How to clean varnished wood furniture? Can we apply the same cleaning method to polished wood? Let’s learn how to use the correct approach.
Varnished wood furniture is an effective decorative item in your house, and its specimens make it easy for cleaning and maintenance.
But the kicker is there’s not an all-in-one solution to all kinds of polished wood finishes.
Go over today’s post on how to clean varnished wood furniture, and you’ll figure out the varnished wood’s specific cleaning requirement.
What Tools You Will Need
All of the tools you need include dry cloth, rubber gloves, paste wax, turpentine, detergent, and water bucket.
How To Clean Varnished Wood Furniture – Step By Step
You can perform the following steps of cleaning polished wooden furniture if you see much lackluster appear on the furniture’s surface.
#1. Apply Paste Wax
When using paste wax, you have to check if the surface is free of any dirt.
Paste wax extracted from Carnauba palm trees can be commonly used to attain the shine to the varnished wood furniture, but it can be time-consuming.
Put a lump of paste wax in the lint-free cloth center, then wipe off the surface.
When applying wax to the finish, you may notice some seeping wax pop up. It’s okay!
After cleaning the whole surface in a circular motion, you get rid of wax solvent with the second cloth and then use a buffing cloth to wipe until the finish becomes hazy.
#2. Use Cloth With Turpentine
Next up, you use a soft cloth with turpentine to remove wax and soil build up on the wood’s surface. Dampen a clean cloth in turpentine and wipe it to break the wax barrier and soften the wax buildup.
This step doesn’t need much elbow grease, or the abrasive cleanser may do more harm than good to the wood and downright ruin the shiny beauty that it originally has.
#3. Makeup Solution Of Detergent And Water
Water cleaning is important as paste wax or turpentine since it removes excess chemicals left.
So in this stage, you prepare a mix of detergent, and lukewarm water, then let soft cloth immerse into the mixture, wring it out and wipe all over the wood again.
Clean the designated area thoroughly, and consider using hand gloves to protect your skin when applying the cleaning solution.
#4. Air Dry
Finally, once you wipe dry with the clean, dry cloth, leave the wood at a warm temperature to dry naturally.
Varnish wood does not need much longer to dry, often less than an hour if it’s relatively warm inside.
Quick Tip For Daily Maintenance
Preventative maintenance is a part of how to clean polished wooden furniture.
With regular cleaning, you can detect any defect and come up with a quick solution to any problem.
Thus, you limit the chances of severe possible damage caused to your furniture.
#1. Avoid liquids
Keep the wood far from any harmful liquid as cosmetic or drink because varnished wood won’t hold up well to liquid and chemicals.
As long as the liquid is on the wood, it will destroy the surface of the furniture.
#2. Vacuum
The vacuum is another way to diminish the possibility of dirt build-up during long time use.
It’s easy for regular cleaning and recommended for polished wood to get cleaned once a week.
#3. Rub with a dry cloth
Dry microfiber cloth rubbing and vacuum can be interchangeable, or you can use both ways; it’s up to you.
A dry cloth is the most necessary item for any cleaning. It’s recommended that you can rub with a dry cloth for quick dust removal.
A couple of minutes of vacuum is enough, but you can apply different dry cloth rubbing. Remember, use gentle rubs not to deeply scratch the finish of the wood.
Conclusion
Average homeowners usually have a habit of avoiding varnished wood cleaning, and they regret that their furniture quickly loses its original beauty as a result.
The key to keep varnish wood enhanced is proper care. The above methods provide ease of use.
Follow the instructions, and the polished coats of finish will look as good and smooth as its best condition.
So that’s how to clean varnished wood furniture. We hope these tips have brought luster to your wood furniture and make it in tip-top shape again.
