Staying In

Housing Maintenance: How to Take Care of Your Furniture

Hello FlokqJune 15, 2020

Investing comes in various methods and ways. One of the ways of investing that takes the biggest share of a home budget is furniture. Realizing that the cost of furnishing a house is quite high and thus, it is prudent to make sure that the furniture is being taken care of well. Maintaining the good condition of the furniture could result in the long-lasting quality and you’ll save up money because you won’t have to buy a new one! Good quality can be seen as a form of investing. So here are some tips for you to keep your furniture in good shape.

Read more about things to check when choosing a new apartment

Learn the care label.

The first thing you should do is to read and understand the care instructions. Remember that not every furniture has the same maintenance instructions. Moreover, there are several symbols that you should understand to maintain the furniture. You can google up the symbols if it’s out of your league. This information is very important because it is specific to the piece you purchased. The brand-new look of your furniture is depending on how good you take care of it. Hence, the first step to do it is to understand the care label. Nevertheless, if your furniture did not come with a label, don’t hesitate to ask the person you purchased from or the selling agent for any specific care instructions.

Avoid sun exposure.

It is right that this step, in most cases, is inevitable. However, there are two particular conditions of sun exposure that you should avoid for your furniture. They are direct sunlight and too much exposure. If the furniture is exposed by direct sunlight too often, it can cause fading in color and vulnerable structure for wooden types. In the worst case, it results in a phenomenon called ‘spotting’ where bright and dark spots appear across the cross-section. These things are your enemies when it comes to the quality of the furniture. Ways to cope with the sunlight is by using a window film or curtains and tablecloth for wooden tables. By doing so, you can mitigate the sun’s harmful rays out. 

Dust Often.

Wooden furniture, figures, vases, miniatures or others can be easily cleaned by dusting. Also, do not forget to ensure that the loose dirt doesn’t stay on the furniture to form a layer that would eventually stick to it. This is the last thing you want to encounter. You can also use a vacuum cleaner for dusting. A vacuum cleaner may be easier to conduct but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t be cautious. Additionally, this helps to decrease the signs of aging. Furthermore, tips for effective dusting is 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 make. Another common problem is breaking stuff when they fall, so using a moist piece of cloth mitigates the chances of breaking. 

Rotate the furniture.

People have a habit and tend to sit in the same spot on our couch or chairs every day. By rotating the cushions, it will benefit them from losing their form. Keeping your furniture in the actual form or size is something you should do. Another way is trying to change your way of habit. This way is good for experiencing a new atmosphere for you! Besides rotating cushions, don’t forget to rotate your mattresses or sofas as well. Apart from keeping the good form, rotating the furniture can additionally give a new look of your furniture. Giving an aesthetic finish. 

Cleaning regularly.

It doesn’t matter how sealed your place is, your furniture eventually will get dirty at the end of the day. The problem is, once it gets super dirty, it’ll require a lot of work to clean it-deep cleansing. Another thing you should consider is to not interfere with the finishing. Look for the correct form of detergents and cleaning equipment that is specifically made for the furniture type, woods example. These cleaning ingredients are beneficial as they protect the wood as you clean it. Note that there is no minimum or maximum frequency on how much you should clean your furniture. It all depends on the condition and environment of your place. But, cleaning up your place once a week is a good decision. This helps to prevent the accumulation of dirt. Furthermore, be keen not to use excess water when cleaning. Good cleaning doesn’t necessarily mean consuming a high volume of water. 

Be attentive to temperature.

Extreme hot and cold objects can cause severe damage to the furniture. Because they tend to leave an impression that may distort the original texture of the surface. When the surfaces are broken, it is reasonably difficult to be fixed. Especially when it only causes partial damage. Because finding the broken parts is fairly hard and most likely not available. Hence, you will find yourself asking whether to replace the furniture or not. Therefore, avoid using objects that can cause damage to better maintenance.

Give protection.

There are various ways to ensure that your furniture has the right protection. The basic way to protect is by adding a tablecloth or slipcovers for general furniture and polishing or waxing for wooden furniture. For example, applying arm covers provide an effective way for the furniture that are prone to higher levels of abrasion and dirt. 

Using slipcovers is another way to protect your furniture. Slipcovers are seat covers that are washable. They protect the upholstered furniture from oils, sweat, and other unwanted stains. It’s simple because you just need to take off the slipcovers once they get dirty and wash it. In some cases, people apply slipcovers on their furniture when the furniture is not in use. Or when you have children at home, using slipcovers on your sofas may be a great idea to prevent them from getting any miscellaneous dirt by children. On the other hand, polishing your furniture makes them look elegant and keeps them cleans.

You can prevent your furniture from being damaged by practicing the directions above. At the worst-case scenario, if the furniture is already damaged, here are a few tips that are worth to try:

• Greasy fingerprints – Wipe with a barely damp cloth, dampened with a very mild, warm, soapy water solution.
• Grease marks on untreated (un-waxed and un-oiled) wood – sprinkle the surface with some talcum powder. Place a paper bag over it, and place a warm iron on top of the paper. The paper will absorb the grease.
• Watermarks – rub a cream, metal polish to smooth the surface, then rub a tiny amount of shoe polish or colored wax onto the surface.

Taking care of your furniture may be challenging. That’s why we provide you certain fundamental and easy ways to do it. Keep in mind that doing all these efforts are not essentially beneficial for the furniture solely. Yet, to your sake of prosperity of investing.

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