Expert: Jamie Yocono - 10/31/2006

Question
I just received a dining room set. (Depression era)
It has veneer and solid wood on the legs.  It's filthy and it needs to be cleaned. My question is what do I clean it with.

Thanks

Answer
Hi Brendan,

You didn't mention whether the wood on your furniture is just dirt-dirty, or if it's a greasy sort of dirt. I have a few suggestions, depending on the type of problem you have.

If it's a greasy sort of dirt, one of the better things I've used to clean wood is TSP, a powder form of tri-sodium phosphate. It is a caustic cleaner commonly found in the paint department of most hardware stores. It is used to cut grease in really bad buildup areas, like kitchens.  Wear gloves when you work with this stuff, and make sure you mix it according to the manufacturers directions. This is good stuff, versatile and effective.

There are other products out there, like the Orange-Glo stuff or Murphy's Oil, and these work well, too, but usually if the amount of buildup isn't too severe. But if the dirt is minimal, these products work fine.

If the wood it not only dirty, but the finish is bad too, there is a good product made by Formby's called Formby'sŪ Conditioning Furniture Refinisher.  It's sort of an all-in-one product, as it dissolves the old finish, and reconditions the wood all at the same time. If you cut and paste this link in your browser, you can see what they have to say about it on their website:   

http://www.formbys.com/products/refinisher.cfm

Now normally, this won't give you the same result as what a complete stripping and refinishing job would do. But if the finish isn't too bad, this product will work just fine for you. The good news is- you can probably find this at your local Lowes or Home Depot, too.

Any of these products should work, depending on the severity and type of dirt. Find some gloves, and put on some old clothes!

OK, good luck, I hope this helps. Please feel free to write back if you have any further questions after reading this.  And if this answer was helpful... please take a minute and rate my service. Thanks!

Jamie Yocono
Wood It Is! Custom Cabinetry
Las Vegas, NV
www.wooditis.com