How to care for furniture, useful tips
Furniture can be expensive interior items made from different materials. In order for them to last a long time and always delight with their appearance, they should be provided with proper care, which depends on the material of the model, as well as on the existing pollution. That is why furniture care should be comprehensive and regular, as well as accurate, as certain cleaning agents can cause significant harm to certain coatings.
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General recommendations
Any person wishes that the designs he bought for the house will last as long as possible. Therefore, you should understand the basic rules of competent care for each piece of furniture. Before direct care of the furniture, it is advisable to carry out preliminary work:
- initially sweep the floor in the room;
- dust is wiped from different horizontal hard surfaces, and it is advisable not to use brushes for this, but rags with special polishes or other suitable means;
- when wiping the TV, special anti-static wipes made from soft tissues should be used;
- if it is necessary to remove a certain contamination, it is advisable to initially soak this area, if this does not harm the material.
Before buying any furniture care products, you should make sure that households are not allergic to the chemical composition.
Furniture care rules
Furniture can be created from different materials, each of which has its own characteristics. Therefore, caring for different items will be significantly different. The parameters and the general condition of each structure are preliminarily evaluated, after which the optimal means for cleaning are selected.
For example, the care of furniture made of faux leather will differ significantly from the process carried out with respect to a structure made of wood or plastic. Only special products are suitable for a skin substitute, and it is necessary to clean it with exceptionally soft rags, otherwise it is easy to leave cracks on the surface, leading to a deterioration in the appearance of a chair or sofa. In this case, over time, from improper care, the coating begins to peel off.
Furniture care is considered a specific process. Depending on its coverage, the optimal means and tools are selected to preserve the original appearance and prevent possible destruction.
Wooden
Wooden furniture can be presented in different forms, for example, chairs, tables, coffee tables, hallways, walls, dressers, bedside tables and many other elements are made of this material.They can be installed in different rooms. General tips for caring for wood furniture are specific actions.
Furniture Options | Care Features |
Of fine wood | Careful care is required, therefore it is not allowed to put hot objects on the surface, after which traces remain. Stands are necessarily used, and care does not involve a large amount of liquid. |
From veneer | Wipe regularly with a damp cotton cloth. If there is serious contamination, then only delicate furniture care products that do not contain aggressive components are suitable. They will not only ensure the elimination of dirt, but also retain the attractiveness of the furniture, as well as prevent the subsidence of large amounts of dust. |
MDF | Products made of this material are vulnerable to high humidity and therefore require careful care. It is advisable to polish them after cleansing, as this will protect against numerous scratches, significantly spoiling the appearance. |
Wood is a material that has significant sensitivity to high humidity, so care should be provided using a special product or dry rags.
Different mixtures and pastes can be used to clean wood. They can be created on the basis of oil or wax. In the first case, it turns out a universal tool that provides the elimination of dirt and adds shine to furniture. When purchasing wax-based products, surface polishing is guaranteed to prevent further dirt or scratches. After using this product, there are no stains left, and an antistatic effect is also noticeable.
To clean wooden furniture, you can use a composition of olive oil, lemon juice and vinegar. For polishing, lemon oil is ideal, restoring the unusual shine of structures, and also acting as the optimal antiseptic.
If there is furniture made of oak, then to clean it from different stains, you can use beer, which is preheated a little. Mahogany products are preferably wiped with vegetable oil. Olive oil is ideal for walnut constructions, which can be replaced with red wine. If ugly scratches appear on the surface, then they can be masked with iodine or a special wax pencil that has the desired color.
Plastic
Caring for furniture made of plastic should be neat, since putting a scratch on such a surface is not difficult. Although items have an affordable cost, they also need quality and proper care. To do this, listen to the following tips:
- it is advisable to use different aerosols during the elimination of dust and pollution, which are sprayed at a certain distance from the surface, after which parts of the furniture are wiped dry;
- it is allowed to use water during surface cleaning that does not cause any damage to the material;
- it is allowed to use soap solutions, but to prevent stains, you will have to thoroughly wipe the surfaces thoroughly;
- if oily stains appear, then it is quite easy to eliminate them with the help of a special mixture, which includes water, vinegar and soda;
- if there are already stubborn stains that do not lend themselves to a soap solution, then you will have to use tartar, represented by tartar, from which paste is made, which makes it possible to make any plastic surface lighter, and not too stubborn stains completely remove.
It is not allowed to use any hard metal brushes to care for furniture made of plastic, since serious chips and scratches remain after them, which will simply be impossible to eliminate.
Mirror or glass surfaces
When creating furniture, glass inserts or mirror surfaces are often used.All of them need specific care, since leaving dirt or stains on them is quite simple, but eliminating them promptly is not always possible.
How to care for a glossy, mirror or glass surface? To prevent the appearance of divorces, there are rules:
- it is advisable to cover tabletops with special dense tablecloths or special supports so that they are not exposed to hot or too cold dishes;
- if stains from food or dishes remain, then they are not cleaned with metal sponges or powders containing abrasives, as this will lead to clouding of the glass, whose luster will be impossible to restore;
- soft cloths are used for cleaning, which can first be lowered into a soapy solution, after which it is necessary to wait until the stain gets wet, and then wipe it with warm water;
- to prevent the appearance of stains after any cleaning, dry wipe the glass cover;
- all glass structures are fragile, so you need to handle them carefully;
- the mirror should be periodically wiped with ammonia, and potent synthetic agents can lead to cloudiness.
There are many special products on the market designed for surfaces that not only remove dust or dirt, but also protect surfaces from clouding.
Metal
Metal products in residential premises are not too common, but they are indispensable elements for high-tech style. For their attractive appearance, it is important to provide them with proper care.
The rules for caring for metal surfaces are interpreted that it is not allowed to use products that include abrasives. It is also impossible to use corrosive compounds. They are not used to clean sponges that contain metals or particle materials.
It is advisable to use special tools for metal surfaces that give structures an attractive shine. After cleaning, it is recommended to thoroughly wipe all the furniture.
Cushioned furniture
Such furnishings are usually found in the living room and bedroom. They are represented by a frame with filler and soft upholstery. They can be equipped with transformation mechanisms. It is advisable to treat them carefully so that they last a long time.
How to care for furniture, which is represented by sofas, armchairs or ottomans? The following rules are considered here:
- the upholstery is cleaned with a vacuum cleaner or a stiff brush;
- once a month you can use a steam cleaner that destroys bacteria, bugs and other insects;
- the upholstery is wiped with a soft cloth of wool, which is previously wetted in a washing solution;
- if the material has stuck, it is advisable to clean it with warm bran;
- decorative fabrics can be cleaned with detergent;
- greasy stains are removed with gasoline mixed with washing powder;
- if the upholstery is made of velvet, you need to clean it with a clean sponge, which before use is dipped in water and wrung out well.
The process of cleaning upholstered furniture itself suggests that you first need to vacuum it well, after which all elements are wiped with a damp cloth, which will allow you to collect all the dust, which will not fly around the room.
The choice of cleaning products
It is important to understand not only how to properly clean different interior items, but also what means to use for this. The recommendations are taken into account:
- it is desirable to select solutions specifically designed for a particular material, for example, for wood, metal, velvet or other surfaces;
- apply funds only with soft rags;
- solutions should not contain substances hazardous for use in residential premises;
- it is not allowed to buy solutions that can harm people if they are inhaled or skin contact;
- it is not recommended to use a tool for metal surfaces when cleaning wooden furniture, as this can lead to tarnishing of structures, and often even causes their destruction.
The result of care almost always depends on the correct choice of cleaning agent.
There are many different means, but the compositions are often selected:
- stone products: Emsal care product, HG detergent.
- Upholstered furniture: GRAY STAINS means for lightening textile upholstery, LENOT upholstery cleaner, SMELL BLOCK means for removing odors of rot, burning, tobacco, animals.
- skin cleansing: cleansing with HG brand products, Bagi “Super skin”, LEATHER CLEANER cleaner for genuine leather.
- wooden home furnishings: Emsal wood cleaner and cleaner polish of this brand, Pronto polish with beeswax or Vanish.
Before using any substance, it is necessary to study the instructions and precautions.
Folk remedies
To clean different furniture, it is allowed to use different folk recommendations, but they must be checked. Improper use of various means can cause deterioration in the appearance of objects. Such a lesson can be expensive, so the tips are taken into account:
- it is advisable to immediately wipe the wine with cold water;
- wine stains are initially covered with salt, and then wiped with a rag soaked in vodka, and you can neutralize the wine with soda quenched with vinegar;
- juices are eliminated with boiling water;
- traces of jam can be simply removed with the help of laundry soap mixed with vinegar;
- chocolate is well rubbed with saline;
- blood is first removed with a cloth soaked previously in cold water, after which it is treated with a piece of laundry soap;
- paint residues are carefully removed with acetone.
There are many popular ways to remove complex dirt from different surfaces of furniture. However, they can be even more effective than using specialized cleaning solutions.
Common mistakes
Often, improper maintenance of furniture is the reason for its short service life. Most often, people make the following serious mistakes when cleaning structures:
- plastic, metal or wood products are treated with hard metal brushes, which leads to scratches or chips;
- for upholstered furniture, products with different shades are used, after which ugly and clearly visible spots remain on the upholstery;
- apply to the metal surface compositions in which there are abrasives, which leads to the beginning of the corrosion process on the material;
- serious contaminants, such as blood or juice, do not immediately wipe away, so they are strongly eaten into the material, and then dealing with such stains is quite difficult;
- use different caustic agents for films, such as vinegar or gasoline, which leads to their erosion.
Caring for any furniture is a rather complicated and lengthy process. It should be carried out in such a way as to not only guarantee an ideal result, but also provide reliable protection of materials from destruction. To prevent serious pollution, it is recommended that you regularly take care of various interior items regularly so that they retain their original and unsurpassed appearance.
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