Homeowners have long relished the elegance, toughness, and versatility of wood furniture. Like the ideal gazebo in your backyard, wood furniture survives on its own, requiring little or no attention.
However, over time, solid hardwood furniture accumulates grime due to pollutants such as dust, grease from the kitchen, and smoke from cigars. When this happens, you will need serious cleaning that goes beyond dusting, to restore your custom wood furniture to its former glory. Such cleaning might involve polishing, staining, and sand smoothing to remove surface scratches.
Keep in mind that it’s the finish on the wood that determines the appropriate cleaning product to be used. So it’s important first to figure out what type of wood your furniture is made from. You don’t want anything that will do harm to your custom wood furniture.
Here are the three basic ways to clean your furniture:
- Use a commercial wood cleaner
- Use of dish detergents
- Use of Trisodium Phosphate
In this post, we are going to show you how to clean your wood furniture by use of commercial wood cleaners.
How to Clean your Custom Wood Furniture with a Commercial Wood Cleaner
Use of wood cleaners to clean your valuable furniture is the most effective way to restore glory to your old antique. Commercial wood cleaners can be found virtually in all home goods stores and also in most hardware stores.
Look for a product made specifically for removing wax and dirt. Examples of such products include mineral spirits and turpentine.These products work best at removing grime as they don’t react with the wood.
Here’s a step by step guide on how to clean your grimed furniture with mineral spirit formulations.
Step 1: Prepare the product
Most of the commercial wood cleaners work best in warm temperatures of around 70-degrees Fahrenheit. However, some of these products are flammable, and should not be heated over an open flame. Instead, put the cleaning bottle inside another container of warm water for around 15 minutes.
Step 2: Apply the cleaner
Most furniture, if well cared for will only need mineral spirit which should be applied using a soft, clean cloth. However, if the furniture has been neglected and has scratches and stains, you might need to use a super fine steel wool.
To apply the cleaner, dip a soft, clean cloth in the cleaner and wipe it gently over the surface of the furniture. Let it stand for around 10 minutes to allow the chemicals in the cleaner to react with wax and grime.
Once the film or the old wax has softened, wipe the wood with the same cloth to get rid of the residue completely.
Step 3: Repeat the process
If the wood cleaner fails to remove the grime completely, you may want to repeat the process.This might happen especially when the wood surface is stained or very dirty.
Step 4: Let the furniture dry
After you are done with the cleaning, give your furniture at least 24 hours to dry. You will only be able to see its luster when it’s completely dry. Only then will the full effects of your cleaning manifest.
Step 5: Polish your furniture
Now that you have totally cleaned your wood, you might want to enhance its looks with some polish. Again, I would encourage you to do some research on the type of wood before choosing the right polish.
Once you get your wood polish of choice, coat the furniture’s surface sparingly with polish.
Conclusion
Taking good care of your custom wood furniture not only prolong their years of use but also adds an aesthetic appeal to your home. By learning how to strip grime off your furniture, you will give new life to even the oldest antiques.
For more information on how to clean and maintain your specific wood furniture, talk to us. Having sold these brands of solid hardwood furniture for years, we know the best way to keep your furniture clean and maintain that shine.
And, if you have space for new furniture in your home or office, check out Rainbow furniture today. We have all the pieces of American furniture you need to transform the looks of your home.