furniture maintenance hints
FURNITURE MAINTENANCE HINTS
1. If you have purchased a warranty on a piece of damaged or stained furniture, call the warranty company as soon as the problem occurs. If you take action, other than mopping up a spill, it may void your warranty!
2. Whenever you clean leather you need to condition it as well. This can be done with a combination cleaner/conditioner, or with two separate products. Cleaning takes essential oils out of the leather and a conditioner replaces them. Leather care products are available at Denmark Interiors.
3. Teak oil should be applied whenever your furniture has a dry or dull look. It is especially important for table tops. For a more intense cleaning, a very fine (triple zero) steel wool can be used. Rub it gently with the grain. Since this process tends to “polish” the area done, it is generally necessary to treat the entire surface. Avoid oiling legs near carpet or fabric because oil can leach into these materials. Be aware that teak oil for indoor furniture is different from teak oil used on boat decks and some outdoor furniture. Use the proper product. Teak oil for indoor furniture is available at DenmarkInteriors. 4. For the care of slate, marble, stone and tile we recommend and sell Zinolin Slate Polish. It is an emulsified wax and protects these surfaces against the spillage of most liquids. Alcohol dissolves this wax, so any spillage of a liquid containing alcohol should be wiped off as soon as possible.
5. A dent in a piece of wood furniture can sometimes be fixed by placing a few drops of distilled water onto it. As the wood absorbs water it will swell. Keep an eye on this process so you can dry up any excess water when you get the desired result.
6. If you get an ink mark on a piece of upholstered furniture (and don't have a warranty that covers it) it is sometimes possible to remove it with hairspray as follows: first, spray some of the hairspray on a q-tip and test somewhere that does not show, in order to make sure this process doesn't destroy the finish. If things go well with this, then use the same procedure on the ink. Clean the entire area afterwards. Denmark Interiors sells an "ink removal stick" which is the best product we have found for removing ink.
7. A cloudy area on a natural wood table top can happen if a hot pizza box or a hot, steamy dish on a trivet is placed on the table. This cloudy appearance is caused by water that has been steamed into the wood. It can be removed by placing a dry soft cloth over the area (a (clean) cloth diaper works well) and going over it with a hot iron. Paper towels can be used instead of a cloth, but be careful not to get them too hot.
8. While I have seen this only rarely, I hear from some of my friends in the furniture business that apparently mold sometimes grows on leather. I don't know that this has been confirmed as mold. Perhaps it is mildew or something else. This has particularly been a problem with steel dining chairs from China that are covered in reconstituted leather (read elsewhere in this blog for definition). Anyway, there appears to be a product that solves this problem: Meguiar's "hot shine" tire spray. This comes in several different forms, but all tend to leave a glossier finish on the leather. If you want to try this product, use it in an inconspicuous place at first to make sure there is not a problem. You should plan on coating all of the chairs all over, in order to achieve a uniform finish.
1. If you have purchased a warranty on a piece of damaged or stained furniture, call the warranty company as soon as the problem occurs. If you take action, other than mopping up a spill, it may void your warranty!
2. Whenever you clean leather you need to condition it as well. This can be done with a combination cleaner/conditioner, or with two separate products. Cleaning takes essential oils out of the leather and a conditioner replaces them. Leather care products are available at Denmark Interiors.
3. Teak oil should be applied whenever your furniture has a dry or dull look. It is especially important for table tops. For a more intense cleaning, a very fine (triple zero) steel wool can be used. Rub it gently with the grain. Since this process tends to “polish” the area done, it is generally necessary to treat the entire surface. Avoid oiling legs near carpet or fabric because oil can leach into these materials. Be aware that teak oil for indoor furniture is different from teak oil used on boat decks and some outdoor furniture. Use the proper product. Teak oil for indoor furniture is available at DenmarkInteriors. 4. For the care of slate, marble, stone and tile we recommend and sell Zinolin Slate Polish. It is an emulsified wax and protects these surfaces against the spillage of most liquids. Alcohol dissolves this wax, so any spillage of a liquid containing alcohol should be wiped off as soon as possible.
5. A dent in a piece of wood furniture can sometimes be fixed by placing a few drops of distilled water onto it. As the wood absorbs water it will swell. Keep an eye on this process so you can dry up any excess water when you get the desired result.
6. If you get an ink mark on a piece of upholstered furniture (and don't have a warranty that covers it) it is sometimes possible to remove it with hairspray as follows: first, spray some of the hairspray on a q-tip and test somewhere that does not show, in order to make sure this process doesn't destroy the finish. If things go well with this, then use the same procedure on the ink. Clean the entire area afterwards. Denmark Interiors sells an "ink removal stick" which is the best product we have found for removing ink.
7. A cloudy area on a natural wood table top can happen if a hot pizza box or a hot, steamy dish on a trivet is placed on the table. This cloudy appearance is caused by water that has been steamed into the wood. It can be removed by placing a dry soft cloth over the area (a (clean) cloth diaper works well) and going over it with a hot iron. Paper towels can be used instead of a cloth, but be careful not to get them too hot.
8. While I have seen this only rarely, I hear from some of my friends in the furniture business that apparently mold sometimes grows on leather. I don't know that this has been confirmed as mold. Perhaps it is mildew or something else. This has particularly been a problem with steel dining chairs from China that are covered in reconstituted leather (read elsewhere in this blog for definition). Anyway, there appears to be a product that solves this problem: Meguiar's "hot shine" tire spray. This comes in several different forms, but all tend to leave a glossier finish on the leather. If you want to try this product, use it in an inconspicuous place at first to make sure there is not a problem. You should plan on coating all of the chairs all over, in order to achieve a uniform finish.
Labels: "moldy leather", cleaner, conditioner, dent, furniture, hints, ink, leather, maintenance, marble, Meguiar's, mildew, mold, oil, polish, slate, stone, teak
posted by Donny Andrews at
5:49 PM
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