Furniture care

How to look after cabinet furniture properly

So, this is about cabinet furniture — and it is cabinet furniture made from laminated chipboard (particle board) that has become so widespread among firms making furniture to order. A few words about laminated chipboard. What is it? As described above, it is chipboard faced with films. The films can be paper-based and impregnated with melamine resin. The facing is applied by hot pressing, at a temperature of 240 degrees and under high pressure… The finished board has high resistance to scratching and to chemicals. No wonder the material has become so popular.

Now to the main point: caring for the furniture itself. It should be said that furniture like this washes well, but there is one BUT! Whatever else is true, laminated chipboard is afraid of water — if you clean with a damp cloth and do not then wipe the surface dry (horizontal ones especially), the water can soak in and the board will swell. To avoid that unfortunate defect, the surface needs additional treatment with a wax polish. That brings several advantages!

A furniture polish containing wax improves the surface of cabinet furniture increases its resistance to scratching and gives protection against water

First, it will make your furniture look better. Second, it will considerably extend its service life. Third, it will make the surface stand up to future damp cleaning. I would recommend avoiding damp cleaning for the first month and using only the wax polish. The polish can be applied once a week. Do not be alarmed that for a while the furniture will show streaks in reflected light. After a month, apply a finishing coat of polish, rubbing the surface down thoroughly with a soft cloth. After that, of course, you can carry on using polish as often as you like. We will not recommend particular brands of polish — the choice is yours. The one thing to look for is wax in the polish, because it is the wax that gives all the advantages!