Searching for the best way to clean old wood furniture? Most times, people are confused as to whether they should wax, dust, or clean their old wood furniture. The good news is you do not have to feel confused anymore as this article contains expert tips that will help in making the task simplified and easy for you. Something about our old wood furniture is they do not go out of style, and this is why we are motivated to ensuring they look new and elegant.
The problem with old wood furniture is cleaning them up can be a little bit difficult, and old wood furniture tends to have build up of grime and dirt over time that proves difficult to be removed by a duster. There is also a very huge possibility that shiny streaks will appear on the old wood furniture if you try cleaning it, but there are several procedures or steps that you can consider trying out when trying to clean your old wood furniture.
Best Way To Clean Old Wood Furniture
Wood maintenance could either be achieved through polishing, waxing, cleaning, and dusting, and carrying out any of these cleaning tasks frequently means your old wood furniture will retain its antique, elegant, and outstanding look. Even though experts have so many varying opinions and ideas about these methods, the type of method you make use of depends on the finish on the wood. Dusting wood furniture is one of the best steps you can try out.
How To Dust Old Wood Furniture
Ensuring that you dust your old wood furniture means you can help your furniture retain its appearance and beauty, and dusting is very important as airborne particles are known to form a layer of film which is capable of leaving marks or scratches on the surface of the wood if they are not gotten rid of. People with asthma are at a very high risk if dust builds up on their old wood furniture, and dust accumulation is also capable of triggering allergies in people.
Dust are known to live in fabrics, and this means constant vacuuming of upholstery and carpets will get rid of this dust. Capturing and removing dust is the best way to get rid of dust from your old wood furniture, and it is also necessary that you wipe down the cloth using a damp piece of cloth so as to make sure dust doesn’t gets scattered in the air. Make sure you make use of a dry towel to get rid of excess moisture from your old wood furniture.
Best Dusting Tools
The best tool to make use of when dusting your old wood furniture is a tool with the ability to hold in dust, and avoid dusting tools that will end up spewing dust back in the air after dusting it off from your old wood furniture. Feather dusters, soft cloths, and dry cloths are the best dusting materials you can make use of to eliminate dust from your old wood furniture, and lint-free cloths are capable of trapping and eliminating dust.
How To Clean Old Wood Furniture
Multi-purpose cleaning sprays like the ones used on cleaning kitchen tables should not be used when cleaning old wood furniture, but you can make use of the ones specially coated using plastic materials. Another thing you want to avoid when cleaning old wood furniture is using water, but you can make use of soap and water when cleaning sticky spots. Doing this will require you to make use of a lint-free cloth dissolved inside detergent or soap with water.
Dip the cloth inside the mixture and squeeze nearly dry before wiping off the sticky area. Liquid furniture sprays and commercial sprays contain silicone oil that has the ability to provide wood with adequate protection, but products that are known to contain high percentage of oils tend to show fingerprints on them. Old wood polishes and sprays used on old wood furniture in the past has the tendency to affect cleaning as it will leave residues behind.
This is why it is very essential that you do not make use of olive oil when cleaning old wood furniture, and this is because olive oil has the ability to attract dust.
How To Clean Mold Off Old Wood Furniture
There are ways of cleaning when you spot a patch of fungi on your old wood furniture, and this section of this post is to show you how to clean mold off old wood furniture. You can carry out this step by making use of a vacuum cleaner that is designed with a soft brush which has loose attachment that are designed to pick up loose spores. You can go on to wipe off the area using a mid cloth which you will dissolve in detergent and water.
After cleaning off mold from old wood furniture using soap and water, the next step for you to take is to clean using a dry and soft piece of cloth. Not everyone knows they can add furniture wax paste after cleaning mild and mold off old wood furniture, and the purpose of adding furniture was paste is to protect the finish on the surface of the wood. On the other hand, there are wood furniture care tips that needs to be followed from time to time.
These tips have been performed by so many people who have expressed satisfaction and pleasure with the results they got. Take a look at some of the tips below;
Wood Furniture Care Tips
Even high quality woods are vulnerable to bad smells and odors, and there are wood furniture care tips you can follow to make sure your wood isn’t affected or attacked by these smells and odors.
- If your old wood furniture has started developing bad smells then you should consider taking it to get some air outside. One thing you should not forget is to make sure you air dry your old wood furniture on a dry and sunny day, and make sure where you place the old wood furniture is directly under the sunlight.
- You can also decide to pour baking soda and talcum powder over the surface of the wood
- Another step to take is placing a pan of charcoal briquettes right inside of drawers
- Make sure you rub upper edges using a white candle when working with drawers that stick together
Just like we mentioned earlier, it can be difficult to get rid of dust and grime that has built up over time, and this requires carrying out a serious cleaning than the regular cleaning you are used to. Every homeowner is pleased and satisfied when his home furniture has that toughness, versatility, and beauty, and the fact that they do not require much to maintain makes them a good piece of furniture to have in your home.
With little intervention, wood furniture is known to survive on its own. You will have to constantly clean wood because wood is always subjected to wear and tear through regular and normal accidents. Cleaning wood constantly means the wood will be able to retain its beauty, appearance, and longevity, and the steps we have discussed in this post should be followed and performed like discussed if you want to preserve your wood furniture.
If you have a good idea of what furniture finish was used on the wood or you know if another treatment was used on your old wood furniture then you can go ahead and make use of a cleaning method in keeping your old furniture clean and free from dust and grime. Cleaning furniture in stages is recommended, and this involves making use of a mild cleaners in cleaning up wood to preserve the integrity of the wood.
You can move on to using a stronger solution if the gentle one you used initially didn’t deliver the result you want. This also means going ahead to clean the old wood furniture with a stronger solution and having no idea on what finish was used on the wood furniture.
If you want to know what finish was used on the wood furniture, apply denatured alcohol in a less conspicuous area, and you should and you should be dealing with shellac if the alcohol dissolves totally. On the other hand, you will be dealing with a varnish if the alcohol dissolves slowly. This gives you an idea of what you are dealing with.
Conclusion – Best Way To Clean Old Wood Furniture
We have gotten to the concluding stages of this interesting article, and everything we have discussed in this post simply means you will no longer have issues with helping your old wood furniture retain its beautiful and attractive look. Furthermore, these steps are very easy steps that do not require you to have special tools, skills, or knowledge, and this is why they are described as do it yourself steps.
The fact that they have proved effective over the years makes them the best steps you can take when caring for your wood furniture, so go ahead and try out these steps right away.