Cleaning Tips to Give Your Second-Hand Furniture New Life
Whether it’s wood, cane, fabric or leather, give your second-hand finds a sparkling new lease of life with these cleaning tips and tricks.
Vintage furniture can sometimes need a little TLC before it’s displayed in your home, and pieces you’ve had for a while may also be ready for a spring clean. A quick wipe-down or wash will suffice for some things, but how do you tackle those harder-to-clean items?
Cane:
Cane chairs, tables, shelves and bedheads, with their small crevices, can be dust magnets. Fortunately, you can remove dust with a feather duster, or a vacuum cleaner with a brush attachment, and use an old toothbrush for hard-to-reach areas. To get rid of dirt, most items can be wiped down with a damp cloth, and stains tackled with a soft-bristled brush dipped in a mix of gentle dishwashing liquid and warm water. Make sure not to leave your cane furniture wet after cleaning as mould can grow. Dry it with a fan or leave outside in the sun.
Wood:
Dust wooden furniture gently with a soft cloth, or damp cloth if needed. According to the Smithsonian’s Museum Conservation Institute, wooden furniture should be cleaned only when there is a build-up of wax or dirt, and only unfinished wood, painted wood, or wood with a sturdy finish should be cleaned. Oily dirt or waxy residue can be removed with diluted mineral turpentine or a mix of mild detergent and water but take care this doesn’t affect the wood or finish (do a spot test somewhere unobtrusive first).
The Smithsonian recommends avoiding polishes, oils and beeswax, and to instead buff with a stable, hard furniture polish, no more than twice a year for areas of heavy wear, and once every three or four years for other areas. Most other products will do more harm than good as they cause a build-up over time which can be hard to remove.
Fabric and leather:
You can dust fabric or suede surfaces using the brush attachment of your vacuum cleaner (on low suction), and wipe leather with a soft, damp cloth. Don’t forget to clean in between the folds and creases of couches and chairs.
From dishwashing liquid to vinegar and baking soda, there are a number of household products you can use to attempt to get out a stain, but it is best to research the correct method for each specific item and type of stain and do a test first to ensure the product you’re using won’t damage the fabric.
Always dab rather than rub at the fabric to ensure you don’t weaken it. You may need to repeat the process a number of times to fully remove a stain, and stubborn stains may need to be seen to by a professional.
Worst Xmas ever?
There's a a lot of planning that goes into Christmas day and sometimes things just don't go to plan. But it can be a good thing - a family mishap or hilarious memory that you can laugh about in Christmases to come.
Whether you burnt the dinner or were stranded at an airport...
Share your Christmas mishaps below!
⚠️ DOGS DIE IN HOT CARS. If you love them, don't leave them. ⚠️
It's a message we share time and time again, and this year, we're calling on you to help us spread that message further.
Did you know that calls to SPCA about dogs left inside hot cars made up a whopping 11% of all welfare calls last summer? This is a completely preventable issue, and one which is causing hundreds of dogs (often loved pets) to suffer.
Here are some quick facts to share with the dog owners in your life:
👉 The temperature inside a car can heat to over 50°C in less than 15 minutes.
👉 Parking in the shade and cracking windows does little to help on a warm day. Dogs rely on panting to keep cool, which they can't do in a hot car.
👉 This puts dogs at a high risk of heatstroke - a serious condition for dogs, with a mortality rate between 39%-50%.
👉 It is an offence under the Animal Welfare Act to leave a dog in a hot vehicle if they are showing signs of heat stress. You can be fined, and prosecuted.
SPCA has created downloadable resources to help you spread the message even further. Posters, a flyer, and a social media tile can be downloaded from our website here: www.spca.nz...
We encourage you to use these - and ask your local businesses to display the posters if they can. Flyers can be kept in your car and handed out as needed.
This is a community problem, and one we cannot solve alone. Help us to prevent more tragedies this summer by sharing this post.
On behalf of the animals - thank you ❤️
Poll: Would you rather: Christmas in summer forever or winter forever?
Just a bit of a fun poll to get you thinking.
If you had to live out your Christmas days, would you prefer it was a summer Christmas or a winter Christmas?
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61.5% Summer
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36.8% Winter
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1.7% Other - I'll share below
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