The Ultimate Care And Maintenance Guide To Wood Furniture
What makes being a homeowner so interesting is the leverage you have when calling the shots inside the house, whether you have an ongoing renovation project or are simply maintaining your home in pristine condition. After all, since you own the house, what goes on inside falls into your hands. Therefore, when decorating the place, every aspect must be run by you first, considering you have the last say.
Admittedly, decorating the house and buying all sorts of furniture sets to bring some personality to the place take up a decent portion of why being a homeowner is also fun. But be that as it may, you can’t avoid that maintaining these furniture sets tends to be far more work than they’re worth. And despite how nice they are to look at, they often demand more attention to ensure they stay as new as the day you first got them, especially wooden furniture.
Why You Should Maintain Wood Furniture
Despite being in the home décor section for so long, wooden furniture pieces are still ‘in’ because of their timeless aesthetic. But as skilled carpenters have already manufactured hundreds of wooden furniture sets, hundreds are also sold to different homeowners. Considering the amount, it’s no wonder why you might find wooden furniture sets not being handled properly. After all, not everyone is sensitive to their furniture’s needs, not when all they’re focusing on is its aesthetic. However, if you want your wooden piece of furniture to continue boosting your house’s aesthetic appeal, you must be aware of its needs. Unlike plastic or metal furniture, wood furniture sets are much more sensitive. After all, they’re the only pieces of furniture that use natural materials to create them. But despite this, they still do an excellent job of elevating your home while remaining a long-lasting piece—as long as you maintain them properly. With the help of Furniture Assembly NJ, which offers all types of furniture assembly services, you can ensure that your wood furniture is assembled correctly and with the utmost care, allowing you to retain its beauty and functionality for years to come.
How To Maintain Wood Furniture
While you can always coat your wooden furniture in Nova USA Wood’s Exoshield Wood Stain and other helpful substances, there’s still more to do if you want to ensure it is completely secure. After all, there’s no harm in covering your bases, especially when preserving your furniture’s quality for as long as time allows.
- Dust Regularly
You must’ve wondered where the dust comes at multiple points in your life. With how randomly they pop up in every corner of the house, that question is bound to come up. Because regardless of whether no one’s frequenting that part of the house, there’s always dust hanging around.
But if you wanted to know, there’s a long list of sources that contribute to your home’s dust production, namely:
- Human skin
- Hair or fur
- Dandruff
- Dust mites (and their feces)
- Dirt
Considering they all consist of particles, these dust sources must be dealt with regularly by dusting up your furniture, especially if it’s made of wood. Otherwise, the furniture’s surface might get scratched by these dirty particles. Furthermore, leaving them alone will only have them end up accumulating. Once that happens, dust build-up will eat through the wood’s finish, removing its attractive luster. To avoid any build-up, it’s best to start dusting your pieces of furniture already using a microfiber or soft lint-free cloth. Ensure you follow the direction of the grain to prevent any scratches on the surface. Naturally, you might find yourself breaking out of your regular dusting schedule with life getting in the way. So, if you encounter any dust build-up, all you have to do is dampen the cloth before gently wiping off the build-up. While you can use essential oils to give the surface a shine, water is still on the table as long as you don’t soak the cloth in it too much. Otherwise, you’ll be inflicting more harm than good on the furniture.
- Cover The Furniture
Admittedly, setting aside time to dust off your wood furniture might be too much to ask. After all, not everyone can afford to spare time to take care of the house regularly. So, if you want to lower your dusting time, it’s highly recommended that you cover the surface instead. Coasters, placemats, tablecloths—these are only some of the best devices you can use to protect your wood furniture’s finish. After all, leaving a water ring on a wood surface can be annoying, considering it’s not easy to get it out. Therefore, instead of tiring yourself out in removing it, it’s better to prevent any plate ware from ruining the furniture in the first place by setting down covers. Fortunately, there are a lot of covers you can choose from. However, it’s better to choose one made from a soft material and measured appropriately to handle whatever you have on the surface. Otherwise, you’ll only end up leaving marks on it either way.
- Be Particular With Cleaning Products
Considering it’s a natural material, wood is susceptible to stronger chemicals. Because even though they can eliminate stubborn bacteria, applying them to wood furniture will end up stripping its finish. But that’s not the end of it. While other chemicals only remove the finish, some can leave long-lasting stains—or worse, eat through the wood itself. Instead of using your generic cleaning chemicals, consider looking into different woodcare products. Compared to harsher chemicals, these products are designed solely for wood maintenance. After all, most of them contain plant-based materials. Therefore, having similar materials will prevent the product from causing any damage to the furniture. But if you want to budget efficiently, you should take matters into your own hands by creating your cleaning solution. Typically, it could be either drop of dishwashing fluid or a quarter cup of white vinegar mixed with water. But if you want some fragrance for your white vinegar solution, consider adding drops of essential oils. Once you’ve created the mixture, pour it into a spray bottle to avoid soaking the furniture too much before wiping it across the surface.
- Treat Periodically
What makes wood furniture so pleasing to the eyes is its luster. After all, you can’t see that shine they give off from anywhere else. But besides sporting an attractive sheen, this finish protects the furniture from dirt and moisture. Hence, you’ll notice that the finish (or the wax) receives the brunt of the damage. Ideally, this should be done once every few weeks. But considering how much time it takes to prepare it, you might struggle to squeeze it into your schedule. Because before you start waxing it, you must dust the surface thoroughly to ensure there are no foreign particles ruining its quality. Once you’ve cleaned it off, apply a small portion of furniture wax on a soft cloth. Just like while dusting it, follow the direction of the grain when rubbing the wax in circular patterns. When you’re done, wipe the excess wax with another clean cloth. Follow the same process when using a furniture polish instead of wax. However, be careful in avoiding anything that contains silicone. Otherwise, it might cause an adverse reaction to the finish over time.
- Regulate Temperature
Sunlight is another factor you need to consider when maintaining wood furniture. Because even though wood can’t be eaten through by sunlight, it can still cause its finish to fade and discolor, which effectively ruins its sheen and a protective coating. Therefore, you might end up seeing dark spots along your wooden sun chair at the peak of summer. While bringing your wood furniture under the shade would help hide it from the sun, that doesn’t say the same about the heat it must be in the entire time. And that heat can easily warp the wood itself since drastic temperature changes will either push it to contract in extreme heat or force it to expand in humid weather. So, it’s safe to say that receiving direct sunlight and unusual temperature levels can affect your wood furniture. If there’s one thing that can eat away furniture coating, it’s ultraviolet (UV) rays. Since sunlight emits these rays, utilizing something to resist it would be wise. Fortunately, hardware shops sell UV-resistant spray cans for you to coat on top of the finish. If that’s not enough, it’s best to hide your wood furniture away from heat sources or wherever sunlight can pass through.
- Eliminate Insect Infestations
No household owner ever allows bugs inside their homes, unless they’re proud bug owners. But be that as it may, the bugs they’re taking care of are always secured in one place. After all, they’re more than aware of how much damage pests can cause in one’s home. And with you having wood furniture, every single piece from your set will be in danger of getting consumed. Therefore, you might see holes where polished wood used to be. Admittedly, managing a pest problem is probably the most challenging thing to do compared to the rest. Since bugs have minds of their own, they can lay out plans to avoid your attempts at exterminating them. So, if you want to get rid of these pests from your home, it’s best to call a pest removal expert to do thorough work on the entire building.
Takeaway
Taking care of your furniture can be extremely taxing, especially if you have multiple sets around the house. But considering it elevates your home’s aesthetic and comfort levels, maintaining them is simple and par for the course. However, caring for wood furniture might require double the effort because of how demanding the material is. Although, as long as you follow a guide, you’ll be able to do the entire process of maintaining your wood furniture like it’s on the back of your hand.