How to Care for Solid Wood Furniture

We’re often asked how to care for solid wood furniture.  Whether you have purchased a new dining table or bedroom set, the best way to care for your furniture is to use a spray bottle with water and spray a fine mist over the wood furniture and then use a microfibre cloth to wipe off the dust. The moisture keeps the wood from scratching and will not interfere with the finish. Dust sprays do more to attract dust so that you need to use them more often.

If something is really stuck on, use dish soap with a few drops of vinegar (the vinegar will make the solution less sudsy) to loosen and clean the surface.  Afterward use another cloth to rinse the soap off, then pat the excess water with a towel and let air dry.

Furniture Polish?

One of the questions that I get asked a fair bit is whether we sell furniture polish or include it with the purchase of our solid wood furniture.  We don’t sell furniture polish or include it with purchases for the simple reason that you don’t need polish to properly clean and care for your furniture.  Advertising has done a great job of convincing consumers that the only way to bring out the shine on their solid wood furniture is to use a furniture polish, and the more expensive the polish, the better it must be. However, polishes actually build a layer of film on top of the finish and will eventually make the stain look cloudy and dull. Other stores are happy to sell you the polish to boost their revenues, but we don’t want to sell you something that you don’t need and that will eventually make your furniture look drab.

If you have used polish in the past and your furniture is looking dull, don’t worry, there is a solution. Instead of spraying water on the furniture, use rubbing alcohol instead. The rubbing alcohol will cut through the layers of polish without harming the original finish and restore the piece to its original shine.  A natural solution if your furniture is losing its original shine is adding a few drops of lemon oil to a damp cloth.  The lemon oil will also naturally restore the shine to the furniture, and it’s available in most grocery stores.

Don’t be fooled the next time someone offers to sell you polish or include it as part of a “special”. Save your money and treat your furniture the right way instead.

** Never use Windex or other cleaners on your furniture as they will eat through the finish and ruin your furniture **