How to Clean Antique Furniture

Video Transcript

"So you're looking to clean your antique furniture and you've always heard, what should I use to clean that furniture? I'm Blake Kennedy with Kennedy Brothers Estate Services and I'm here to help. Cleaning antique furniture is a little funny because people go, oh, I don't want to hurt the patina or I don't want to take away any paint. Well, you want to make sure what you're cleaning first. You want to make sure if it's a sealed piece of wood. But you never can go wrong first of all with a good cotton rag to always have around the house or some good paper towels. But if you want to start off by just cleaning with just water, water does a lot just to get it off. But I also use a little soap and water here. It looks like a lot of water in here but you put a little bit of soap in it and start off with that because that's not going to do any harm to any piece of wood that you have. Some people say, oh I have sticky stuff on it, how do I get the sticky out of it, whether it's lip stick or crayons or even gum or peanut butter. You know, you can use lemon juice if that's all you have in your house, but I also use the Goo Off. Goo Off is a great material. You should want to make, you know put a little bit on it and just keep rubbing until it comes completely off. It's not going to harm your wood. Just make sure you get it completely off. One of the biggest things that I have, that people ask me is what about, how much should I wax my dining room table? People love to use Pledge. Pledge is a nice item, but Pledge has a wax in it. And they always start off in the middle of the table and they spray and then they go out. Well, that's just putting wax build up on that table because most of the ware on a dinning room table on an antique table is along the edges where the people put their arms and rest their arms and move and slide. That's where you should wax, when you spray Pledge. Pledge is a good product, but don't start off in the middle because the middle of the table has plenty of wax on it, a really good sealant on it. You don't need to build it up any more than it already is. But, you know just start off, soap and water you can't go wrong with, even the 409 cleaning like that. If you have a little bit of crevices you have to get in to with some ornament work, use a light bristle brush and make sure you get in there with a little soap and water and it'll eventually dry out. But don't be afraid to clean that antique furniture. I'm Blake Kennedy and I hope that helped."