Cleaning My Wood Furniture - Pledge Isn't Working!

Please try 1/2 capful of Avon Skin So Soft Bath Oil in a spray bottle. You can find a rep at Avon.com. I've been using this for about 20 years now (am also a Avon rep).This is not a published recomendation from Avon,but info passed along from other reps.

I always dust with a soft cloth (old, clean cloth diapers are great!)with just a bit of water on it. the cloth should have some slightly damp parts, some dry parts. the dust clings to the dampness, the dry parts wipe up any dampness. don't get the cloth wet, just very slightly damp. so many household cleaning products are totally unnecessary.
K. Wyatt Kent

I always have used lemon oil and gotten good results. It seems a little greasy at first but the wood just sucks it up and then it looks great. My husband just bought some Endust and I didn't like it either- it seemed like it left a residue.

Hi E.,

I use Shaklee's Basic H-2 to clean my wood and it works great, especially when paired with the Micro-fiber cloth. It doesn't leave streaks or any film just beautiful clean looking wood. It is a natural, safe, non-toxic product (unlike pledge) that even your kids can help you with. It has so many uses besides wood, and is extremely cost efficient, 1 concentrated bottle is equal to 214 bottle of all purpose cleaner, which is approx. $.05 cents a bottle, you can't beat that anywhere! If you've never used all natural products before, this is the perfect item to get started with. Please contact me at ____@____.com if you'd like to know more about it, or visit my website at www.shaklee.net/bowerman to see all the products available. One more thing is that Shaklee offers a 100% guarantee, so if you are not satisfied you can return it, but I do not know one single person that uses the Basic H2 and doesn't love it! Good Luck to you!

The best thing for wood is VINEGAR!! Pledge and the like leave a film on wood. You can mix vinegar with water and make sure you get most of the water out so it is not really wet but rather "moist" on your cloth and wipe away.

I wouls suggest cleaning off the wax that is on there now from the pledge...with a warm dish soap...then rinse it, and dry it with a soft cloth...diaper or towel... paint needs to be washed, not waxed...

Contact the manufacturer.

E., pledge, murphy's, et al, they are chemicals and not very good for you or your little ones. Just use plain old white vinegar and water. this will probably help get rid of the smears from pledge and it will keep your wood and anything else you use it on, sanitized and clean! I use it to clean almost everything. Enjoy!

I would try Windex - put the windex on your cloth though - not directly on the wood. - It will polish it.

Mine isn't either, I have the same problem! I was told by my cleaning lady to simply use a slightly damp cloth. But I miss the shine! S. P.

I see you have gotten many responses, but you know what I use and always have around the house! Baby wipes! If their good enough for your baby's butt, they are safe for anything else too! I've never had a problem getting marks or sticky stuff off my tables. Now it doesn't work well for pen marks as my son did! But most other marks come off no problem!

Try mixing vinegar and water in a spray bottle, it doesnt smell the best but works well and is safe for all woods.

Pledge and endust are not for fine wood. The woods need to be oiled. Lemon oil is good. You apply it with a damp cloth and wipe it with a dry cloth. This conditions the wood. For regular cleaning, ue old fashioned murphy soap applied the same way as the oil. It leaves a wonderful smell in the house and keeps your wood looking beautiful.

Hi,
I highly recommend Rustic Touch by Melaleuca.
http://www.saferforyourhome.com/rustic_touch.htm

Not ony is it economical and effective but it comes with a 100% money back gurantee.

If you'd like to shop from their online catalog, let me know. I've been a customer for almost 4 years and their products are amazing.

M.
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You have gotten some great advice! Pledge should never be used on fine or painted woods! My Dad is a carpenter/ cabinet maker and anything he has ever built has had strict instructions - Soft, damp cloth then wipe with a dry, soft cloth; Murphy's oil soap on occassion. Even the Murphy's could cause eventual build up. The dry cloth should bring the shine you like. Use the Murphy's soap first to remove the build up left by pledge.

My cocktail and 2 end tables are the same painted black and I had the same problem. Now I use a warm soft cloth with a drizzle of dawn to clean them. I immediately dry them with a soft cloth...they're fine. You can spot clean those little finger marks without streaks in the same manner. Happy to have helped save that beautiful furniture.

hi E., i just recently purchased 7th generation all purpose cleaning product, i use it on everything, wood, glass counters, floor, i LOVE It.I do home daycare and clean the kids toys with it also, The first time i used it on my dining room table (wood) I was nervous, but when i looked at the cloth it was dirty, and i assumed it was wax buildup. My table is old so i didn't care but maybe you should try a leg first, before the top. good luck

E.,

My mom has worked with the Smithe brothers at Walter E. Smithe for almost 20 years. Every time I've purchased any wood furniture from one of their stores, she's told me to use a damp cloth to wipe it clean, and a dry cloth to dry it off. Then once or twice a year, I should use Weiman Furniture Polish on it. And that's it! WES furniture is all very high quality and since my mom works directly with the Smithes training all of their sales staff, I trust that she knows how to best keep the furniture looking like new. I've not had a problem yet!

~P.

I use Mr. Clean on everything...I buy the wipes. They are very strong and dont tear. They work on cooked on food on your stove, I have 2 boys they tend to spill the stickiest stuff on my kitchen table and it gets that off and doesnt leave the smudges or the film and arent badly prices either...Good luck

E.,

You should never use Pledge or Endust on your wood furniture. It eats away at the wood! If your wood is painted over, then you definetly don't need it anyway. I am an Interior Designer and always tell my clients the same thing. You can use any light cleaner or just a damp cloth to "dust" your furniture, you can rub the smears right out.

I don't have any furniture made of the same type of wood you have, but I have used a product I got at Walmart on my dining room table, wood doors, kitchen cabinets, and entertainment center. It does leave a slight film right after you are finished but evaporates fairly well...though the instructions say to wipe again with a clean cloth when initial cleaning is done...I never do. I really like this stuff and I don't believe it was too expensive so it might be worth a try.

Cabinet Magic
It is in a blue bottle with a spray nozle.
It cleans dust, food stains, cooking grease and finger marks off of natural wood, laminates, and painted surfaces.

I use murphy's oil soap, its just for wood. And, you use only a capful to a pail of water and it's made for wood. Also i think it's lemon oil that some people use for wood. I dont know, maybe it's got some kind of polyurethane on it that doesnt allow anything to the actual wood?

Good luck!

Have you tried a dilute solution of Murphy's Oil soap?

Use Murphy's. I use it on all black furniture because it doesn't leave a residue like the other stuff. I used an empty spray bottle and mixed some of the oil with water and just wrote on the bottle what it was. So now it is easy to just grab, spray, and clean off. It is so nice to use on black furniture. You will be happy!!

I just saw this the other day on TV (on How Clean is your House)! They said to use a bee's wax based polish. They used it on an antique book shelf and it worked great.

I recommend Method "Wood for Good." It has a nice, subtle almond scent, and so far, it's been safe on all our wood. You can buy Method products at Target and online. Love them! If you do a little test and find the Method isn't working well, I'd just use a slightly damp cloth to get the dust off -- that's really all you need. I just love the scent of the "Wood for Good," and I know it's safe on our furniture. Good luck!

I have a few pieces from Pottery Barn and the care instructions on my black furniture is lightly damp cloth with water only. Also I cannot use anything except water on my black kitchen table that is from a boutique in Fl. I use murphys on my cherrywood cabinets and that works great.

I have an answer for you....Melaleuca Rustic Touch. I can put you in touch with someone you can get that from if you are interested. You can email me at ____@____.com and I will get you that information.

Have you tried Murphy's soap. I just put a cap full in a gallon bucket of warm water, wring cloth, then wipe wood furniture. It doesn't have the shine like pledge but it doesn't smear at all. You can buy the soap at any grocery store. It actually cleans the furniture. Happy cleaning!

My mom heard some handyman on the radio who recommended Doozy (http://www.doozy.com/). She is always one to buy anything anyone recommends (thank goodness she doesn't have QVC), so I really wasn't too excited to try it when she brought me a couple bottles. Well, I finally needed to polish some furniture... it is awesome!!! It doesn't leave a greasy finish and the furniture looks great (almost better than new). I highly recommend it!

My husband and I are piano technicians and we frequently see high end woods on pianos. We NEVER recommend pledge or endust type cleaners for some of the reasons that you are seeing. Also, should the wood ever be scratched or knicked, it would be difficult to fix once the wood is polished over again.

I would recommend getting the "gunk" off with either soap and water or a little goo gone. If the finish is satin (not high gloss) you can also use a very fine brillo pad (sold at ACE) to help remove the grease. Then lightly polishing with an oil such as Murphy's should do the trick in the future. Wood is also a natural product so if you are into organic non-toxic, you can also use a bit of extra virgin olive oil (I know it sounds weird but it does work and is totally child safe).

Pledge is TOO oily....it I think is a polish not a cleaner.

I just used a soft, damp cloth to clean my wood and occasionally murphys spap...but spray the cloth not the furniture.

Hi E.,

I used to have the same problem until my cleaning lady told me to just use a damp rag with a little soapy water. You might have to scrub hard the first time to remove the pledge and go over it a few times. But after that, you shouldn't see the marks. You should also use a polish every couple of weeks, but not sprays. Hope that works.

My husband does a lot of woodworking - building kitchen cabinets, entertainment centers & such. He says I am NEVER to buy or use Pledge or anything like that. They build up on the furniture and will cause the finish to get soft and come off over time. All he allows is warm water with a small amount of dish soap on a good old dish cloth. It will remove the build up that you have now. Once you have the film off, I find that feather dusters are great for getting that layer of dust off - quick & easy! Plust kids can help!

Hi there--I use pure therapeutic grade lemon essential oil for this sort of cleaning. It's not a fragrance oil (although it smells great), so you have to use it wisely. I get all my oils through Young Living for about $10, which you can find online. They are the only true therapeutic grade oils in the US. You can find all the different uses for Lemon oil (there's tons!), but for your wood, I would just mix it 50/50 with a little olive oil on a rag and wipe that furniture beautifully. I know $10 might sound expensive to clean your wood, but you can use the oil for so many things that it's worth it!

Pledge didn;t work for us either. when we bought our bedroom set at PM Bedroom Gallery, they told us to use a damp cloth and then dry right away. it works so much better!

I just recently posted a similar question on a woodworking board for my dad. Pledge is full of silicon, the furniture looks great for a while but the silicon builds up and gets dirty. Endust is better but still not great. The best is a damp cloth and then a dry cloth. If you need to CLEAN the furniture then use Murphy's oil soap. It was also recommended to use butcher's wax once or twice a year only.

i'd use only a damp cloth w/ water, nothing else. then just use lemon oil for furniture on it 1-2/yr to get it moisturized. cheaper, more effective! we use those microfiber cloths that catch everything and are reusable to dust. awesome!

I really like the brand called Method from Target. It is non-toxic and comes with a reusable wood cloth cleaner. It smells great and does the job well. The glass cleaner is very good too!

Have you tried Murphy's Oil Soap? My mom uses it.

Use something like Murphy's Oil or any product that will keep the wood from cracking and peeling;
You first need to get the pledge off.
There sre furniture polish removers;
Use the removers also a few times a year as a prep for wood
polish.

Wood needs oil to keep its beauty and not dry out--

Hope this helps- L. P

E.:

You're not cleaning wood, you're cleaning paint. My favorite product is glass cleaner because it leaves a shine.

I love Murphy's oil for all our wood, including the floor.

I use Shaklee Basic H. The all purpose cleaner concentrate, (Oprah's favorite) You mix your own. The wood breathes and looks beautiful. It allows the natural beauty of the wood to shine through. I espcially love it with my wood and glass top furniture. I use the same stuff on the entire top. My Mom has used it for years and her furniture still looks brand new. The stuff is amazing.

we are big fans of trader joes' cedarwood and sage mulit-purpose spray-
completely non toxic and we use it on wood, leather chairs and granite. they have it in orange but haven't tried that one...
have fun!