Wood Furniture Care - Tips on how to care for and maintain your wood furniture

Consumers can spend thousands of dollars on their fine wood furnishings. Listed below are some tips on how you can preserve your wood furniture investment for many years to come.

Keep in mind that the number one enemy of wood furniture is moisture. Never allow liquids of any kind to remain on the wood surface. If your piece has a veneer top, moisture will cause it to lift and crack. Solid wood pieces are also subject to cracking and swelling. Further, never use any cleaner with ammonia. Ammonia will chemically attack the finish.

Wood furniture is manufactured to sit level from side to side and front to back. If you have doors that do not align or close properly, or drawers that bind, try to level the furniture with wood shims or something similar. If drawers still bind, try coating the drawer slide with bar soap or candle wax.

Tips on Preserving Finishes

Lacquer finished furniture can be distinguished by the surface sheen (from dull to shiny), and the fact that the texture of the wood grain comes through the finish (you can actually feel the graining when you move your hand over the surface). The wood can be either solid or a veneer (very thin sheets of wood laminated to plywood or particle board.) Quality furniture polish will nourish your wood furniture. Be sure that the polish you use contains no silicones and is non- acidic. The polish will penetrate the finish thus maintaining the natural beauty of the wood. Follow the instructions carefully listed on the polish container.

Polyurethane finished furniture can be distinguished by a high-gloss finish and a very smooth surface (almost like a glass finish). "Lacquer" finished furniture is usually finished with polyurethane. Such finishes are primarily sold in white or black. Since the surface is like glass, no polishes will penetrate the surface to nourish the wood. Cleaning can be accomplished with a soft damp cloth. If necessary, use a surface cleaner that does not contain ammonia. Once again, stay away from ammonia with your furniture cleaning. Ammonia on lacquer will cloud the finish.

There are many types of laminated wood products. One type is a photograph of wood laminated to a particleboard base. It is then sprayed with lacquer and should be cared for the same as Lacquer Finish above. The other type is vinyl, low-pressure laminate, or high-pressure laminate (such as Formica) that is bonded to a particleboard base. The surface of these laminates is not sprayed with lacquer, but rather the surface of the laminate is the finished product. Cleaning this surface can once again be done with a soft damp cloth.

An oiled finished product is when an oil type finish is rubbed directly onto the wood surface with no other type of sealer applied over it. You can distinguish this type of finish by the lack of sheen and the fact that the grain is exposed. Clean the finish with penetrating oil such as Watco Stain Oil. You can then protect the surface with a wood wax or bee's wax.