Wooden furniture is loved for its enticing colors and patterns, giving at least a bit of a connection with Mother Nature. Generations of delight can be garnered from wooden furniture if you look after it correctly. But there is a price to meet and that is everyday care and consideration.

General management

There are a number rules, which can be related to all types of wooden furniture. Humidity is a woods harmful adversary, so this is the first thing you need to grasp. Use a dry soft cloth or the brush attachment on your vacuum and avoid the use a wet cloth. Keep the furniture dry and remove up any droplets or wet patches. Try to refrain from putting the furniture in a room where the humidity is too high, too low or the temperature changes too often. Avoid putting your wooden furniture adjacent to any heating source.

Another big enemy of wooden furniture is the sunlight. Sunlight bleaches wood and can be the cause of color fading. Permanent damage can be caused over a space of time. Hot items can cause instant damage, so avoid resting items such a hot crockery, lights and other such items on it. Protection in the form of cork mats is something that your need to acquire – avoid mats made of plastic and rubber substances as these can harm the surface. With these mats you can protect the surface of the wood when positioning items on it such as hot cups and heavy objects.

Lets explore the different types of veneers

After the general care we need to explore more specific care for each type of wood veneer. Normally, we can distinguish three basic kinds of finishing – soft (oiled), hard (polyurethane, varnish, shellac or lacquer) or painted. Whilst painted finishing can be quickly recognized, the others are not so easy.

Fortuitously, there is a clear test to help you: Lightly rub few drops of linseed into the surface (naturally, choose some discreet spot). Linseed will be soaked up if the veneer is oiled. If the wood doesnt absorb the linseed then try a small bit of acetone. Any lacquer on the wood will melt at once although a polyurethane will see it run off. If you see neither of these actions and the acetone turns sticky then the finish is either a varnish or shellac. Now to work out which of the two finishes it is; deposit a few drops of alcohol over the area and you will find that shellac reacts quickly.

We will look more in depth at these finishes in the coming article about wood furniture care.

Tags: care, furniture

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