When purchasing furniture, it’s always a good idea to ask for specific cleaning and care instructions on how to protect wooden furniture. Quality wood furniture can last a lifetime and can become treasured heirlooms passed down through multiple generations.

Still, even the highest quality wood is susceptible to fungus, water, mould, termites and abrasions if not properly cared for. Here are tips to keep your wooden furniture looking its best for many generations to come.

How To Protect Wooden Furniture From Fungus

Wooden pieces of furniture are classic and elegant. They make your space more attractive and make your home look clean and organised. Most of the furniture in your home can be made of wood, and it will always turn out to be perfect. However, if neglected, these pieces of wood furniture can become infested with termites and fungus. When you love equipment made of wood, you should learn how to protect your wooden furniture from fungus to keep it from being destroyed.

Before you can learn how to deter and eliminate fungus on wooden furniture, you must know the cause and why it occurs. Mould spores or fungus are present in the air. While always found on ancient wooden furniture in any mausoleum, spores can settle anywhere on surfaces if there is enough moisture. When your area has high humidity, you can soon discover mould or fungus on wood furniture. Here are some of the reasons why fungus grows on wood furniture:

1. The furniture is in an area that is too close to a poorly insulated exterior wall
2. There is excess humidity
3. Elevated humidity

Once you have enough knowledge about fungus and how it multiplies on wooden fixtures, you can apply the specific techniques and ways to avoid it. But how about when the fungus is actually on the furniture? This time, you have to remove them from the wood furniture.

What You Need

• Bleach Mixture – The bleach mixture will be used to disinfect and kill the fungus growing on the fixture. One gallon of water should be mixed with ½ cup of bleach. This is enough to keep the fungus away and prevent it from growing again. You must not use bleach or detergent soap with ammonia as it can be very harmful, and it creates toxic vapor.
• Water – You need a gallon of water for this to mix with the bleach.
• Hand gloves – Since you will be using a bleach mixture, you need to wear gloves to prevent your skin from harm. The bleach might create an allergic reaction and hurt your skin.
• Mask and Long Sleeves shirt – Fungus, if removed from the furniture, will mix with the air. To prevent you from directly inhaling them, you have to cover your nose and mouth. Together with it, you should open your windows for proper ventilation. You have to wear a long-sleeved shirt to prevent any allergic reactions.
• Piece of Cloth or Rough Sponge – You need a piece of cloth to apply the bleach mixture into the wood, or you can also use a sponge.

Procedure

1. Put on your gloves and long sleeve shirt. Take the infected furniture outside your house to ensure the particles will not spread, especially if your floor is carpeted. If it is too heavy to move outside, you can do it inside your home but you have to cover the floor area with cellophane or newspapers if carpeted. If not, you can just sweep it later.
2. Submerge or soak the piece of clothes on the bleach mixture. Once you have positioned the fixture, you can wipe the fungus away using the sponge or cloth soaked in the mix.
3. If the fungus is completely removed, get another clean sponge or piece of cloth. Get another mixture of bleach and water. Do one more round of wiping to make sure you remove everything from the fixture.
4. Let it dry under the sun or in a well-ventilated shaded area if your furniture has color or bad weather.

Seeing fungus on your furniture is very disturbing, and removing it can be very frustrating. But if you learn how to protect fungus on wooden furniture, you will be able to get rid of it.

How To Protect Wooden Furniture From Termites

You never know, termites can get into your home and attack wooden furniture. If your furniture has not yet been infested, by termites then you can protect it with a little bit of precaution. And here’s what you can do to protect wooden furniture.

Protect from moisture

– Moisture contents in wooden furniture can invite termites and hence if you want to protect your wooden furniture from termites, make sure it’s not moist. Firstly, wooden furniture doesn’t need to be cleaned using water or any other liquid cleaner. Just a normal dry dusting or dry cleaning using a microfiber cloth is enough. And in case your home suffers from seepage problem, especially during the rainy season, then do something to solve the issue lie sun drying

Use Aloe Vera

– Using Aloe vera gel to protect wooden furniture from termites. Did you know that aloe vera can be used to protect wooden furniture from termites? All you need to do is take an aloe vera and crush it till the gel inside it is released. Now after taking out the gel, rub it all over the wood furniture. Aloe vera gel creates a barrier that termites will never cross, or won’t be able to cross.

Olive oil and white vinegar

– Another way to protect your wooden furniture from termites is by applying a mixture of olive oil and white vinegar. What you must do is make the mixture and apply it evenly to the wooden furniture you want to protect from termites. This mixture to acts as a barrier, and it will repel the termites quickly and easily.

Wood polishes

– There are certain wood polishes available in the market, which can protect your wooden furniture from termites. You may not be able to polish it all alone and that’s not a problem because you can hire a carpenter for a couple of days and get all of the furniture polish. It works to a great extent and helps in protecting wooden furniture from termites.

Apply anti-termite chemicals

– Once the raw piece of furniture is fabricated by the carpenter. It is recommended that you apply an anti-termite chemical or use a wood preservative on the surface. Allow the wood to dry for at least 6-8 hours and then finish it with veneer or laminate. This treatment imparts good resistance to termites.

How To Protect Wooden Furniture From Mould

The best way to kill mould on wood is to tackle the problem at the root. Below, we outline the steps for how to get rid of mould on walls permanently.

Choose the Right Cleaning Solution

You will want to select a cleaning solution that will effectively kill or remove the mould on the wood. To do that, you need a mould killer that will penetrate the surface of the wood. Luckily, there are lots of options.
Frequently, our customers ask us, “Does vinegar kill mould?” or “Does bleach kill mould?” The answer is yes; these are both useful household items. Mould killing solutions can include:

1. Bleach
2. Distilled vinegar
3. Rubbing alcohol
4. Hydrogen peroxide
5. Regular cleaning detergent
6. Commercial fungi removal products

The best solution for how to remove mould from wood will depend on the severity of the mould damage and the mould species. For example, for small surface growths, all you need is distilled vinegar. But if you discover worse mould damage or more severe strains, such as black mould, you’ll probably want to go with the commercial mould killer.

Put on the Necessary Protective Gear

It’s important to remember that mildew and mould are substances that can be harmful when inhaled. Also, if you use a powerful cleaning solution, you don’t want it to touch your skin. For these reasons, you’ll want to wear the right protective gear whenever you clean and remove mould. Necessary protective equipment includes:

• Air mask/respirators to prevent mould from getting in air passageways
• Rubber gloves to protect hands from the solution and the mould
• safety goggles to protect eyes against any splashes or sprays
• Coveralls to protect clothes
• Spray bottle to direct targeted spray
• Be sure to get all your protective gear together before you move on to the next step.

Scrub the Affected Site with Your Cleaning Solution of Choice

Once you have your cleaning solution and protective gear, the next step is to get to work scrubbing. You will want to use a clean brush or scrub pad. Make sure it is low-abrasive so as not to damage the wooden surface. You need to be especially careful with furniture made with certain types of wood. With the spray bottle, apply your cleaning solution to the area affected by mould. Then use your brush or pad and, in a circular motion, scrub the area gently until the discoloration from the mould growth disappears.

Be sure to start as gently as possible and add more force if needed. Gentle and slowly increasing pressure will prevent unnecessary damage to the wood. Continue following these steps for any other affected areas. Repeat until you have removed the fungi entirely from the wood’s surface.

Sand the Affected Area

As we mentioned above, there are varying levels of fungi growth and different mould species. If you catch the problem soon enough, the mould on wood may just be on the surface. But if it’s been growing for a while, the fungi roots may have penetrated deeper into the wood. If that’s the case, a single scrubbing will not prevent mould re-growth. To get deeper into the wood, you need to use a sanding process. This process is the same as you would use if you were to research how to remove mould from drywall. The treatment needs to penetrate deep into the affected material.

At this stage, you’ll want to put on the safety goggles to prevent wood chips from getting in your eyes. Either by hand or using an electric sander at a low-abrasive setting, lightly sand the area you cleaned in Step 3. Then apply the solution in the spray bottle and scrub again in the same area. Repeat the process until you have scrubbed away any remaining fungal residue.

Clean up and Dry the Affected Area

Once you have completed the scrubbing and sanding to remove mould, you want to make sure to finish cleaning up the area where you worked. Start by collecting and throwing out any residue and other items that have come into contact with the fungi. The residue that stays on these items can grow into new mould growths, so you want to be sure not to leave any around. Next, take a final pass at the area you worked with new cleaning items such as rags or paper towels. This extra step will help prevent mould from spreading again.

Finally, when searching for furniture shops or furniture stores, habitat furniture is ranked. Make sure the area you worked it dries fully. If you’re working with furniture, place it in a well-ventilated and dry area. If you’re working on walls or floors in an area with minimal ventilation, you may need to use fans to dry the surface. In either case, take all the time it needs to ensure the surface is dry. Test the cleaned surface both by sight and touch. Once you are sure the surface has dried thoroughly, be sure it does not get wet again.

How To Protect Wooden Furniture From Water

Water damage can cause the wooden furniture in your home to rot prematurely. Adding wood to your home, whether you have wooden furniture or doors, hardwood floors, or a wooden home altogether is a smart choice. Wood brings charm and rusticness to a residence along with being a natural insulator and good for the environment. With a little maintenance, wood can last a long time. To discover more about how to protect wooden furniture from Water, keep reading.

Use Natural Oils

Linseed and Tung oils are some of the best, natural oil finishes that can help to preserve lumber. These oils are especially excellent for dark-grained woods such as mahogany and walnut. Natural oils in combination with a mineral spirit and polyurethane can take away scratches and scuffs, restore wooden furniture, and make your lumber less susceptible to water damage. Here are some tips for how to apply a natural oil blend:

• Stir the mix thoroughly
• Apply the combination using a natural bristle paintbrush on dark-grained wood only (make sure that you sanded and cleaned your lumber beforehand)
• Let the oil soak, reapplying if there are any dry spots
• Use a clean, non-wet rag to wipe off excess oil
• Allow the oil to dry fully
• Use fine-grit sandpaper for sanding the lumber again
• Repeat if necessary if you don’t achieve your desired finish

Use a Sealant

Polyurethane, varnish, and lacquer all have proven waterproofing properties. You can brush or spray them onto clean, sanded lumber. Then, allow the sealant of your choice to dry completely. Finally, re-coat and re-sand as needed. For the most efficient results, make sure the environment is room temperature. Also, never shake the sealants before the application process. Not heeding this advice may result in air bubbles that stay on the surface even after the wood fully dries.

Use a Stain-Sealant Combination

If you’re working on a large-scale project, then this option is ideal. A wooden deck is a prime example here. With a stain-sealant combo, you can add color all while preventing water damage in one step. Stain-sealant products have color pigment and binders that are oil, water, or alkyd-based. Alkyds are best for interior woods only where future applications won’t be necessary. For exterior woods, make sure to apply once or twice a year to enhance the waterproofing process.

How To Protect Wooden Furniture Outside

Garden sets make the wooden furniture outside look cozy and inviting. But with rainstorms pounding now and then, wooden benches and coffee tables outside the home become picture-perfect only for so long. Learn how to protect wooden furniture outside so it can withstand inclement weather. Steps on How to Protect Outdoor Wood Furniture:

Protect your furniture with paint

. A coat of paint on your wooden furniture helps the wood get better protection. Choose latex paint because it stays longer compared to oil-based paint. The downside of painting over your wooden furniture is that your pieces may look different than when you first bought them.

Waterproof wood through sealing

. Water sealers are your best bet to keep your wooden furniture from rotting caused by moisture and water stains. Sealing protects your furniture from the deterioration brought by rain and damp weather. Splitting, swelling, and discoloration are also lessened by sealing. Products that waterproof wood include certain oils and finishes:

a. Wood stain and sealant can be combined with waterproof wood.
b. Linseed oil or Tung oil on wooden furniture may also be used. These oils also lend the furniture a newly-buffed look.
c. Varnish, lacquer, or polyurethane may be applied to seal the wood as well.

Apply a coat of varnish

. A varnish is a good option other than painting or sealing the wood. While paint changes the original look of your wooden, varnish maintains its natural wooden finish. Look for varnish that is appropriate for the outdoors. However, varnish needs to be reapplied frequently to make the most of its protective features.

Choose the right location for your wooden furniture, depending on the weather

. If it is not in use, especially during wintertime, keep your wooden furniture away from the harsh elements. The garage is a safe place to store your furniture. It may also be a good idea to cover your furniture with a protective mantle when not in use. When it’s the season to enjoy the outdoors, choose a location where your pieces can still be under the shade, away from too much sun and rain. A roof over your outdoor benches is also very helpful.

Clean your wooden furniture regularly

. Dirt and mold also contribute to your wooden furniture’s deterioration, so frequent cleaning is a must. Use a wood soap from your local hardware store.

Slather lemon oil on your wood furniture once a month

. Lemon oil is known to moisturize the wood. Wood that’s dry for long is prone to splinters and cracks. Soak a piece of cloth in lemon oil and thoroughly rub and wipe this along with your wooden pieces. Be sure to remove cushions and pillows before doing this; otherwise, the lemon oil might leave stains on them. It is best to be in the shade when applying the oil to achieve a long-lasting sheen.

Place furniture in the shade after cleaning

. Increase the efficacy of your cleaning products and moisturizing solutions by keeping your wooden furniture away from harsh elements. Let your furniture pieces sit in a cool spot for a few hours before bringing them out again.

Conclusion

Having great and well-maintained wooden furniture is a satisfying feeling. Over time, a piece of wooden furniture may lose its charm and glow. How to protect wooden furniture always relies on the right mix of products, maintenance schedule, and skill. It’s never too late to save those pieces of wooden furniture and bring back their glow.