Devon Antiques Specialists Merchant House Antiques are based in Honiton and have a vast array of antique furniture on display in their Honiton shop.

Merchant House Antiques give some tips on how to safely clean antique furniture without damaging the piece itself.

Antiques in purist terms, and according to the U.S. Customs Service, an antique is an item with at least 100 years of age under its belt.
However, the term antique is used rather loosely and often reflects the age of the person using the word. To a teenager, a toy from the ‘50s seems “antique.” Devon antiques specialists Merchant House tend to view items less than 75 years old as “collectible” rather than antique.

Antique furniture is most definitely an asset. Anyone owning a piece of antique furniture may be able to command thousands for one individual item of furniture, for this reason many people are choosing to invest now. Of course value and worth all depend on a number of factors that are associated with the furniture itself.

Factors that may affect the price of an item of antique furniture may include: type of wood, design, style and the also era in which it was made. However, you can do something to preserve your investment by cleaning antique furniture correctly and at the correct time intervals.

Merchant House Antiques, Honiton, Devon provide three easy steps to cleaning antique furniture correctly.

When cleaning antique furniture, you must ensure that it becomes part of your regular cleaning regime quickly. You should always dust it every few days, once a week at the very least.

You should only ever use a soft cloth, so as not to not to scratch the antique furniture.

Do not use any sprays of any kind including standard furniture polish as the chemicals in the polish can stain the wood or cause weak spots. Cleaning antique furniture should be about preserving it rather than adding to the wear and tear!

Cleaning antique furniture can damage the wood if it is not done correctly so make sure that you protect it at all times. For example, mop up any spillages immediately and never rest anything on it directly that could possibly scratch it.

Also, protect your wood by ensuring that it never stands in the glare of direct sunlight. This can discolor it and cause it to fade, and no amount of cleaning antique furniture will be able to solve that problem.

Furniture should never be placed directly in front of a radiator. It should ideally be at least two feet from any heat source. If a piece of furniture really has to be placed near a radiator, a possible compromise would be to devise an insulating protective ‘barrier’. This could take the form of a decorative fire screen with an insulated / reflective backing.

For more information on the antiques available from Merchant House Antiques, Honiton, Devon visit our website at www.merchanthouseantiques.co.uk or simply call on 01404 42694.

Merchant House Antiques,
19 High Street,
Honiton,
Devon
EX14 1PR