How to clean wooden furniture: products and solutions
Wood, a material that never goes out of fashion
Wood is one of the most versatile materials of all. Robust and aesthetically adaptable to the most diverse furnishing styles, wood manages to combine beauty and quality. Wooden furniture brings elegance and sophistication to the home. They add warmth and cosiness to a domestic space and are perfect in both traditional-looking settings and more modern, contemporary spaces. Wooden furniture is solid, long-lasting, but it should be treated with care, using the right products. Here are some tips for cleaning wooden furniture.
How to clean wooden furniture: products and solutions – Canva
How to clean wooden furniture?
To properly clean a piece of wooden furniture, it is first necessary to remove any dust from the surface using a woollen or microfibre cloth. Once the dust has been removed, a specific wood care and polishing product, such as commercially available spray waxes, must be applied to the entire surface.
A couple of times during the year, a deeper cleaning using solid wax would be recommended. Both spray wax and solid wax should be spread on the wood surface in a circular motion and using brushes with very soft bristles. Hard bristles would risk scratching the furniture. Once the wax has been applied, the treated furniture must be polished with a woollen cloth.
Cleaning wooden furniture: maintenance with natural products
Over the years, the natural lustre of wood can dull and lose that special aesthetic effect that is so popular in the home. Wooden furniture can be ruined by dust, moisture, but also by tiny pests that can gradually deteriorate its appearance. Furthermore, although wood is a very resistant material, it can be easily scratched. This is why, in order to preserve the beauty of a piece of wooden furniture, it is essential that it is cleaned and polished properly.
For a good maintenance of sideboards and cupboards, tables and chairs, and in general any type of wooden furniture, it is best to intervene effectively but gently.
Once the dust has been removed from the surface of the wooden furniture, it can be treated using various natural products.
- Beeswax, applied to the furniture with a soft bristle brush, can give a pleasant finish to the wood and can make the furniture last longer.
- Water and vinegar mixed in equal parts can be wiped over the surface of the wooden furniture with a clean cloth. Baking soda can sometimes be added to this mixture to smooth out scratched or worn wooden parts if there are any.
- Linseed oil and turpentine, an oily vegetable resin, can be rubbed onto the wood with a soaked cloth and then dried with a woollen cloth.
- Infused green or black tea, wiped over the wood surface can remove dirt. The tannic acid in the tea gives the furniture shine and removes grease stains.
- Lemon, liquid Marseille soap and olive oil are perfect natural products for the routine maintenance of wooden furniture. Simply mix in a glass of water, a tablespoon of lemon juice, a few drops of Marseille soap and half a teaspoon of olive oil. Place the solution in a container with a spray bottle and apply it to the furniture to be cleaned, wiping with a soft cloth and then drying with a woollen cloth.
Which products, on the other hand, ruin wooden surfaces?
Often, in order to remove stains, scratches or anything else from a wooden surface, people use products that are aggressive and not at all suitable for cleaning furniture. There are substances, in fact, that are not at all recommended for cleaning wooden furniture, such as
- alcohol, which can deeply damage the furniture;
- hydrogen peroxide, which alters the natural colour of wood;
- and ammonia, which darkens the wood and removes the varnish that protects it.
