How to take care of your wooden furniture

Wooden furniture is the most commonly found accessory around your home and whether it is the antique furniture in your living room or that gorgeous dining table that you feast on, all of them require care.

Here are a few tips to help keep that gloss and shine on your wooden furniture last much longer than usual. Here’s how to take care of furniture, the right way.

1. To clean the finish on your wood furniture just use warm water and mild dish soap. Cleaning furniture with water won’t hurt it — just be careful not to soak it. Use an old toothbrush for hard-to-get areas. Wipe the dirt off the surface with soft cloths or paper towels until they come up fairly clean. Then dry off any residual moisture with a soft cloth.
2. After a good cleaning, the best way to protect the finish is to use a good-quality soft paste wax. Apply a thin coat as directed on the label. Wait five minutes and buff lightly with a soft (shoe) brush or cloth. Wait another 30 to 60 minutes and buff/brush again with a bit more vigor. You’ll see a beautiful shine return to the finish that will last for many months.
3. Keep your furniture out of the sun. The temperature of the summer sun coming through a window can go above 140 degrees. It will cook fine finishes, fading and destroying them over time, and dry out and shrink the wood, which will cause cracks.
4. For a quick-fix touch up, use the appropriate colour shoe polish on scratches and chips, especially to make them less visible on the feet of furniture. Carefully using a matching-colour felt-tip marker first will hide it even better.
5. When polishing metal hardware, take it off the furniture first. Take your time and make a note to remember what piece goes back where. Use a quality metal polish to get it shining again. Once it’s buffed, put it back on, being careful not to scratch the wood surfaces. I recommend that you don’t try to do this all at one time. It can be a lot of work, so take a few days, doing a few pieces at a time, instead of getting tired and frustrated with trying to do too much.
6. There are several ways to remove the white hazy ring or spot that the hot coffee mug or hot pizza box made on your table. The least invasive way is to rub it with a mild abrasive, such as non-gel toothpaste mixed with baking soda or cooking oil mixed with ashes. You can rub it in a small spot with your finger or use a soft cloth on larger areas.