Taking Care of Wood Furniture

When you think about taking care of your wood furniture what do you think of? If you said paste wax you are right, not many people get that one right. This is something that isn’t talked about a lot in the cleaning bloguverse for reasons that escape me. Professional cleaners should know this and should share this information with everyone.

For years you have gone to the store and bought a product that claims to “Clean and Condition” or “Removes dust and wax build up” which is funny because most people have never waxed their furniture. Most of the claims made on the side of these sprays, liquids, and aerosols are all myths. They do little other than leave a temporary sticky film that does nothing other than attract dust and leave a superficial shiny film on your furniture that is often silicon based and not good for the finish on the furniture.

Paste wax was originally used as a finish for wood before the discovery of oil based finishes and shellacs. It’s not an ideal finish but it is ideal for protecting your finish. The finish protects the furniture and if not taken care of can be rather expensive to replace on a dining room table for instance. If it is an antique you can greatly diminish the value of the piece by having it refinished. Wax can last for six months and up depending on the conditions and how much use the piece gets. There is a lot of information to cover so I will give it out in more manageable chunks starting next week. Until then throw out your wood care products that make claims that sound too good to be true. If you have any Questions about taking care of your wood furniture call Exceptional Cleaning in Atlanta or visit www.atlantaexceptionalcleaning.com