http://www.care2.com/greenliving/alternative-furniture-polish.html
Alternative Furniture Polish
By Annie B. Bond
We all know the smell—lemon with a touch of engine oil—that we identify as furniture polish. What we may not identify with the smell is the irritability, depression, and other bad moods that can be the response to its use.
How many people polish their furniture before a dinner party, only to wonder why they are so cranky before the guests arrive? Even worse, the smell of furniture polish can linger on furniture for weeks and months after use, causing a low level of air pollution that puts a strain on the central nervous systems of everyone living there. The petroleum distillates and solvents in commercial furniture polish are highly neurotoxic.
Replacing commercial furniture polish with a homemade formula is at the top of the list of priorities for establishing a healthier home, along with oven cleaner and pesticides.
Homemade Furniture Polish
Most of the old folk formulas for furniture polish ask for 1/4 cup of oil or so, plus a few drops of vinegar. I feel those folk formulas leave the furniture too oily, and in hot weather there is a risk of the oil going rancid.
Instead, I’ve found that reversing those ratios —using 1/4 cup vinegar plus a few drops of oil—makes for a much better wood cleaner and polish. The vinegar pulls the dirt out of the wood, and the few drops of oil lubricates the wood so that it doesn’t dry out.
The best oils to use are those that have the longest shelf life. Olive oil works well. The best choice of all is the liquid wax jojoba, because it never goes rancid. It is found in most health food stores. Boiled linseed oils found in hardware stores have synthetic drying chemicals in them and shouldn’t be used. I do love the smell of linseed oil in a furniture polish—it is rich and nutty—but I only use that which is food grade.
You can substitute lemon juice for the vinegar. Organic apple cider vinegar is the best choice of vinegar, although I don’t usually recommend this for general cleaning because of the possibility of staining. If you are cleaning something that could possibly stain, use white distilled vinegar.
Homemade Furniture Polish Cloth
Dip a soft recycled cloth, such as one of flannel, in the vinegar and oil mixture, and wipe furniture.
Lemon Oil Duster
Most commercial lemon oil is not all natural, but may contain petroleum distillates. Contact herbalists for pure sources of lemon oil. Traditionally, lemon oil has been used for furniture because it is so lubricating and antiseptic.
10 drops lemon oil
2 tablespoons lemon juice
A few drops olive oil or jojoba
Dip a soft recycled cloth, such as one of flannel, in the lemon oil mixture, and wipe furniture.
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18 comments
add your comment »To Lisa Evans re the desk in your garage: If your desk is 50+ years old, the odor may be from **formaldehyde**, which was used a long time ago to preserve glues, shellac, and enamels; even "whole wood" furniture may have some. Sorry, I don't have a cure to suggest, but maybe a furniture restorer may know some tricks? Check your yellow pages or yellowpages.com . Good luck!
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This is a good tip in cleaning a furniture. Do you also have some tips in cleaning floors ?
http://www.Americanflooringsystems.net
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This is a good alternative furniture polish. Furniture are good assets. So proper care of them is important.
http://classyclosets.com/custom.php
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What can we do about wood furniture that smells like rancid oil? We have a desk that gives us headaches, and we can't get rid of the smell, so it's in the garage waiting for some miracle. My husband thinks it can't be fixed and wants to throw it out, but I think there must be a way to get rid of the odor altogether (not just masking it with another scent). I will try your vinegar & lemon oil idea, but I'm doubtful that it will kill the rancidity problem. ALso, is lemon oil stable enough to not go rancid itself later?
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@Natalia Grana:
I recently discovered a tip for irritations of the eye-lids: pick some ground-ivy, chew on it, and apply the pulp to your eye. Leave it on for a while (don't really know how long), and then gently wash it off with clean water.
Good luck!
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While linseed oil, vinegar etc. are good for you they are not good for your furniture. They leave a layer that is very difficult to remove without damaging the wood.
http://www.alsnetbiz.com/homeimprovement/info5.html
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could use essential oils e.g.lavender added to cleaner mix to previde a pleasant aroma as well!
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could you use a few drops of essential oils e.g. lavender to get the nice aroma in the house
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Linseed oil, also known as flax seed oil, is a yellowish drying oil derived from the dried ripe seeds of the flax plant. Flaxseed oil is edible and safe food wood.
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In my current job within the care/support sector, we have to clean every day with these awful polishes, wipes and sprays. I have an itchy eye with dry skin round it- and just thought that maybe its due to overuse of these and praps some of it coming into contact with my eye. Do you also have any tips on healing skin that has been irritated by toxic furniture polish? Will definitely start using these at home but can't see my work adopting them as there is so much red tape for everything...
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