Keep Your Dining Room Furniture in Great Shape With These 5 Tips

Quality dining room furniture is made to last a lifetime, but might require some care in order to keep it in great shape. If you aren’t sure how to maintain the high-gloss look of your newly-purchased dining room furniture, read on. We’ll cover 5 simple steps to avoid scratching, staining, or otherwise damaging your dining room furniture.

Let's start by understanding how dining tables are made, polished, and finished. Understanding how the furniture interacts with the elements is the starting point in caring for dining furniture and making sure it remains in great condition.

Maintain Your Solid Wood Dining Room Furniture

Without protection, water, dirt, and other substances can seep into solid wood and cause discoloration or staining. Water damage is also seriously concerning for solid wood furniture. The wood can warp or even crack over time if not properly sealed and maintained.

Most solid wood furniture is finished with various waxes, oils, or varnishes to protect the wood from water damage and give it shine. While these materials offer good protection, they require some maintenance to ensure that the finish remains in excellent condition. Did you know that any quality wax job can last decades with regular cleaning and maintenance?

Read on for helpful tips on how to keep your dining room in great shape so that it lasts for years to come.

1. Use Coasters, Trivets and Silicone Mats

Straight from the oven or open fire and onto the masterpiece dining table, yikes! Hot items will warp, stain or even scorch the finish of your dining table. Tasty drinks, sugary tea, alcoholic beverages, and hot soups all have one thing in common. They can leave behind unsightly and stubborn stains on your dining table. Sugar is sticky and can easily cause discolorations on the table's surface, while alcoholic beverages can leave behind a cloudy residue.

Always avoid directly placing hot drinks like tea, coffee, or soup directly on the table’s surface. Hot drinks can cause discoloration, even permanent damage, to the furniture, especially if it's a veneer or laminate build. Conversely, the condensation from a chilled glass of water can damage the surface of a solid wood table in minutes!

It’s imperative to use coasters and trivets in order to protect your dining table from heat and liquid damage. Alternatively, purchase a set of silicone mats that can be used when serving multiple plates of hot food to a large group of people. Make sure to offer enough coasters for all of your guests to ensure that nobody has to rest their drink directly on the dining table.

2. Always Clean After Meals, But Not With Water

Your dining table gets exposed to food spills, sticky residues from drinks, and stains from other edible products. Wipe the surface immediately after meals using a damp cloth or microfiber towel to keep it looking its best.

Don't use water when cleaning your dining room furniture. Rather, use a silicon-free cleaner designed specifically for solid wood furniture. Water can damage the wax and finish of your dining table, so always follow instructions when using furniture cleaners.

Avoid polishing products with silicon, as they can leave a slippery residue and make your table vulnerable to scratches. Silicon-based products won't mix with the wax or oil that's used to seal your table.

3. Fix Wobbly Furniture Joints Early

When your dining room chairs are coming loose at the joints, or the dining table wobbles, don't wait to fix them. It suggests the joints are wearing out, and the problem will worsen the longer you wait to fix it.

Loose joints not only make a piece of furniture look shabby but can also result in injury if someone falls or trips due to loose pieces. You can get professionals to glue the joints or try DIY methods like hammering staples, screwing short screws, or using wood glue to hold pieces together.

4. Watch Out for the Laptop Heat

It can be tempting to bring your work to the dining table, but that's branded bad table manners for some reasons. One of the major reasons is that laptop heat can damage your dining table.

Laptops and other electronic devices tend to generate a lot of heat, which may cause discoloration on the surface of your furniture. The damage might not show immediately, but it's best to keep your laptop away from the dining table to avoid long-term warping and discoloration.

5. Clean Dining Room Lighting with Care

No dining room is complete without the addition of a visually striking lighting fixture. The right lighting adds to the aesthetic appeal of your dining room and ‘invites’ your guests into the space. When it comes time to clean your dining room lighting, make sure to use the utmost care. Although very rare, it is possible for the fixture to detach from the ceiling, and you’ll want to use caution when carrying out this process.

Always protect the surface of your dining room furniture with a cover, such as towels or bedding, before cleaning overhead lighting to avoid scratches. Also, ensure the fixture is properly secured before and after cleaning.

Invest in Timeless, High-Quality Dining Furniture

Even if you take the best care of a poor-quality dining furniture, it likely won't last long. Invest in a quality dining table made from solid wood materials like teak, oak, or mahogany, and you'll enjoy the benefits for years to come. Quality furniture will require less maintenance and last much longer than less expensive alternatives.

The Best in Dining Furniture Brands at Lifestyle

At Lifestyle Furniture, we believe your dining room should be a comfortable place to relax and dine in style. You can keep your dining table looking top-notch for decades, even centuries, by following the tips we've discussed.