{"id":1019,"date":"2015-10-19T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2015-10-18T15:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/glutenfreepleasure.com\/__proxy_domain\/www.helpling.com.sg\/maintaining-wood-furniture\/"},"modified":"2025-12-12T21:26:32","modified_gmt":"2025-12-12T12:26:32","slug":"maintaining-wood-furniture","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/glutenfreepleasure.com\/__proxy_domain\/www.helpling.com.sg\/maintaining-wood-furniture","title":{"rendered":"Busting 5 misconceptions on cleaning and maintaining wood furniture"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Wood furniture adds warmth and helps to bring a sense of nature into your home. It\u2019s also long-lasting and with a little tender loving care and maintenance, they can last for a lifetime and more.<\/p>\n<p>Ethnicraft Online has offered functional, beautiful and eco-friendly solid wood furnishings to customers in Singapore since 2012, and have even expanded to Malaysia and Shanghai in recent years. Over the years, we\u2019ve heard and answered numerous questions on wood furniture and we\u2019re here to bust the most common misconceptions on cleaning and maintaining your wood furniture.<\/p>\n<h3>Soap can\u2019t be used on raw wood, right?<\/h3>\n<p>Don\u2019t be afraid &#8211; regular use of soap and water will not damage your furniture, especially if it\u2019s a piece with a raw natural finish!<\/p>\n<p>In fact, cleaning with a <strong><em>natural soap<\/em><\/strong> <strong><em>solution (not too strong)<\/em><\/strong> will increase surface\u2019s resistance over time. As the wood absorbs more soap, it becomes more repellent to marks and stains.<\/p>\n<p>Contrary to popular belief, you also don\u2019t need special cleaning products for your wood furniture, so soap away!<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/glutenfreepleasure.com\/__proxy_domain\/www.helpling.com.sg\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/clean-571679_1280.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-212 size-full aligncenter\" title=\"cleaning products\" src=\"https:\/\/glutenfreepleasure.com\/__proxy_domain\/www.helpling.com.sg\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/clean-571679_1280.jpg\" alt=\"cleaning products\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<h3>If I varnish it, it\u2019s waterproof!<\/h3>\n<p>No, unfortunately it\u2019s not waterproof. Varnish works like a raincoat and serves as a barrier between things like water (or wine) and your wood, so that the substance doesn\u2019t seep into the wood itself.<\/p>\n<p>That said, if a very hot fluid is left on the varnished surface for a sufficiently long time (say 45 minutes or more), the layer of varnish might eventually erode and stain the wood. To avoid this, always use placemats and coasters when placing hot objects on your table.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/glutenfreepleasure.com\/__proxy_domain\/www.helpling.com.sg\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/coffee-598316_1280.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-213 size-full aligncenter\" title=\"coffee\" src=\"https:\/\/glutenfreepleasure.com\/__proxy_domain\/www.helpling.com.sg\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/coffee-598316_1280.jpg\" alt=\"coffee\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Need more help removing stains? Check out <a href=\"http:\/\/ethnicraft-online.com\/blog\/2014\/11\/02\/how-to-care-for-your-ethnicraft-teak-furniture\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">this how-to article<\/a>!<\/p>\n<h3>I can use my varnished indoor furniture outdoors too!<\/h3>\n<p>Placing an indoor furniture piece outdoors where it\u2019ll be battered by rain, will definitely wear your piece down, even if it\u2019s varnished. Remember \u2013 varnish does not mean waterproof.<\/p>\n<p>Not to mention the fact that sunlight will fade your teak furniture to a lighter shade (and darken your oak furniture).<\/p>\n<p>Unless your furniture pieces are built and finished for the outdoors, don\u2019t do it.<\/p>\n<h3>Teak oil = protection<\/h3>\n<p>Yes, but proceed with caution.<\/p>\n<p>When your teak furniture starts to feel dry, you can apply a thin layer of teak oil to it to keep it moisturised. Be careful not to apply too much or too many layers as it will not get absorbed. The residual oil may make your furniture unusable.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/glutenfreepleasure.com\/__proxy_domain\/www.helpling.com.sg\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/11967-Teak-Slice-dining-table-detail-1.png\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-215 size-full aligncenter\" title=\"Dining table\" src=\"https:\/\/glutenfreepleasure.com\/__proxy_domain\/www.helpling.com.sg\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/11967-Teak-Slice-dining-table-detail-1.png\" alt=\"Dining table\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<h3>Having raw wood furniture in my home will attract termites and disaster!<\/h3>\n<p>This is a complete misconception. Raw natural solid hardwood furniture is the last thing that termites would attack or want to eat because of its toughness. Teak\u2019s high oil content also makes it unattractive to termites so there\u2019s little chance of your solid wood furniture attracting termites!<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/glutenfreepleasure.com\/__proxy_domain\/www.helpling.com.sg\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/11193-Teak-LF-sideboard.png\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-214 size-full aligncenter\" title=\"Sideboard\" src=\"https:\/\/glutenfreepleasure.com\/__proxy_domain\/www.helpling.com.sg\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/11193-Teak-LF-sideboard.png\" alt=\"Sideboard\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>In the event you do have a termite problem, they will attack soft items like cardboards and softwoods like medium density fibreboard (MDF) first.<\/p>\n<p>If you see that happening, call pest control immediately!<\/p>\n<h3>When in doubt, check!<\/h3>\n<p>These general tips should serve you well but we encourage you to check with your furniture retailer or manufacturer on care tips for the specific wood furniture you\u2019ve purchased.<\/p>\n<p>Happy cleaning and good luck!<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><em>Ethnicraft Online\u2019s solid wood furnishings are functional, beautiful,\u00a0and eco-friendly. Take your pick from its contemporary teak or oak collection, the playful Universo Positivo series or vintage-inspired Mr Marius collection. Whatever you choose, you\u2019ll be guaranteed a one-of-a-kind piece with lifetime warranty and complimentary maintenance! <\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>Make a <\/em><a href=\"https:\/\/glutenfreepleasure.com\/__proxy_domain\/www.ethnicraft-online.com.sg\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><em>hassle-free purchase online<\/em><\/a><em> or visit its showrooms in <\/em><a href=\"https:\/\/glutenfreepleasure.com\/__proxy_domain\/www.ethnicraft-online.com.sg\/showroom.php\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><em>Singapore<\/em><\/a> <em>to experience the products for yourself. Ethnicraft Online\u2019s showrooms are open 7 days a week, from 10am to 7pm, by appointment.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Wood furniture adds warmth and helps to bring a sense of nature into your home. It\u2019s also long-lasting and with a little tender loving care and maintenance, they can last for a lifetime and more. Ethnicraft Online has offered functional, beautiful and eco-friendly solid wood furnishings to customers in Singapore since 2012, and have even [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1024,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1019","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-tips-hacks"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/glutenfreepleasure.com\/__proxy_domain\/www.helpling.com.sg\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1019","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/glutenfreepleasure.com\/__proxy_domain\/www.helpling.com.sg\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/glutenfreepleasure.com\/__proxy_domain\/www.helpling.com.sg\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/glutenfreepleasure.com\/__proxy_domain\/www.helpling.com.sg\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/glutenfreepleasure.com\/__proxy_domain\/www.helpling.com.sg\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1019"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/glutenfreepleasure.com\/__proxy_domain\/www.helpling.com.sg\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1019\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/glutenfreepleasure.com\/__proxy_domain\/www.helpling.com.sg\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1024"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/glutenfreepleasure.com\/__proxy_domain\/www.helpling.com.sg\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1019"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/glutenfreepleasure.com\/__proxy_domain\/www.helpling.com.sg\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1019"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/glutenfreepleasure.com\/__proxy_domain\/www.helpling.com.sg\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1019"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}