How to clean pine furniture and remove stains
Pine furniture has the ability to create a feeling of warmth and compliment any room it finds itself in. Commonly used to build pine extending tables or large pine sideboards and pine chests of drawers, pine furniture looks great and offers an excellent alternative to its relative, oak furniture.
Although pine furniture is incredibly durable, like all wooden furniture no matter how hard you try to prevent stains and dirt, it is still prone to damage. However, this doesn’t mean that there aren’t ways to try and reduce the damage and keep your beautiful pine furniture in pristine condition.
How to regularly clean pine furniture and care for it
Regular cleaning pine furniture can make the bigger knocks and spills smaller
Just like other wood furniture, light, regular cleaning with the right products and methods can help keep your pine furniture looking at its best.
How to clean a pine table
Pine is often used for tables, such as our pine nests of tables or dining tables which makes them prone to spills and stains from mugs, drinks and food. Because they are often exposed to moisture, most pine furniture items have often been varnished to make them waterproof. Find out if your furniture is varnished before you begin to know how to properly care for your furniture.
To prevent deep stains and moisture damage, keep a good selection of coasters, placemats and table runners where you can avoid direct contact with the wood. Don’t be afraid to make people use them too! Although aesthetically pleasing and great for ambience, candle wax and damage from ornaments can also be tricky to remove. Place protective coasters or mats under candles or other objects to prevent any further mishaps!
Like all wood cleaning, it is much easier to prevent damage than to fix it. When something is inevitably spilled on your pine table, clean it up straight away. If spills are left on pine furniture, they could cause long term damage to both the finish/varnish and eventually the actual wood. So it pays off to be quick about cleaning pine furniture.
Don’t forget to dust your pine furniture too as if left, dust particles can build up, dulling the surface and this can cause scratches.
How to clean waxed pine furniture
Waxed and varnished pine furniture is much easier to clean and protect from stains as opposed to non-varnished pine furniture as it already has a layer of protection from the wax. Like non-waxed pine furniture, regular light cleaning is important to prevent damage and keep your furniture in top condition.
When cleaning waxed pine furniture, avoid abrasive solutions and opt for a simple warm water and washing up liquid solution with a soft cloth. You only need a small amount of washing up liquid here. Once you’ve mixed your mixture into your cloth, wring out the cloth so it is just damp with no excess water or liquid and wipe down the table and wipe the furniture down. To finish, you could also use a non-abrasive wood surface cleaner. Remember to not leave your furniture wet, dry your furniture with a dry soft cloth so no moisture remains which could damage the finish.
How to remove stains from pine furniture
Depending on the age and finish on your pine furniture, you may want to be wary of what you use to remove stains. There are a few tried and trusted methods that we recommend for dealing with different types of stains.
Cleaning non-varnished pine surface stains with oil-based mixtures
For those everyday surface stains where you just need to remove minor filth, dirt and dust, avoid standard soap and water. Instead, you’ll want to use an oil-based mixture or soap, that will work to preserve and restore the wood's sheen. It’s easy to make your own pine furniture cleaner. Simply mix a solution of three parts olive oil and one part white vinegar in a bottle and you have your own pine wood cleaner! Another alternative cleaning mix for unvarnished pine furniture which is extremely effective is linseed oil and warm water.
Once you have your very own cleaning mix, remove any loose dust either with a hoover or lint-free cloth. Drizzle a bit of your mix onto a lint-free cloth and rub it into the wood in the direction of the grain. Then, use a dry, soft cloth to remove any excess moisture and leave the pine to air dry.
Remove pine stains with toothpaste
If you happen upon a light moisture stain on your pine furniture, your answer to remove this could be toothpaste. Toothpaste is acclaimed for its ability to remove stains on wood furniture. Toothpaste can also stop waxes and finishes being removed in the cleaning process.
Be sure to buff the wood grains gently and simply apply a small amount of toothpaste using a soft cloth. Then, remove the toothpaste with a new clean soft cloth.
Removing dark stains from pine wood
If your pine furniture shows stains which are dark or spotty, that unfortunately is a sign that the stain has penetrated the actual wood. First things first, don’t panic. You’ve cleaned those minor stains before, so you’ll be able to treat these tougher stains. To remove tough stains from pine wood, you might need to strip and refinish the pine.
Firstly, you’ll want to strip the entire surface of its finish. Ideally, using sandpaper or a stripping tool or if you’re not comfortable doing that, take it to a professional wood cleaner or carpenter. From here, if the stain has been removed from sanding it down, you can simply refinish the surface with an oil or wax.
If the stain is still refusing to budge, you’ll need to treat the unfinished wood with a bleach specifically for pine or that kind of stain. These can be found at hardware stores or online. Refinish the furniture surface after completing removing the stain.
So when it comes to cleaning pine furniture, there isn’t a one size fits all method. But, with some simple prevention methods, regular cleaning habits and some cleaning tools on hand, you can do your bit to keep your furniture looking beautiful.
Pine wood, if treated and cleaned properly, has the ability to last for decades. Check out more pine wood at House Of Oak.