Tips for Maintaining Vintage Furniture
Keeping furniture pieces that are 100 years old intact isn’t easy. Whether your piece is categorized as an estate, vintage, and antique furniture piece, they all take extra measures to stay in great shape. Here are a few tips for maintaining vintage furniture over the years.
Cleaning Techniques
How you clean your furniture piece will depend on the type of material you are working with. Different materials will require different treatment, as using an incorrect chemical could ruin the piece. Be sure to research or ask an expert what the proffered cleaning methods are for your specific furniture. Homemade cleaning products like lemon juice, vinegar, or mild dish soap are some of the best cleaning agents to use if you are unsure of what commercial cleaning agents to trust. Periodically scrub your furniture piece with these cleaning agents and a toothbrush for a satisfactory clean that will get deep inside wood grains or fabrics. As a rule of thumb, you should never oversoak your vintage pieces with any cleaners and you should try to scrub gently to avoid hurting the piece.
Protect It From the Elements
Storage and placement both play a large role in maintaining your vintage furniture. Excessive heat, humidity, and moisture can ruin any type of furniture, especially older, more fragile vintage pieces. For the best protection, you’ll want to keep these pieces out of direct sunlight and in a cool and humidity-free room.
Leave Repairs To the Pros
Every so often, you may need to tune-up or fix an old vintage piece. It’s best to bring the furniture to an antique pro. Bringing your furniture piece to a trusted professional will ensure they will handle your antiques with care, and will at the same time decrease the risk of you or anyone else damaging its value by doing the repairs yourself.
Using the proper cleaning techniques for your specific piece, protecting the furniture from harmful environments, and letting the pros handle the repairs are just a few of the recommended tips for maintaining vintage furniture.
