Keep Your Curios Looking Fresh and Clean - Continued

Light Can Affect Your Curio

The light in a room is known to pose a great threat to the appearance and long life of furniture made from wood. This means that if you have placed your curio cabinet in the path of direct sunlight, future damage is inevitable. Ultraviolet rays are rather aggressive on the finishes of curios. To lessen the blow your cabinet will sustain on a sunny day, try to keep drapes and blinds closed to provide a filter for the amount of sunlight that comes in contact with your wood furniture.

Outside lighting sources aren’t the only menace that strikes curio cabinets. It is also important to pay attention to selections offering curio lighting. Some bulbs have the capacity to create enough energy and heat to wreak havoc on finishes. Sometimes, the worst-case scenario involves the actual breakdown of the curio wood structure. When it isn’t necessary to keep the inside light on, don’t forget to turn off the switch.  

Daily Maintenance

To keep your wood looking fresh and clean, preserving the natural appearance is important, and really doesn’t take much effort to accomplish. When taking a trip to your local supermarket, a wide range of cleaning products are found that provide ways to dust and polish wooden furniture. It is also important to pick and choose your cleaning items because some are known to emit hazardous chemicals, while others are just plain expensive.

If you want to safely preserve your wood curio cabinet, there is a remedy you can create in the comfort of your own home. For a safe curio polish, you can combine olive or boiled linseed oil with vinegar, which produces an organic answer to the dullness of wood finishes. The type of material you use to apply polish is also important. A soft, lint-free cloth should be used when applying polish, such as an old T-shirt or cloth diaper. A helpful tip also includes lightly moistening the surface before polishing your curio because dry fabrics work with the harsh accumulation of dust, which may leave behind fine scratches.

To make sure your curio enjoys a long life, both daily care and long-term attention is recommended. In order to protect your curio cabinet from the natural elements and everyday wear and tear, you should also consider the occasional waxing every 8 to 12 months.

(Read Curios - Part 1 first).