How to care for your oak furniture

Having invested in a beautiful and durable material, you will no doubt be keen to know how to care for your oak furniture properly, particularly the best way to protect its quality finish and aesthetic appeal.

You may also be keen to explore options to clean and rejuvenate oak furniture if accidents and incidents do happen.

In this guide to caring for oak furniture we look at:

What products should you use to clean oak furniture?

What can you do if you’ve stained your oak furnishings?

When should you wax or polish oak products?

How should you position your oak furniture in your room?

What products should you use to clean oak furniture?

The first step in knowing how to care for your oak furniture is understanding what not to do!

This beautiful piece or set of items has been crafted from healthy wood that’s been growing for centuries. If you have bought it from a quality-conscious online supplier of oak furniture, it will have been expertly treated to stand the test of time in its new form too.

Buying from a reputable supplier of oak furniture, therefore, provides you with the promise that your items will give you many years of service, and with proper care will maintain their beautiful looks.

However, you can undo some of that durability and quality by using the wrong cleaning materials or methods. For example, never use harsh chemicals or abrasive items on your oak furniture.

In fact, most of the time the best product to clean your wood furniture with is simply a clean soft cloth, gently applied on a weekly basis.

What can you do if you’ve stained your oak furnishings?

What if you get spills, stains and marks on oak furniture?

There are products ideally suited to cleaning it and restoring any sheen lost by daily wear and tear.

The first step would be to gently blot away any contaminates sitting on the surface. A clean, soft and slightly damp cloth is best for this task. Don’t rub or scrub, as this could make the issue worse.

Once you have lifted away any pooled liquid, for example, if the stain or mark is ingrained, there are specialist cleaning fluids that are kind to oak and other hardwoods.

Some websites with tips on oak furniture care recommend things like watered down vinegar. This sort of homemade cleaning fluid is a risk, and investing in a trustworthy product is always best.

If the stain still refuses to budge, you need to find a specialist in restoring oak furniture, to be sure of a complete fix. The same applies if you don’t notice the problem for a while, and the contamination has settled into the wood’s surface.

Importantly, buying a wood wax suitable for oak is an important part of keeping oak furniture clean. It protects the wood’s grain, seals the surface, and makes it more resistant to minute cracks, scratches or stains.

When should you wax or polish oak products?

Caring for your oak furniture properly starts from the day it arrives in your home. It is recommended that you wipe it with a dry clean cloth, then apply a good quality wood wax to it. This will remove any dust or minute debris that became attached during delivery and will seal and protect the surface.

How often should you wax and polish oak furniture? The recommended amount is every six months, to nourish the wood and nurture its finish.

Buy a quality wood wax, then it’s advisable to test it on a less obvious part of your furniture. This gives you the chance to be confident that you are entirely happy with the result.

The best way to wax oak furniture is to apply it in the direction of the wood grain. Once you have put a coat of wax on, leave it for around five minutes. Then, buff it (again following the direction of the grain) to remove residue and bring out the lustre of the oak.

How should you position your oak furniture in your room?

The best place to position oak furniture is an important question.

Firstly, keep in mind that one of the main benefits of buying oak furniture from a reputable online supplier is that it’s built to last! The quality wood used will have already weathered a range of temperatures and many years. Then, a leading oak furniture manufacturer will have treated it with care – in every sense!

That ensures the oak used to make your item or items can withstand normal household temperatures and the sort of everyday use a growing family will put it through.

However, there are still things you need to know about how to care for your oak furniture. Even quality hardwood furnishings don’t cope well with direct sunlight for prolonged periods of time. The sun’s rays fade the wood’s finish.

Also, positioning oak furniture too close to a radiator or air conditioning vent is unwise. That amount of heat or cold air could start to affect the finish and cause the wood to dry out.

It’s worth emphasising that oak furniture made for modern homes is not suitable for outdoor use. Also, having smaller items in bathrooms and kitchens is not always a good idea due to the humidity and likelihood of water splashes.

Look around your room and decide if there is anything that could create abrasion on your items. Such as a door that could hit them, or shoed feet that could regularly scuff against the legs. Can coasters ensure hot drinks or plates never end up on the surface?

You may also want to make your beautiful oak furniture a no pet zone – no cats on the oak dining room table!

Lastly, it is recommended that you keep oak furniture at least 25mm away from the walls. The circulation of air then keeps the surface fresher.

The value of knowing how to care for oak furniture

With these few simple tips, you can keep your oak furniture performing brilliantly and looking stunning for many years.

Remember though, the most important step in knowing how to care for your oak furniture is to buy it from a recommended online furniture retailer in the first place.