| Dry. I am too dry! | | | | direction of the grain. Do not let any moisture remain. |
| No, this not your skin crying out, but your wood | | | | 6. Avoid feather dusters or the dry cloth dust picker |
| furniture. To help your skin, you spread globs of cream | | | | uppers as they will leave scratches. |
| or oil. Do not do that to your fine furniture. | | | | 7. The preferred method of maintaining a varnished |
| Wood continues to trade moisture with the air as it | | | | finish is a coat of high quality paste wax. Furniture |
| reacts to the dryness in your home. When moisture is | | | | paste wax is stable and long lasting. It will provide |
| lost, shrinkage occurs. In a season where the home | | | | protection from moisture and dust and is not |
| furnace steals moisture, there are guidelines so that | | | | permanent. Wax may not be appropriate for surfaces |
| you can avoid the no-nos. | | | | with a deteriorating finish |
| | | | 8. When dusting, always pick up and replace your |
| 1. Maintain a temperature of between 18 and 23 | | | | accessories gently. Rotate accessories or other items |
| degrees Celsius, with a relative humidity between 35 | | | | placed on the furniture so that irregular fade marks do |
| and 40 percent. In the winter, a humidifier may be | | | | not appear. |
| needed. Consider adding more plants which will | | | | 9. Stay away from plastic coated or rubber faced |
| increase the humidity in the room. | | | | fabric. Heat from plates will radiate through the fabric |
| 2. Avoid placing furniture near heat outlets, fireplaces, | | | | impacting the surface of your furniture. Surfaces |
| or space heaters. Keep furniture out of direct sunlight | | | | treated with water-based varnish or some oils, such |
| or at least rotate them out of direct sunlight. | | | | as walnut oil, are particularly vulnerable according to a |
| 3. Dryness in wood is not a result of a lack of oil, but a | | | | recent article in Canadian Woodworking Magazine. |
| lack of moisture. Furniture oils will temporarily enhance | | | | 10. To repair minor scratches and nicks, purchase |
| the finish and appearance, but can contribute to the | | | | furniture touch-up markers or crayons from your local |
| degradation of the finish. | | | | hardware or build-it center. Minwax (TM) has an |
| 4. Spray polishes with silicone should be avoided. | | | | excellent range of colors. |
| 5. Moisten a cloth slightly with water, since a damp | | | | With just these few tips, your furniture will remain like |
| cloth cuts down on friction. Always wipe in the | | | | new for years to come. |