The fine wood furniture you have at your home probably holds some important value for you as do the antiques you’ve collected and placed in your home. Some people have a passion for fine wood furniture and collecting exotic antiques; if you’re one of them then you should know how important it is to maintain these items. Without regular maintenance and care, these wooden items can get damaged pretty easily. To keep them looking great for a long time, it’s essential that you do your proper homework on how to maintain them before you bring antiques and fine wood to your humble abode. This not only includes knowing what cleaning agents to use on the wood but also how to care for them on a day to day basis.
Fine wooden furniture and antiques add an aesthetic and vintage value to your home. If you’re someone who enjoys decorating their home with these items, keep reading our article to know exactly how to keep them in their proper and polished condition.
Proper Care Includes Proper Polishing
It’s a well-known fact that in order to keep your fine wood looking spotless, you need to make sure it’s polished and shining. Although a shiny surface of wood doesn’t exactly equate to a clean surface, polishing will actually make your fine wooden furniture look great. This will also reduce friction and make the texture of the wood more refined. In fact the slippery look of antique and wood is something many homeowners aspire for; the only way to achieve this is by giving your fine wood a good round of polishing.
But the appearance isn’t the only thing that polishing helps improve. Wood cleaning specialists claim that by polishing wood you’re essentially minimizing the pores of the wood. This keeps liquids from seeping through the wood and causing it to swell. We all know how water inside wood can be damaging. Polishing can help prevent your antiques and fine wood furniture from rotting.
Scheduling Your Polishing
One common question that fine wood owners ask is how frequently the wood should be polished. This solution to this question depends on multiple things. The first and foremost thing you’ll need to consider is how often the wood furniture is used in your house. If it’s used on the daily and wiped or cleaned almost every day, you will need to schedule your polishing more regularly as well. Scrubbing and wiping removes the polished look of wood so the more you clean your furniture with cloth, the more frequently you’ll need to get your wood polished again.
To know exactly when to schedule for your polishing, consider how difficult it is to buff the wood. If the buffing is unsuccessful in bringing the shine to your antiques and fine wooden furniture then you should get them polished as soon as you can to get that polished, shiny look back.
Keep Stains Away Through Coasters
If you’ve been using wooden furniture for a long time you’d know how difficult it is to remove any stain or spill from it. In fact, it’s close to impossible. The stains or food spills sometimes take a permanent mark which is impossible to remove without polishing or even painting again. That’s why we recommend to always use coasters on top of your wooden tables for coffee mugs and other food dishes. You can get all kinds of fun and colorful coasters from the market so they will only add to the aesthetic of your wood and protect it at the same time.
Coasters can save you a lot of trouble by keeping stains and spills at bay as well as keeping polishing costs reduced for a long time.
You Can Brush Your Wood Too!
Brushing might seem like a controversial cleaning concept for wood but we stand by at how good brushing wood sometimes works. If you want to maintain the shiny and smooth look of your wooden furniture, why not use the brush attachment on your vacuum cleaners to brush the wood? This is a great way to keep your fine wood furniture in top shape on a regular basis. It’s inexpensive and easy and you won’t need to invest in special cleaning liquids for it.
You can also go one step further and wipe the wood after brushing it using a cloth that is completely free of lint. This will improve the overall texture of the wood and it will also help to wipe away the dust and remove any smudges from your antiques or wooden furniture.
Sometimes Your Fine Wood Needs Some Special Attention
When you have fine wooden furniture in your house you want to make sure that it gets proper attention since fine wood doesn’t come exactly cheap. You can make your wood glow even more by applying a coat of wax on it. The wax helps to reduce moisture buildup in the wood and prevents it from rotting or swelling much in the same way as polishing. It also helps keep dust away from direct contact to the wooden surface. This makes the fine wood easier to clean as well.
However there are some drawbacks to this method. If you get too aggressive with applying the wax, you may end up with an excess of it. There’s no need to panic though. If you do happen to have an excess wax buildup on your wooden furniture, you can remove it by using a wet microfiber cloth with spirit and synthetic turpentine. It’s important not to use the natural version of turpentine because it can make the surface of the fine wood sticky. Make sure you read all the instructions of the solutions you intend to use to avoid any shortcomings.
Should You Soak Your Antiques in Water?
This is an ongoing debate and while sometimes simple water can make the wood look better, it can also completely damage it. If you really want to test it out, we recommend doing a spot test first to avoid any disasters. If the test succeeds then you can proceed with cleaning the wood with lukewarm water. You can use a sponge or microfiber cloth to wipe the surfaces. You can also use mild detergents or soaps to remove the dirt and grime from the surfaces. We recommend using an oil-based soap.
Keeping your fine wood furniture in top condition can require some elbow grease on your part but in the end it’s totally worth it. If you’re too busy to pay special attention to your antiques, we can do it for you. Our cleaning experts will make sure your wood regains its shine in no time. Talk to us today!
Think Maids is your professional Washington DC house cleaning company. Contact us today for all your home cleaning needs!