BS: Best way to clean and disinfect wood

Subject: BS: Best way to clean and disinfect wood
From: lefthanded guitar
Date: 23 Jun 10 - 02:47 PM

I am about to reclaim a dresser I lent to someone, and want to clean and disinfect it. Any suggestions? Nothing too abrasive or toxic please- I believe it's oak, or at least oak veneer, it's a blonde wood.

Thanks. Also would the same thing work for polished (polyurethane) wood floors.

Subject: RE: BS: Best way to clean and disinfect wood
From: GUEST,number 6
Date: 23 Jun 10 - 02:54 PM

Not to sure about the dresser ... but for those floors we have a steam mob ... no detergents are used with this ... it just mops with steam. It works very well.

biLL

Subject: RE: BS: Best way to clean and disinfect wood
From: Mrrzy
Date: 23 Jun 10 - 03:02 PM

Don't need to disinfect it unless you know it's infected with something, in which case, you treat the infection, per its species. Wood is very hygienic, remember the hooha about chopping boards?

Subject: RE: BS: Best way to clean and disinfect wood
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 23 Jun 10 - 03:13 PM

My mother used to have a formula for stuff she used to take off some of the varnish when she didn't actually want to refinish, just wanted to take off the worse stained or darkened part of the finish. But I don't have it written down anywhere. It was three equal parts of linseed oil, turpentine, and something else, can't remember what. Something she learned about from a museum somewhere. But like Mrrzy said, wood has enough tannins and such that it is pretty good at killing surface bacteria or whatever over a little time. I would try running a moist cloth over it to pick up any dirt, but don't soak it.

SRS

Subject: RE: BS: Best way to clean and disinfect wood
From: Melissa
Date: 23 Jun 10 - 03:35 PM

bleach raises the grain, you don't want that.

furniture polish/oils are designed to clean off old gunk and it's easy to see on your cloth whether you're still wiping gunk or whether it's clean.
If I was worried about a germy dresser, I'd clean the outside with polish/oil and spray the inside with lysol.

Subject: RE: BS: Best way to clean and disinfect wood
From: lefthanded guitar
Date: 23 Jun 10 - 03:53 PM

I was worried about a germy dresser (in fact, the person I'm taking it from is sick now - nothing serious, but who needs the germs.   Is lysol safe for the wood ; I have some pretreated Lysol cloths.

Subject: RE: BS: Best way to clean and disinfect wood
From: Ed T
Date: 23 Jun 10 - 03:53 PM

Furniture clenaer
Mix olive oil and white vinegar in a one-to-one ratio and polish with a soft cloth. Try in an inconspicuous place first.

Furniture Polish
1 cup olive oil, almond or walnut oil
1/2 cup vinegar or lemon juice

Shake well and apply a small amount to a soft rag. Spread evenly over furniture surface. Polish with a dry cloth.

Remove a cloudy appearance from varnished wood furnature:
(if it has not gone through to the wood),try 1 tablespoon of white vinegar in a quart of luke-warm water.

*caution, brown (cider) Vinegar can stain porous materials

Subject: RE: BS: Best way to clean and disinfect wood
From: GUEST,999
Date: 23 Jun 10 - 04:04 PM

YMMV

Subject: RE: BS: Best way to clean and disinfect wood
From: Q (Frank Staplin)
Date: 23 Jun 10 - 04:24 PM

I have cleaned and repaired a lot of furniture. I have never worried about disinfecting it.
If the dresser is veneered, water or water-based products can lift the veneer. Use soap and water if, but only if, the veneer varnish is still good, and don't let water sit on the wood.
Turpentine or the modern non-smelly kind removes old wax, etc.
Then you can decide if more work is needed. If the veneer and its varnish are good, cleaning and waxing may be enough. Use stains to cover up scratches.

(If the varnish is not too dried out (some missing, and breaks up like rock candy), use a little varnish solvent and carefully re-spread it with a cloth. Takes practice. If the varnish is bad, remove and re-varnish or refinish (a la SRS post) with linseed oil and turpentine- I like that myself.

Follow cleaning, if veneer is rough, with fine sandpaper (on a block, or with sander if you have one) to remove roughness, but do not cut down the wood.
Deep stains are hard to deal with- bleaching, and re-gluing may be necessary, but a little discoloration adds character to the piece!

Take a look at this video:
http://www.ehow.co.uk/video_4418276_gluing-cleaning-wood-veneer.html

There are other good hints on the net, but be careful, some bad ones are also there.

Subject: RE: BS: Best way to clean and disinfect wood
From: gnu
Date: 23 Jun 10 - 05:43 PM

Add a bit of isopropyl alcohol to a spray bottle of water (or Windex) and have at er if you are really worried about germs. Simple and done.

"A bit"... enough for it to make your nose know it's there.

Subject: RE: BS: Best way to clean and disinfect wood
From: Q (Frank Staplin)
Date: 23 Jun 10 - 06:12 PM

Doubtful if the veneer has shellac or lacquer finish, but never use alcohol on these finishes.

Subject: RE: BS: Best way to clean and disinfect wood
From: gnu
Date: 23 Jun 10 - 06:59 PM

On the finish? I thought it was on raw wood in the dresser. If it's on finished wood, how's about some soap and water?

Subject: RE: BS: Best way to clean and disinfect wood
From: GUEST,mg
Date: 23 Jun 10 - 07:00 PM

take out the drawers and wash them with something inside..pine sol or something..and put out in the sun for a while. mg

Subject: RE: BS: Best way to clean and disinfect wood
From: bobad
Date: 23 Jun 10 - 07:04 PM

Most germs (bacteria?) don't live very long outside of their hosts so I don't think you have too much to worry about.

Subject: RE: BS: Best way to clean and disinfect wood
From: Bill D
Date: 23 Jun 10 - 07:14 PM

I work with various wood things regularly.

As long as obvious surfaces are clean, you have little to worry about. If there is any visible staining or mold, a light shot of Lysol ought to do fine. A piece of fine sandpaper folded around a piece of wood can remove spots inside drawers or back. Simple wiping with furniture polish on visible surface is enough unless there is damage that requires refinishing.

Subject: RE: BS: Best way to clean and disinfect wood
From: Melissa
Date: 23 Jun 10 - 07:15 PM

I (very gently) sprayed regular lysol on very old furniture when I noticed a dusting of weird mold. It didn't hurt the finish on that, but I didn't spray directly on it. The finish on that was several generations of wax..solid wood, not veneer.

Veneer gets ruffly very easily.
Sunshine disinfects. Maybe you could sit it outside to air out and freshen itself?

Diluted Listerine would probably work as a spray for inside the dresser and drawers.
If it was sitting on a cruddy floor, you might like to give the feet and bottom edge a good cleaning while you're at it.

Subject: RE: BS: Best way to clean and disinfect wood
From: LadyJean
Date: 24 Jun 10 - 12:35 AM

Murphy's Oil Soap was made to clean wood, and it is lovely stuff. Vinegar is a natural antiseptic. I don't know what it does to wood. I know it's bad for marble, and deadly to soap scum.

I can also reccomend Milsek Furniture Polish. It is wonderful for cleaning furniture. It will get all the old wax and assorted other gunk out, it will do for scratches. It is lovely. The stuff was invented by a cabinet maker. By the way, it smells beautiful!

Subject: RE: BS: Best way to clean and disinfect wood
From: Amergin
Date: 24 Jun 10 - 01:22 AM

I usually clean my wood with soap and water in the shower.

Subject: RE: BS: Best way to clean and disinfect wood
From: gnu
Date: 24 Jun 10 - 07:02 AM

Took me a minute, but, hahahaa.

Subject: RE: BS: Best way to clean and disinfect wood
From: Bill D
Date: 24 Jun 10 - 11:10 AM

Didn't even take ME a minute, and I don't think it's funny. Ain't any thread safe from that sort of thing?

(In the right thread, I'll contribute my share of silly naughtiness. But...sheesh!)

Subject: RE: BS: Best way to clean and disinfect wood
From: Ed T
Date: 24 Jun 10 - 11:35 AM

I have found that Murphy's oil soap leaves a slight but apparent, if closely viewed film & haze on wood thats has a polyurithane/shallac finish, such as hard wood floors. But, it's is a good cleaner for unfinished wood surfaces.

Subject: RE: BS: Best way to clean and disinfect wood
From: Q (Frank Staplin)
Date: 24 Jun 10 - 01:52 PM

So much depends on the condition of the veneer.

If you use the soap and water treatment, Murphy's is safer than most, but do not let soap solutions stand on furniture, especially veneers. Water can get under veneers and cause lifting of the thin wood of the veneer.
Clean small areas at a time.

Subject: RE: BS: Best way to clean and disinfect wood
From: Dave the Gnome
Date: 25 Jun 10 - 03:55 AM

Wire brush and Dettol.

(You have to know the joke...)

DeG

Subject: RE: BS: Best way to clean and disinfect wood
From: LadyJean
Date: 25 Jun 10 - 11:56 PM

i should have said, dry wood thoroughly, after you go over it with water. I reccomend microfiber cloths. They don't leave the wood too wet.

As I said, if you can get Milsek furniture polish, it was invented by a cabinet maker, and it does do wonders cleaning wood. I also like the smell.

Subject: RE: BS: Best way to clean and disinfect wood
From: Bobert
Date: 26 Jun 10 - 08:07 AM

Clean old furniture with: 1/2 linseed oil, 1/2 mineral spirits... Best combo for the job...

B~

Subject: RE: BS: Best way to clean and disinfect wood
From: Donuel
Date: 26 Jun 10 - 06:16 PM

To keep worms from eating old violins boric acid powder is lightly applied to the unfinished wood and rarely to a ground layer prior to varnishing. As for furniture I am not an expert.