How to Care for and Maintain Your Dark Wood Wardrobe

  • August 5, 2024
  • by ID
How to Care for and Maintain Your Dark Wood Wardrobe

In the world of interior design, dark wood is making its comeback with timeless beauty and deep riches to complete our homes. Dark wood is the statement of nature itself; the warmth of the dark wood, elegance, design, and sustainability give a complete sense to your house. Explore dark wood wardrobe ideas to bring this timeless beauty into your living space.

It can be used in any interior style, be it contemporary, modern, classic, or traditional; it can provide a sense of luxury in each. The dark wood has a longer life compared to others, and you can even leave it to the next generation with a deep sense of care and maintenance. 

In this article, we will see the care and maintenance that can help your dark wood to keep its natural form and keep the darker shades richer with time.

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Understanding Your Dark Wood Wardrobe

To choose the dark wood colour for the wardrobe, your interior matters a lot. We have created a dark wood colour palette to choose from; you can check their types, longevity, durability, and appearance to make the decision easier for you. 

Mahogany: It is a reddish brown hue that gets only darker with time. The beautiful colour mahogany has been used for both interior and exterior furniture collections as it is known for its durability. 

Walnut: This is the most preferred wood selection in the dark wood. It is widely known for its stability and hard durability. It is strong and easy to carve. It has a fine, straight grain pattern. It comes in various shades; you can easily choose from the walnut collection.

Wenge: It is an exotic dark brown wood with minimal streaks or sometimes with light and heavy strips. The wood quality is supreme in resistance to fungi, termites, and borers. It is quite versatile.

Cherry: A reddish brown in colour, smooth texture, and fine lines are known qualities of cherry wood. And if you want the wood to have a darker shade, exposure to sunlight works like a charm for cherry wood.

All these woods require different attention to care and maintenance. Sunlight is good for cherry wood, but it cannot be said the same for others. But too much sunlight and moisture can worsen your dark wood. 

Let’s see how you can care for them properly with little care daily.

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Daily Care Routine

A proper maintenance daily with minimum care can keep your dark wood wardrobe for a lifetime with the touch of time by keeping it safe and aesthetic as it should be. 

Cleaning: This is a must and can be done quickly in the everyday routine. Just use a damp cloth and give a nice cleansing. Try to avoid soaking one to make your wardrobe moist and wet. You can use some detergent for a deep clean, but make sure to finish with a clean cloth later. 

Avoid Chemicals: Do not use chemicals for cleaning purposes; just use simple oil if needed. Chemicals can react with the wood and might leave stains or react with the wood, which might leave permanent damage.

Cleaning products: Use special products advised for dark wood cleaning. Check them online with your wood type selection or ask a professional for the suggestion. Using the right products is crucial. 

It is important that the wood is dry and clean after the cleaning process. If the wood shows any signs of damage, colour difference, or cracks, it has to be quickly fixed.

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Deep Cleaning Techniques

Dark woods are versatile and a natural product that is used in everyday life, which makes it important for them to maintain them regularly for their aesthetic beauty and keep them in their natural condition forever. 

Avoid moisture: The most important thing to avoid in the wood is moisture. You can use several methods to avoid moisture in your dark wood wardrobe. 

  • Sealing: You can wrap the wood with the sealing. It helps to protect the wood from getting the moisture. 
  • Lacquer: It works as a protector for the wood and shields it from any moisture to enter.
  • Wood Impregnation: It is a protective inert material that is used without changing the colour of the wood.

Care products: Here are some of the products you can use depending on the wood types: 

  • Glazes or paint: It protects from moisture and pests. These options are best for a colour change in your wardrobe. 
  • Degreasers: They deep clean and remove dust from the wood. This process is to be used before using any other method.
  • Oil and wax: This is a protective agent for the wood, keeping it natural, elegant, and durable for the long term.

It is advised to check your wood type before processing to any cleaning method or using any product.

Handling Stains and Spills

There are many methods to handle stains and spills on the wardrobe. We will talk about a few DIY methods that are common in use and can be done easily.

Water stains: You can use iron to remove the water stains from the wood. Place a cotton cloth over the stain and let the iron sit for 4-5 seconds on low heat. Repeat it till the stain becomes lighter.

Heat stains: They are generally found in the kitchen; you can use baking soda for the heat stain. Gently scrub the affected area with baking soda and let it sit for 15 minutes. Wipe it later with a clean cloth. 

Other solutions can be done with olive oil and vinegar; in this case, let the solution sit for an hour.

Dark stains: vinegar and hydrogen peroxide are the home solutions to remove dark stains from the wood. Vinegar is used for 30 minutes, and hydrogen peroxide is left overnight. (Before applying hydrogen peroxide, you need to check if it reacts with your wood, as it can cause discoloration.) 

Other than these solutions, there are dedicated wood stain removers available online. Some of them are biochemical, solvents, and caustic. For some minor solutions, you can check for sandpaper, wood pen marks, mineral spirits, vegetable oil, and wood strippers.

Protecting Against Sunlight and Heat

If you have open space with lots of sunlight, it can be the reason for you to worry over your dark wood wardrobe. There are ways to prevent sunlight and protect it from damaging your dark wood wardrobe. 

Covers: For the wardrobes that you don’t use regularly, the UV covers are the best solutions for those wardrobes. 

Placement: Keep your wardrobe in the place where sunlight has minimum exposure and some distance away from the windows. 

Maintenance: Regularly cleaning is a must; this helps to avoid having any long-lasting effect on the wardrobe even due to sunlight. 

UV-blocking films: Another effective way to protect your wardrobe is to cover the windows with thick curtains or UV-blocking films. 

It depends upon the season and the way the sunlight enters the room. Keep your furniture rearranged accordingly, and if that’s not an option, then to avoid having direct sunlight in your wardrobe.

Conclusion

Every wood has its own properties and requires care according to that. To have your wardrobe protected and brand new. Regular maintenance is a must, and deep cleaning once in a while will add more life to your wardrobe. 

Innovative Design is the best in the market if you are looking for a dark wood wardrobe. We know that we are bragging about us, but we can assure you that it is not baseless. We have served thousands of homes all over Europe and provide the best service with fine craftsmanship. Our team brings their hearts out and offers you the best solution.