Seven Ways to Care for your Oak Furniture

January 10, 2022

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Choosing quality oak furniture can be a lengthy process. You can spend hours researching the perfect solid oak table or chest of drawers online, carefully scouring user reviews, and comparing different websites. When the chosen item arrives, the delivery personnel place it in situ, you assemble it if required, and the job is done! Or is it? The truth is, oak furniture needs a little TLC over time, so follow these tips to make sure that your carefully chosen investments pay you back in full for years.

The Walnut Trick

It is inevitable that wooden furniture will eventually get scratched , particularly if you live in a busy family home. But there’s a simple way to restore its original appearance: using a piece of walnut. The softest of all of the nuts, walnut most easily penetrates the scratches but can also be replaced with pecan, almond or brazil, especially if the furniture is made of lighter wood. Simply de-shell the nut and vigorously rub where the wood is damaged. Repeat the process until the crack becomes invisible.

Wax on, wax on again Quality oak that has been finished with wax needs waxing in order to help protect the oak and stop it from cracking – you should do this about every six to nine months. If you don’t know how to do this YouTube has many great tutorials that outline the specific supplies you need to suit your oak furniture – usually this is a very short and easy task to do.

Polish it up

If your oak furniture is finished with lacquer, this means that it’s a bit more hard-wearing and resistant to spills and damage. The best way to keep this type of finish clean is with some standard house polish, just spray and wipe clean. Make sure you don’t leave the table wet when cleaning to ensure the durability of your wood!

Throwing ShadeSimilar to us, too much sun isn’t a good thing for wood. As SPF for furniture doesn’t yet exist, we recommend keeping your prized oak pieces out of direct sunlight, which can cause excessive dryness, cracks, and colour fading. Or simply throw a cover over them. Also avoid placing your oak furniture next to direct heat sources such as radiators.

Home and DryIf any liquids get on your furniture – which is unavoidable with items such as kitchen or coffee tables, even when owned by the most dedicated coaster-users – don’t panic. Just be sure to mop up spills straight away – oak is porous, so can easily soak up water, which will damage the finish. Use a paper towel or a clean cloth. Don’t clean oiled oak furniture with a wet or damp cloth as this can strip protective oils from the table and might leave a mark.

Moving On

Sturdiness. One of oak’s most famed qualities can feel like a disadvantage when it comes to moving it about. So if you’re moving house, or just having a feng shui moment, be sure to lift it or push it using rollers and sliders. Avoid sudden shocks and dragging the furniture across the floor by yourself, the stress on the joints by doing this over time could cause a problem to the integrity of the joints.

Quality Matters

When shopping for oak furniture online, it's worth taking a moment to double check that your chosen item is crafted from 100% solid oak. Solid oak products will last much longer than those that contain MDF, chipboard, veneer, and other fillers. So when it comes to choosing oak furniture - solid is always best!