4 Ways to Take Care of Wooden Furniture in Your Home

For many homeowners, their wooden furniture is their pride and joy, the centerpiece and focal point of each room, ranked up with their most prized possessions. Of all the materials home furniture is made from, wood is undoubtedly the one that holds the most special place in people’s hearts.

Naturally, whether it’s a dining or coffee table, fine timber framed couches or beds, antique dressers, and sideboards, or artisanal chairs, you want to look after your furniture. High-quality wooden pieces don’t come cheap, after all. And in any domestic setting, they are always at the mercy of the everyday dirt and grime (not to mention the occasional bump and scrape) which, if allowed to build up over time, can leave even the finest furniture looking tired.

So what exactly is the best way to take care of luxury wooden furniture? Some people worry that by investing in top-quality pieces, they are taking on a major maintenance burden. Their arms start aching at the very thought of all the polishing and waxing they will have to do to keep their furniture in pristine condition.

But in reality, looking after wooden furniture is not such a big deal at all. The key is doing exactly what you need to do to keep the rest of your home looking spic and spam – keep on top of things, little and often. And take common-sense steps to avoid unnecessary damage.

Here’s a brief overview of all the things you need to know to keep your prized wooden furniture looking its best.

Here is How to Take Care of Your Wooden Furniture

1. Dust Regularly

The thing you need to do most regularly with wooden furniture is dust. This is not really an extra burden as regular dusting all over your home is recommended for health reasons as well as for the sake of appearances. Dust triggers allergies in lots of people, and the more dust builds up on surfaces, the more risk there is of people breathing it in. 

In terms of taking care of wooden furniture, allowing layers of dust to build up is not a good idea because it can start to cause fine scratching, especially on polished surfaces. The long-term effects of this are that your furniture will start to look dull and tarnished.

Thoughts on the best way to polish wood vary. Some people insist on only using a dry cloth, while others say using a standard furniture polish works best because it removes more dust. Either way, you should only ever use a very soft cloth to avoid the risk of scratching the wood when you wipe.

2. Clean Occasionally

On top of dusting on perhaps a weekly basis, it’s also a good idea to give your wooden furniture an occasional wipe down with water and a cleaning product – perhaps once every month or two. The exception to this is things like dining and coffee tables, which should be wiped down with a soapy cloth after every use to remove food and drink etc.

Detergent-based cleaners contain degreasing agents that will pick up oily substances that a dry cloth or polish would miss. You might also want to use mild disinfectants to kill germs and maintain hygiene.

Whatever cleaning product you use, it’s important to choose only mild detergents and disinfectants as harsher chemicals can damage and stain the natural fibers in wood (avoid bleach at all costs, for example). 

If you really want to be on the safe side, or if your furniture has become badly stained somehow, you can buy specially formulated cleaners for wood – and even for specific wood types – that will provide a deeper but safer clean.

3. Take precautions against general wear and tear

They say prevention is the best cure for most things, which certainly applies to looking after your wooden furniture. Regular dusting is essentially a preventative measure against long-term tarnishing. But there are other common-sense steps you can take.

For wooden tables, for example, it’s strongly recommended that you always use coasters and place mats under plates, mugs, and other crockery. Heat will damage wooden surfaces, leaving characteristic rings that will have to be polished out. Moisture is also another issue, as it will soak into the wood and eventually wear away the surface finish.

You are also advised not to keep wooden furniture in direct sunlight from a window. The UV rays from the sun will cause the color to fade from most materials. Especially if your furniture has been varnished, you’ll start to see the rich, deep color become pale and insipid. And because the sunlight is unlikely to fall over the entire piece of furniture equally, you end up with an ugly patchy effect.

Another risk of direct sunlight falling on wooden furniture is that it will dry it out, making it prone to cracking and splintering.

4. Protect your Furniture

When taking steps to avoid common risk factors that damage wooden furniture, you can also apply a range of waxes, oils, varnishes, and sealants to your beds with storage, which will reduce the likelihood of such damage occurring. 

This is the part that puts some people off wooden furniture – the thought that they will have to spend hours rubbing on wax and paint on varnish. But the furniture inside your home is very different from the garden furniture that is exposed to the elements all year round. With garden tables, chairs, fences, decking, etc, you might well find you need to re-varnish and apply protectors once, maybe even twice a year. But inside, it’s only a very occasional job indeed.

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For wooden home furniture, the most common protector to apply is wax or oil. These provide two-fold protection, stopping the wood from drying out too much and cracking, and also keeping out moisture. Some people also like applying wood wax for the visual effect, as it gives your furniture a pleasing shine once buffed up.

On the other hand, you may find you never need to wax or oil wooden furniture at all, especially with some types of timber. Teak, for example, naturally has a very high oil content anyway. Especially indoors, it’s unlikely you’ll ever need to top this up.

This was it for today. Hope you have enjoyed reading this.

Have a Good Day!