How To Take Care of Your Furniture

Apart from buying or building a house, the other investment that takes the biggest share of a home budget is furniture. The cost of furnishing a house is quite high and thus, it is prudent to make sure that the furniture is taken care of. if you take care of your furniture, they will serve you for long.

The most common type of furniture is wood. However, to enhance the appearance of wood, fabric, glass, metal, plastic and other kinds of materials are now made as part of furniture make. They are added to provide more comfort, add more colour to the relevant areas as well as texture. This way they are able to break the monotony of the plain wood colour.

The wooden part together with the added upholstery should thus be well managed to maintain its aesthetic appeal and hep it last longer. There are also other types of furniture such as leather, fabric,

To help you take proper care of the different types of furniture, below are tips that will enable you to keep them clean and have them for longer:

How To Take Care Of Wooden Furniture

Wooden furniture comprises of the most common yet the most expensive type of furniture you can get on the market. While it is easy to take care of this kind of furniture, if it is done in the right way, wooden furniture can last for a long time. The kind of finishing on the wood determines the kind of care that it should receive.

While some finishing aims at adding extra depth and durability, other types of finishing adds to the beauty of the wood. All in all, finishing protects the wood and enables it to last longer. It is important to note that while it offers protection to the wood, it is not indestructible. If not properly handled, the finish undergoes destruction and the furniture loses its appeal. Also, the wood will be prone to destruction hence, reduce its lifespan.

While it sounds like a no-brainer tip, many people don’t know how to take care of their furniture. Also, while many people think that taking care of furniture is only about cleaning, it goes beyond that. To help you take care of your furniture and have them last longer, here are tips and great insights for you.

• Dust Often: This is the most basic way of taking care of wooden furniture. By dusting often, you ensure that the loose dirt does not settle on the furniture to form a layer that would eventually stick to it. For effective dusting, it is advisable to use a moist piece of cloth so that it absorbs the dust as opposed to scattering it to the air. Research shows that this is one of the most common mistakes that homeowners do. Additionally, using a moist piece of cloth mitigates the chances of breaking stuff when they fall, a common problem.
• Regular Cleaning: Once in a while, the furniture will get dirty, which brings up the need to do a deep cleaning. To ensure that you don’t interfere with the finishing, look for the correct form of detergents and cleaning equipment that is specifically for cleaning wood furniture. These cleaning agents are beneficial as they protect the wood as you clean it. There is no minimum or maximum number of times when you can clean your furniture. However, not too many, nor very few times. Be keen not to use excess water when cleaning.
• Polishing/Waxing: This is done to protect the wooden surface but should not mix. You should choose one of them depending on the manufacture’s recommendation to achieve the desired results. Polishing your furniture makes them look elegant and keeps them cleans.
• Protect Them From Damage: You should endeavour to make sure that no actions or inactions will affect your furniture. Activities such as scratching, using sharp objects directly on the surface, will most of the time cause considerable harm to the furniture.  Should there be a need to do any of these, just look for something to cover the furniture surface. If you have small children be on the lookout since they may not understand how to take care of the furniture.
• Keep Away From Light and Heat: Direct sunlight has the ability to cause severe damage to wood. Direct sunlight or excessive light will affect your furniture as they lose moisture that plays a key role in preserving it. Additionally, it will lose its shine and luster and begin to fade.

How To Take Care of Upholstery

This is another type of furniture that complements the solid look that wood provides. Made of fabric, this type of furniture adds the so much needed warmth and comfort. They also add colour, texture and personality to the other furniture. Examples of this type of furniture include pillows and cushions. Below are a few ways of how to take care of upholstered furniture

• Vacuuming: If you have this kind of furniture, plan to vacuum it at least weekly. This avoids accumulation of dirt and dust that could make your furniture look old and beat.
• Reorganise Frequently: In any household, there are seats that are favourable to every member of the family. This can cause strains to the fabric if it is frequently used more than the others. To ensure that this does not happen, it is advisable to swap and rearrange them regularly. This ensures that some furnishings are not used more than other hence avoiding unnecessary wear and tear. This can also be applied to seats for the same reasons. Trust me, this is one of the best tricks you can use to avoid, some specific furniture getting older than others.
• Arm Covers: This is another effective way to ensure protection to the parts of the furniture that are prone to higher levels of abrasion and dirt. The seat and the  fabric are made from the same material, which makes it hard to distinguish them. They are detachable thus can you can clean them frequently hence protecting the furniture and also keeping them clean.
• Slipcovers: Slipcovers are seat covers that are washable. They protect the upholstered furniture from oils, sweat and other unwanted stains. Once they get dirty you just need to wash them. They provide protection even in cases where the furniture is not in use as.

How To Take Care of Your Leather Furniture

Though considered largely as upholstery, there are many leather furniture on the market. Whether combined with wood or metal, leather furniture are some of the most expensive on the market. If well taken care of, this kind of furniture can serve you for a long time. Additionally, it is easy to maintain.

• Cleaning : Just like any other furniture, cleaning is one of the basic maintenance routines. To clean leather, you just need to wipe the spills immediately they occur with a piece of cloth or sponge. Use some mild soap  to clean stains and spots, however, ensure you rinse it first. You should, however, avoid using any harsh detergents, abrasive cleaners or any type of chemical solutions, as they will just spoil it.
• Dusting: This is also another way of keeping the seats clean. Daily dusting ensures that dirt does not accumulate over time thus preventing any stains and spots.
• Vacuuming – this applies to the coated leather furniture. It helps remove the surface soils

How To TAKE Glass Furniture

These days, manufacturers are also increasingly using glass to make furniture. Combined with other materials such as wood, metal, fabric and leather, it makes some pieces of furniture such as tables and TV stands among others. Although it is delicate to handle, it is interesting to note that it is the easiest to take care of.

Apart from ensuring that it does not break, the other way to ensure that glass retains its beauty and stays for long is by ensuring that they don’t come into contact with stains. There are many detergents available on the market for cleaning glass.

General Furniture Maintenance Tips

As seen above most furniture requires a specific way of handling. However, there are furniture care tips that are applicable to all the furniture types.

• Avoiding direct sunlight. This causes fading and in some cases like glass can cause breakage.
• Using the right cleaning materials for the furniture to avoid abrasion, tears, staining and fading among others.
• Occasionally changing of furniture position so that they do not stay at the same spot for a long period.
• Cleaning of spills immediately to avoid stains and even damages.
• Lifting as opposed to dragging furniture when moving. This is also listed as of one of the main causes of furniture destructions.

These tips will help you to keep your furniture in good shape and you can enjoy having them for as long as you wish. Through these simple maintenance routines, furniture will move from one generation to the other while in perfect condition.

It is also important to understand each and every type of furniture before settling on any. You should consider issues such as the size of the furniture, price, maintenance costs and durability. If you have children it is also important to look at the suitability of the furniture you are purchasing. While a glad table, for example, may be appealing to the sight, it may not be suitable for a household with younger children as they can easily break it. You should also consider where you shall keep the furniture.

Should you feel that you don’t have enough information, it is prudent to seek professional help. This is especially when dealing with antique furniture or furniture that has not been on use for long. You will get credible and enough on the best way to handle them.