5 Key Tips To Care For Solid Wood Furniture
The beauty and quaint style of solid wood rustic furniture will add flair to your home. Your solid wood furniture will last longer and continue looking its best when you use the right points for care.
Our team at Log Furniture Place wants you to enjoy your solid wood rustic furniture for years to come. Here are five helpful ideas to explore when caring for your furniture to keep it beautiful.
- Use covers under hot and cold items.
The first tip for handling your furniture is to avoid placing excess heat or cold on the furniture surface, like on rustic dining table tops or on coffee tables or end tables. Anything too hot or cold could produce condensation that can stain the wood material, creating noticeable white rings in the finish that are often hard to clean off. You can use a heating pad that you can place a kettle or pot on to absorb the heat and keep it from spreading into the furniture. For colder items like drink glasses, a thick coaster can collect condensation and prevent it from entering your wood finish.
- Keep the humidity consistent.
The ideal humidity for solid wood furniture should be around 35 to 50 percent. Excess humidity can cause solid wood furniture to expand, making it weak after a while. A low level of humidity will also hurt, as it will dry the wood out and cause gaps and cracks. Keeping the humidity consistent between 35 to 50 percent provides enough moisture for the furniture without risking it expanding or contracting.
Invest in a humidifier or dehumidifier for your room to regulate the humidity level. You can choose which item you need based on the natural humidity level in your area.
- Regular dusting is necessary for protecting your furniture.
Solid wood furniture is prone to collecting dust. Excess dust can build up on your furniture and enter its pores, making it harder to clean after a while. The dust can also cause the table to start feeling soft. Dust can easily pick up on shelves, but it’s easy to clean off shelves on something like our reclaimed bookcase.
Clean and dust your solid wood furniture once a week to keep dust from building on the surface. It is easier to clear dust when you clean off the furniture every few days.
- Avoid using bleach when cleaning solid wood furniture.
Many cleaning materials you can use for solid wood furniture might include bleach. Bleach is dangerous to wood, as it can destroy lignin inside the wood. Lignin is a wood component that hardens the wood’s cellular walls. The wood will weaken after the lignin breaks apart, causing the wood to peel apart and crack.
Look for a wood cleaner that doesn’t contain bleach or other potentially dangerous materials. Organic or natural alternatives are always ideal.
- Keep excess light away from the furniture.
The last tip is to keep your rustic furniture away from intense light. Whether natural sunlight or artificial indoor light, excess light can bleach the wood and weaken its natural finish. Keep your solid wood furniture away from sunlight, and use UV filters around the windows to keep the most harmful rays from entering and hurting your furniture. Be sure you only keep your lights on when someone is in a room.