Pieces of wood furniture will never fail to enhance the beauty and comfort of your home. They are all-time favorite materials when it comes to home furnishing.
Dust, debris, and water can really make your wood furniture look like a mess, that’s why you need to clean them up on a regular basis. Check out the easy ways on how to clean wood furniture for your reference.
How to Clean Wood Furniture
Grab these supplies:
- Dish soap
- Mineral spirits
- Feather duster
- Microfiber cloth
- Toothpaste, optional
- Furniture wax, optional
- Baking soda, optional
- Liquid furniture polish, optional
Follow the steps below:
Wipe down the surface
Start by removing the dust on the surface of your beloved wood furniture with a microfiber cloth or feather duster. Make sure that you completely remove the loose debris all over the surface.
Next, further clean the dirt with your DIY cleaning solution by following these steps:
- Mix a teaspoon of dish soap with warm water in a spray bottle.
- Spray the mixture onto the clean microfiber cloth until it’s damp enough. Do not use an overwet cloth as it may lead to water damage.
- Wipe the furniture with the damp cloth, following the direction of the wood grain.
- Rinse the residue of the soapy water.
Treat difficult stains
As you wipe down your wood furniture, you may find some difficult stains that are enough to get handled with the cleaning step above. You can use mineral spirits (and some elbow grease) to deal with them.
Mineral spirits are fairly safe on wood furniture, but you might want to test them in the hidden spot of the furniture to check whether they are safe for yours or not.
Here’s what you can do:
- Apply the mineral spirits to a cleaning cloth until it gets lightly dampened.
- Rub the surface of your wood furniture gently.
- Use a damp rag to finish the step, or repeat if necessary.
Clean water stains
Water stains are another inevitable problem that you should clean up, of course. The water rings are the most common stains that you may find.
There are two ways that you can try to fix this which are:
Using a DIY cleaning solution
- Prepare a small bowl, mix equal parts of baking soda and toothpaste.
- Put the paste on the clean cloth then apply the stained areas.
- Remove the residue with a clean damp cloth.
Using a commercial cleaner
- Buy a water-ring removal cloth (you can find one at a local home improvement store).
- Follow the manufacturer’s instructions.
(Read also: Toilet Cleaning Guide | Simple DIY Home Care)
Fill any scratches
The deep scratches may be present if you place your wood furniture in heavy-duty areas and haven’t cleaned up in a while. You can fill them with some commercial products which are mostly made of colored crayons.
Wax if necessary
Waxing is a good way to protect your pieces of wood furniture from any damage if necessary. Do this if you think it’s necessary.