Clean Your Wardrobe: Wood & Varnish

Varnish has become increasingly popular in modern furniture, especially wooden wardrobe.
Here’s how to easily clean your bedroom furniture, wooden or varnished.

Supplies | Things To Avoid
Varnished Wood | Marquetry | Scratches

You’ll need:

• Microfiber cloth
• White vinegar
• Cotton swab
• Polish

Things to avoid

• Never use an abrasive sponge to clean varnished wood.
• Don’t use baking soda or other powdered cleaning agents.
• Avoid spraying any products that may tarnish the wood and make it stickier.
• Avoid bleach, chemicals and other acidic products. If you were to use an acidic product such as vinegar, wipe immediately.
• Never rub a furnished wood furniture. Clean with soft movements.

Clean varnished wood

• Using circular motions, without rubbing, use a microfiber cloth with some new polish.
• If the furniture is sticky or very dirty, add a few drops of white vinegar to the cloth. The cloth should only be moistened with it. Wipe the cabinet as soon as possible.
• You can also use a cloth used with cold tea.
• To clean angles and corners, use a cotton swab moistened with water and just a tad of vinegar. Dry the area with another dry cotton swab.

Clean marquetry furniture

• When veneer is applied to furniture to form decorative patterns, then a marquetry technique is done.
• To clean a dirty marquetry piece of wood, use a cloth soaked in a mix of ammonia and turpentine.
• Be warned that antique furniture, especially pricey ones, should only be dusted.

Remove scratches on wooden furniture

• If you have scratches on your wooden furniture, you can gently go over them with a cotton swab soaked in solvent.
• Use another swab, dipped in rubbing alcohol.
• When the wood is dry, if there’s still a scratch, get another cotton swab, this time soaked in a mix of turpentine and olive oil to trace it.