How to Care for Wooden Furniture?

Whether we go for traditional style of home decor or a contemporary one, we all love to have wood home furniture. Wood furniture is liked for its beauty, strength and durability but if proper care is not taken, these furniture lose their sheen and also develop cracks that can make you lose them shortly. So how to care for wood furniture? Here are certain tips for your help.

• Extreme temperature and relative humidity harm wooden furniture the most. Keep the temperature of your home between 70 - 72 degrees Fahrenheit. Relative humidity should be at 50-55%.
• Take help of humidifier or de-humidifier to keep the air in the rooms from becoming too dry or too damp.
• Dust regularly. That's the mantra to give long life to any furniture.
• While dusting, avoid using wet cloths or mops. They can stain and damage the wood. Use soft cloth, preferably lint-free cotton, or a vacuum cleaner with dust brush attachment for general cleaning of your furniture.
• Always use coasters, place mats or other protective things for keeping hot or cold items, even water, on top of wooden furniture.
• Keep solvents like nail polish remover, alcohol and paint thinner away from wood furniture. They can easily harm their finish. Colognes, perfumes and medications, wine, beer and liquor- all contain alcohol and are harmful to your wood furniture.
• Plastic objects like tablecloths, wrappers, plastic toys and games lying on wooden surfaces can leach into wood over time. Avoid them.
• Don't expose your wood furniture to direct sunlight, heat, cold or excessively damp or dry environments. Curtains on windows will protect the furniture from sunlight.
• When polishing and waxing wooden furniture, select the correct cleaner and polish according to the type of the furniture's finish.
• Always follow manufacturers' instructions when using spray or liquid polishes.
• Use polishes that are specifically manufactured for wooden surfaces. Never mix different types of polishes.
• Polishing too often can lead to a cloudy, filmy build up on the furniture that doesn't assimilate with the look and feel of wood. Polish once or twice a year. Its enough to give extra life to your furniture.
• If possible, use paste wax as it provides a thick, hard, lasting finish to hardwood furniture. It also delays the formation of water rings, which give a little extra time to wipe up the moisture. Liquid wax are like paste wax but provide a thinner coating.