How to Care for Your Antique Furniture

by Martin Swinton

• Why is your Aunt Mabel’s dining room table warped?
   
• Why is your Grandmother’s sewing table discolored?
   
• Should you use aerosol polishes on your antiques?
   

Relative humidity
Central heating is the worst thing to happen to antiques. A warm inside and cold outside makes life comfortable while wreaking havoc on antiques. It’s the fluctuations in relative humidity that central heating creates which cause the problem. Wood responds to relative humidity by expanding and contracting as it tries to maintain a balance with its environment. It’s not the rapid changes during the course of a day that cause the most damage. It’s the long-term seasonal fluctuations, which cause the serious damage. During the dry winter months when it is cold outside and warm inside, wood tends to shrink. During hot damp summers when it is warm outside and cooler inside, wood tends to expand. Long-term exposure to these conditions leads to cracking, warping and splitting.

How can you guard against the fluctuations in relative humidity in your home? Use a humidifier during the cold winter and a dehumidifier in the damp summer. Think twice before putting a good piece of furniture in a basement, attic, near heating vents or near fireplaces. Keep fresh air circulating. Maintain a constant room temperature and turn it low at night.

Finishes are affected by relative humidity. Just as the wood expands and contracts, so too does the finish, which becomes brittle and crack. This is called crazing.

What can you do about crazing? Restor-A-Finish is a great multi-purpose product that penetrates through the existing crazed finish and stain, bringing up the color and restoring the luster.

Sunlight
Just as sun damage to the skin is cumulative and permanent, its effects on wood are just as destructive. Diffused sunlight over a long period of time can be as detrimental as direct sunlight over a short period of time. Sunlight can turn a clear finish yellow.

How can you avoid sun damage? The only good news about sun damage is that it’s easy to avoid. Draw the drapes, pull the blinds or have an UV-filtering film applied to your windows.

Insects
Termites are a menace to North American homes and are often found in older homes. Hopefully, you’ll notice an infestation of termites in your home before they reach your furniture.

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