Cleaning 100 year old Wood :)
My husband & I are in the process of buying a beautiful landmarked house in Ditmas Park. It will celebrate its 100th birthday next year and with the love of all of its prior owners every single piece of original detail is untouched down to the wall coverings and wood paneling, doors, railings etc. After…
My husband & I are in the process of buying a beautiful landmarked house in Ditmas Park. It will celebrate its 100th birthday next year and with the love of all of its prior owners every single piece of original detail is untouched down to the wall coverings and wood paneling, doors, railings etc. After the closing in February, I want to hire a crew of professional house cleaners to come in and with great care and respect for the house clean it to within an inch of its life so my family & I can move in. I expect that this will be an expensive endeavor but have no idea how to go about finding people who know how to lovingly clean such an old house without harming the wonderful original surfaces. Do you have anyone you could suggest or information that could help? Many thanks & Happy Holiday!
As a woodworker, I can tell you that the unrivaled best book on woodfinishing is Understanding Wood Finishes by Bob Flexner.
http://www.amazon.com/Understanding-Wood-Finishing-Select-Finish/dp/0762106212/sr=1-1/qid=1165786566/ref=sr_1_1/102-6102838-9901712?ie=UTF8&s=books
Great section on maintenance, and this is a new edition. Invaluable for any brownstoner or old-home owner.
As to washing painted walls, you can probably go Simple Green. Wallpaper might be trickier. I’d just dust mop it with a microfiber mop. You can probably find more info with searches on historic preservation techniques.
As to personnel, sorry, I have no idea. I’ve got a great cleaning woman, but she’s no preservation expert.
Most of the comments here are just fine but a good book on wood refinishing would probably be the best solution and would certainly organize the information you need a little better than this thread. I recommend FINISHING AND REFINISHING WOOD by Chris Marshall, $19.95. It’s in the Black and Decker series. Look for it at B&N, Lowe’s or online. It has a very useful section that describes testing the wood surface you plan to refinish with different solvents of gradually increasing strength. This is basically in line with Bob Marvin’s suggestion to “first do no harm.” Depending on what’s already on the wood as a finish layer, you want to identify the mildest solvent possible to take it off and/or clean it. It’s worth doing this research yourself. Then you can tell whoever you hire what you want them to use. If you don’t do this they could use something that could potentially damage the wood or create more work than is necessary (ie. overstripping, which will mean more refinishing) or just introduce nasty volatile fumes into your home when a less toxic solvent would have sufficed. The actual work is not difficult. The choice of solvents is critical!
Are there any wood experts out there…I feel like the advice on this string is all over the map. Experts please identify yourselves and reveal the secrets of old wood care.
thanks.
What’s wrong with an old rag and good ole Pledge/
I didn’t knows that finishes like Minwax Antique Oil could be used on anything other that unfinished wood–I thought they had to penetrate.
Anyway,I’ve used Antique Oil Finish on lots of furniture that I stripped. Great stuff IMO, but be sure to use rubber gloves.The solvent in it can be absorbed through the skin and is very intoxicating.Before I started using gloves with the stuff I often found myself sitting on the floor, admiring my handiwork,but not quite knowing what I was doing–I probably killed MANY brain cells!
anon 5:08 lemon oil is mineral oil with a scent- not effective finish protection.
to OP- you should try cleaning your woodwork with a solvent based cleaner which doesn’t soften the finish, like paint thinner or turpentine- AND try a water based cleaner, as well, like Simple Green.Some dirt and grime will respond to the solvent cleaners, and some will need a water base cleaner. This way you can cover your bases.
If you want to then further enhance the beauty of the woodwork with more finish try a wiping varnish like min wax Antique Oil, or Danish Oil. A thin coat wiped on will go a long way to revive depth and lustre.
We have a 1910 brownstone with lots of untouched original details. When we first bought the house a year ago I asked the people that did the floors what to do with the woodwork…being “experts” in the field of wood they recommended dry dusting and then using lemon oil. They said that Murphy’s Oil Soap isnt good for the wood. Anyway, we have been doing the dry dusting and lemon oil (lemon oil two times per year) for a year now and all looks good.
If the finish is truly original it is likely to be shellac. in which case a water based cleaner should not be used. The proper solvent is alcohol, but, although removing shellac is easier than stripping varnish or paint, it’s not really EASY. To complicate things, painters before WW II routinely “refreshed” unpainted woodwork with a coat of varnish (which CAN be cleaned with a water-based cleaner like Murphy’s) This was certainly done in my house. Even if you hire someone I think it’s a really good idea to test a small hidden area yourself. Try a little alcohol (in a pinch vodka would do). if the finish is shellac it’ll soften. If it doesn’t soften it’s probably varnish. I can understand not being able to do the job yourself, but, if you don’t fifure out what has to be done you might have a very unpleasent surprise when a cleaning service gets to work. IMO the motto of old house owners should be the same as doctors–“first, do no harm”.
i had great results with Murphy’s maids 718 279-3334
They are in the Brooklyn papers.
There is also Attentive Domestics; when i called them they seem to have a hand in renovation/painting field as well so they might be your perfect combo their number is 212-620-0101. but try the Brooklynpapers.com all their listings are online
regards