Wooden Furniture
All good-quality furniture, especially dining tables, made from solid timber need to be carefully cared for and protected.
If you’ve never used coasters or do your dusting with commercial sprays filled with chemicals, you might want to consider changing your ways. Heat, moisture, silicone, candle wax and pets can damage or ding your table. Direct sunlight should be avoided. And forget doing your nails here; the acetone in nail polish remover can melt your fabulous finish right off.
Here is a list of basic mistakes to avoid to keep your furniture looking good:
PUTTING HOT THINGS DIRECTLY ON THE TABLE
A casserole dish right out of the oven, a stew pot right off the stove and even coffee cups and other hot items should not be placed on your table without heat protection. All timber has a moisture content which, coming in contact with heat will causes swelling and surface blemishes. Always use placemats for hot items.
PASSING ON PLACE MATS OR TABLECLOTHS
When having a meal, it’s best to use something to protect your table from spills. Place mats are great for daily dining, but a tablecloth will be your best choice for a large group. Plastic place mats can trap water, and some have off-gassing chemicals that might cause a chemical reaction to the finish on a new table. Avoid making place mats or cloths a permanent fixture. When you’re not using your table, you should enjoy the beautiful wood.
FORGETTING ABOUT CONDENSATION
Cold or warm drinks, flower vases and bottles of chilled wine can transfer water and humidity onto a timber surface, leaving white rings if moisture gets trapped under them. Always use coasters or other pads. If you get a water ring, be patient. There are three things which help get rid of water rings: time, heat and oil. First, wait a day or two and see whether the ring will evaporate on its own. Second, put your hair dryer on low (blow it on your hand first; if it doesn’t feel uncomfortable, it should be okay), then lightly blow air over the ring and hope it will disappear. Third, rub with an oil-based product that can remove water spots.
TAKING A KNIFE TO WAX SPILLS
For wax spills, avoid using anything metal, whether scissors or a knife, as you’ll probably damage the wood. Use a credit card or something similar to scrape off wax clumps. If there is still residue left, try covering the wax with a cloth and running a slightly warm iron over it. Any leftover wax should cling to the cloth.
MOVING FURNITURE
When moving furniture, even just across the room, special care must always be taken to prevent any damage. We strongly recommend when moving, that you lift and place your furniture rather than sliding or dragging the pieces across the floor, as this may cause damage to the joints. As some of our furniture items are heavy, you may need two people to lift.
GENERAL CLEANING
The best way to clean your table is to use a fresh, slightly damp (not wet) cotton cloth to remove dust or spills. Go over with a dry micro-fibre cloth.
After saying all this, the main thing is to enjoy your table. Some always freak out about the first scratch, but over the years, it will all blend in together. We would much rather see people enjoying their table and having fun with it than being afraid to use it.
Fabric Care
Once again DUST is the long term villain! While visible on wooden furniture, dust is often unnoticed on upholstered furniture. Yet accumulated dust and grit work their way into the fibres which leads to breakdown of even the strongest fabrics. This should not be a problem with dining chairs which get used every day, but for all other upholstered furniture, take care to vacuum regularly using low suction, and this will significantly extend the life of your furniture.
- When arranging your furniture, seek to avoid touching external walls or radiators. This will prevent a build-up of moisture and/or scorching damage.
- To minimise fading, we recommend placing your upholstered furniture where they won’t be exposed to direct sunlight. Even constant exposure to daylight over extended periods without window coverings may cause long term fading.
