It is important to take care of all timber furniture in order to maintain its life and appearance. Today furniture manufacturers use a vast number of finishes on their furniture to protect the pieces during regular use.

Cleaning your furniture should be done with a soft lint free cloth dampened with either water or furniture polish and following the grain of your furniture. Make sure you don't clean your furniture with a dry rag as this can cause subtle scratches on the finish. Make sure you also regularly rotate your cleaning cloth.

Regular Attention
In order to maximize the life of your finish, it is recommended that the cleaning and polishing of your furniture should be done on a regular basis. Dust and dirt can attract moisture, which can accumulate and quite often can soften the finish of your furniture. Over time this can lead to further damage to the timber itself.

Take care in protecting and maintaining your furniture, as regular care will result in years of satisfaction from your investment.

A few other tips
Try to keep furniture out of direct sunlight. Sunlight can have a fading effect on some fabrics and leathers and can also alter the appearance of some timber stains.

Try where possible to keep furniture out of direct paths of heating and cooling units. Varying heating and cooling can have a negative effect on your fabrics or upholstery and timber can expand and contract when exposed to variations in temperature and humidity.

Clean up any spills or accidents immediately.

Lift and place items as opposed to sliding them across furniture. Some finishes can be very sensitive to abrasions and sliding can dull or even damage the appearance.

Using coasters, placemats and table cloths will prolong the appearance of your piece if your furniture is used on a very regular basis.

Fabrics differ in their features and components greatly and it is important you familiarize your self with the different features in your fabric before you attempt to clean a spill.

Most manufacturers will carry guides on your product and can give safe information as to the best way to deal with an accident. They will often provide standardized cleaning instructions and helpful hints how to maintain your particular piece or fabric.

A handy hint: Always test your cleaning method on an inconspicuous part of your product. I.e., the underside of a cushion or the underside or back of the actual product.

If you are not sure how to clean your fabrics and the upholstery information is not available you might call a professional cleaner. There are also some pre-stain treatments available to protect your upholstery from becoming stained or dirty.

Michael's Furniture also offer the choice of extra fabric protection – Total Fabric Seal - with a 5 year warranty against stains and includes a 24hr advice hotline.

Fabrics treated with Total Fabric Seal are guaranteed to resist and continue resisting oil and water based spillages.

This can be used to protect your lounge suites, mattresses and floor rugs.

Leather furniture is quite often the most durable and easy to maintain. However, small and constant attention to maintaining its appearance, feel and smell should be encouraged.

Whenever a spill occurs clean up immediately.

Regularly dust leather and clean with cleaning products designed specifically for leather. This will keep your leather always looking its best.

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