Dusting/cleaning decorative wood in brownstone
We just purchased a brownstone with lots of built-ins (ornate mantels, shelves, etc.) and wainscotting and it needs to be cleaned, dusted mainly. We’ve been told the wood is oak. What product/methods should we use? Just a damp cotton cloth? Any products? Recommendations on cleaning parquet and wood floors also welcome!
Guest User | 13 years and 8 months ago
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BHS | 13 years and 8 months ago
the bottom line is, if the finish hasn’t gotten grubby, then you should use the minimum to dust: just a vacuum and/or a microfiber towel or dusting rag with barely a mist of water on the cloth. if you’re not using any product, you don’t have to worry about what the finish is. If the finish is grimy and dirty and doesn’t clean up with a damp rag, then you should do some testing to figure out whether it is a wax, poly, or varnish finish or possibly stain alone before cleaning more aggressively.
Guest User | 13 years and 8 months ago
Thank you all. Wow, I’m a bit overwhelmed. I guess I should have posted a sample picture. From what I know, the woodwork has been restored by the former owner. There doesn’t seem to be any shellac, at least not what I saw in some homes where the wood was all shiny. I suppose wax seems more likely. I guess I assumed the wood had been stripped during the renovation, since now it looks quite natural. Maybe it was waxed after it was restored. I wish I knew . . .
ParkSlopePS | 13 years and 8 months ago
Based on what the OP said, there is no indication that the finish would be shellac. We have often found original finishes from this period to be an oil varnish- ( although, sometimes they are shellac). In either case, if they had been waxed, and never re-waxed or maintained, I doubt that the wax is still on the surface- probably oxidized long ago.To clean the dust off the surface effectively, you should know what finish is on the wood. Test a small spot with denatured alcohol- if it softens right away then it’s shellac. If there is no softening then it’s probably varnish.Fully cured varnish can be wiped with paint thinner or naptha to clean the surface; water would be okay too if it’s just dust..Any furniture cleaner should work, as well.
PLGenius | 13 years and 8 months ago
A couple of contractors highly recommended a simple solution of equal parts white vinegar and water. They had said that things like Murphy’s Oil can cause a build-up over time. I tried this on my floors and it worked great! Keep your sponge mop damp, of course, as opposed to letting it puddle and dry on its own.
elbow | 13 years and 8 months ago
I think most of my finishes are polyed. I end up just using a damp cloth and sometimes some lemon oil. I have been challenged by the upper portions of the trim – the sections over 10 feet from the floor, but they seem to be doing ok in spite of less attention.
I haven’t been pleased with Murphy’s Oil Soap on the floors. It seems to dull the finish, plus it’s pretty wet and I don’t think the floors are fully sealed.
BobMarvin | 13 years and 8 months ago
FWIW The woodwork on our parlor and bedroom floors, which didn’t need refinishing, has varnish, applied by the previous owner, presumably over the original shellac. We cleaned that woodwork with a solvent cleaner once, when we first bought our house, and it worked fine. My wife occasionally uses Murphy’s Oil Soap on that woodwork (but only once a year). She also uses Murphy’s Soap on the downstairs woodwork which we stripped and finished with Minwax Antique Oil Finish. I don’t think you should use a water-based cleaned more frequently, but once a year, over MANY years has been fine .
stevecym | 13 years and 8 months ago
see what bobmarvin says above. All of what I say here assumes that you have wax or wax over shellac:we frequently finish wood in old houses – both new wood and old wood with modern paste waxes, usually waxes a few steps up from Minwax or Butchers, and the waxes we use recommend dusting with no water or chemicals. I am going to tell you my fear if you do anything more aggressive than dusting; solvents will soften the wax, allowing dirt to get pushed into the wax as you move it around with a rag. So, be careful. try a mild cleaner or even a neutral cleaner, call the manufacturer of the product you wish to use and ask them if it will soften wax. Now, this still does not answer the question for waxes made a hundred years ago, so you must run a test patch. Another course is, to try a light rub with 0000 steel wool. we sometimes use this to even the appearence of the wax we apply. I have never had to try to clean wax with it, but it will remove the very top of a finish. the drawback is, if you do a small spot, you will have to do the entire piece lest an uneven appearence will be the result. You can also try a dry white or red buffing pad; not the big pads for floors, but the smaller ones carried at some of the better paint stores or industrial supply houses. Possibly the right buffing pad with a little water will do the trick without damaging the wax or other finish. Be sure to test first. Do not use steel wool with water, it will rust. Steve http://brownstoner.staging.wpengine.com/tinkerswagon
BobMarvin | 13 years and 8 months ago
In my 36 years of owning a late 1890s limestone, filled with elaborate woodwork, I’ve learned that denial is the best solution to dust. When that no longer works dusters made of strands of yarn are very effective. IIRC we got ours from some organization that sells crafts made by the blind.
Vacuuming, with a canister vacuum and a brush nozzle is enough for routine cleaning of our parquet floors. Every few years we wash them with Murphy’s Oil Soap and apply a coat of a product called Rejuvenate which works very well, despite it’s tacky “as seen on TV” packaging. We used to use an electric waxer and Wood Preen cleaner/wax, but that’s a lot of work and has to be redone far more often than what we use now. If you use a waxer and liquid or paste wax, you must strip it off before using something like Rejuvenate–or do nothing and wait 15 or 20 years for the old wax to wear off, like I did [denial again–it works wonders]..