Cleaning Furniture Upholstery and Hardware

The furniture that we use in our homes is not made of just wood. They have upholstery and sometimes have hardware made of brass or bronze. It is these parts that enhance the beauty of the furniture and make the piece a part of the rest of the décor of the room. These parts too get dirty, gather dust and need to be cleaned regularly. Here are a few suggestions on cleaning upholstery and hardware.

• The best method to remove dust from upholstery is to use a vacuum cleaner. Place a soft screen in front of the vacuum cleaner nozzle, to prevent the tip of the cleaner from damaging the material. Use the brush attachment and clean carefully.
• Professional help should be taken if the upholstery is damaged or stained to a great extent.
• Furniture sometimes has metal hardware as part it. The metal used is usually brass, bronze or silver. Hardware in modern furniture has a clear lacquer finish that gives them a lustrous appearance.
• Hardware is sometimes coated with certain types of restorers that eliminate the need for constant polishing.
• Furniture hardware often gets tarnished, as it is exposed to the atmosphere and reacts with it. In a case like this polishing the hardware can improve its appearance.
• Before polishing the hardware, remove the hardware from the furniture if you can. Otherwise cover the areas around the hardware, especially the wood, with acetate sheets to prevent the polish from damaging the woodwork.
• Polishing hardware while it is still on the furniture damages the area around it. This also allows the polish to get under the hardware, thus damaging both the metal and the surface around.
• Clean hardware using a mixture of acetone and alcohol. Add both these ingredients in equal quantities to make a mixture. This will remove dirt and oil residue. Dip a soft bristle brush in this mixture and scrub gently. After it dries polish it with lint free cloth.
• Polishing must be done in small areas at a time. After polishing remove all residue.

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