The Care For Antique Furniture

Now-a-days furniture manufacturers use variety of materials and chemicals while designing furniture in order to make furniture user friendly in regular use.

The maintenance for the historical and valuable antique furniture requires extra effort and method of care for such furniture is being changed accordingly. The carelessness in maintaining such furniture will effect on future value of such pieces.

General Things to Be Taken Care for Antique Furniture

• Avoid furniture being exposed to sunlight.

• The furniture should not be placed near air conditioning and heating vents.

• Immediately bolt up spills.

• Dust regularly using lint free cloth.

• Avoid placing furniture near stoves and fireplaces.

Furniture should not be exposed to direct sunlight as UV or ultraviolet rays would damage the antique furniture. Sunlight can degrade the furniture and will result in damage of wood and fabrics. Curtains or shades would be the better option to block sunlight. Furniture being exposed to sunlight can turn yellow or opaque.

The antique furniture should be kept away from fireplaces, stoves and air conditioning vents because the heat may cause shrinking which will loosen the glue joint, veneers, inlays and marquetry. The amount of moisture in the air is also responsible to harm the furniture. Change in relative humidity leads the furniture to expand first and then contract. This expansion and contraction leads to breakage, difficulty in dragging doors and drawers or get stuck while opening. The use of dehumidifier can minimize the effect of moisture and can prevent the furniture.

Wood furniture can get spoiled by water spots, finger marks and scratches. Water spots and finger marks can be removed by using wet cheese cloth and rubbing on spots or marks. If paper is stuck to wood it can be removed using linseed or sweet oil, soak the paper in oil for bit and then rub it. Do not try to scratch the paper it will spoil the furniture.

There are varieties of products available in market for the protection of the furniture like waxes, polishes, oil treatment. Waxes and polishes keep the furniture long lasting and it is coming in the form of paste or liquid. Oil treatment is used to remove dirt and dust. It is of two types, orange oil and lemon oil. Orange oil is used on any finish product to remove every day dust. Lemon oil is used to remove strong dirt and grime.

The most elegant type of furniture is leather furniture which requires extra effort to take care. Leather furniture should be cleaned using soft cloth and should be vacuumed with soft brush in order to retain its quality. Regular cleanliness will hold the value of the furniture and will look great.

Last but not least I would like to conclude that- Getting expensive furniture is not where your job get over, maintaining those furniture is the main job to keep the furniture long lasting. It could be said that beautiful house is of no use without the proper furniture.