Antique Wooden furniture adds a lovely touch of rustic charm to any room. Because of its organic properties, wood is a brilliantly versatile material that provides a strong connection to the natural environment in home décor, making it particularly suitable for the bohemian, Scandinavian, as well as farmhouse trends.
The initial furniture material is also wood. Wooden décor has been the mainstay of the home for several thousand years, long before metal as well as leather. Some archaeologists believe that we first used wooden furniture over 30,000 years ago, during the late Palaeolithic or early Neolithic intervals.
However, if not properly cared for, antique wooden surfaces will accumulate oily fingerprint stains, mould spores, dust, and dirt, abandoning you with a relic that makes it look its age and not in a pleasant manner!
How To Care For Antique Wood Furniture?
We’ve accumulated a short vintage furniture care reference to give you some rapid fire tips to consult when spring cleaning your décor without damaging the finish of the wood. Gather your gloves and let’s get started!
The Texture Examination
Before you start sanding, you should determine the finish of your furniture pieces. This is critical because it determines the course of your restoration process. Start by isolating a small region of the piece you’re working on that isn’t on showcase if you don’t understand the finish i.e. something that is not staright-forwardly visible to the human eye.
Gently rub a cotton ball in denatured alcohol (wood spirit or denatured spirit) on the isolated area. If the finish disperses, it is most likely shellac. Shellac-finished wood is more difficult to clean and will almost certainly require refinishing to be properly restored. However, if the area does not dissolve, the wood is most likely finished with an oil, varnish, polyurethane, and perhaps even lacquer. This finish should be significantly easier to maintain.
Now it’s time to get started! Before you begin, gather the following items:
- Some oil cleanser
- One clean, soft dry cloth for cleaning and one for drying.
- A small brush
- A bowl for mixing.
- A measuring cup or jug
- Rubber gloves (optional).
The Process of Cleaning
Put on your gloves and pour 30ml of oil soap into another 180ml of water (a 1:6 ratio) in your bowl and stir well for the foamy mixture. Then, using your brush, combine the soap and water. Press down onto one of your dry, soft clothes in the bowl. Remove the rag from the bowl and ring it dry. Apply the rag all along the wood’s grain while working in small circular motions all along the length of the furniture.
Repeat the process for the entire piece of furniture, then use your second dry rag to remove any remaining moisture. Soak up all the moisture by rubbing the dry cloth in tight circles across the entire piece. If the wood is still damp, rehash the drying process with a fresh dry cloth until bone dry.
Additional Tips for keeping Antique Furniture Safe
In addition to these tips and tricks, there are some fundamental errors to avoid in order to protect the wood. To be specific, NEVER ‘wash’ wooden furniture, especially with regular soap and water. When wet, wood could indeed warp and buckle, so using soapy water is a recipe for failure.
Furthermore, any product that requires heavily diluting before being used is probably too strong – the wood could’ve been damaged if it reacts negatively with the chemicals, therefore avoid using anything like this without first consulting a furniture expert. The last point you want to do is damage your lovely wooden chair, home wall decor, table, nightstand, or decorative elements when all you wanted to accomplish was clean it!