedin