care: wood furniture, part 1

Today we begin a small series on caring for wood finishes, focusing on furniture.

The key word is CARE. If you agree that caring for wood furniture starts and stops with spraying Pledge on a cloth and rubbing vigorously, then you are wrong.

Care falls into two categories, active and passive.

ACTIVE care involves the application of a furniture-care product, as mentioned in the Pledge example above.

Far more important and effective in maintaining the life and health of your furniture are PASSIVE efforts.

According to Bob Flexner, author of “Understanding Wood Finishing” (and Clean+istry’s soul mate), your furniture’s enemy watch list includes the following:  a) strong light, b) oxidation, and c) physical abuse (specifically heat, water, solvents and chemicals).

Think about how the STRONG LIGHT of the sun deteriorates an automobile’s finish.  Light, even the indirect variety, will do the same thing to your indoor furniture.

Fixes:
Place furniture away from direct sunlight.
Draw curtains and shades when you are away from home.
While away on vacation, throw a sheet over furniture.

OXIDATION is impossible to prevent completely, but you can slow the process considerably.  Oxygen combines with other elements to form oxides.  Oxides will cause most finishes to darken and crack.

Fix:
Avoid storing furniture in excessive heat, such as an attic or a dry sauna.

PHYSICAL ABUSE.  When Clean+istry selects new cups or saucers, we first check the bottoms for their potential to mar a tabletop.  There is no wood finish that will not suffer damage from course objects, heat, water, solvents and other chemicals.

Fixes:
Hot pads, coasters, place mats, tablecloths.  Use your head.

Hint:  coasters make a very thoughtful house gift for an overnight stay or even a dinner.  They can be quite attractive and practically scream, “I care!” to your host.