You can use these cleaning products for furniture care
When cleaning your metal furniture, you should always be particularly careful not to scratch the surface. In many cases, however, cleaning is very simple: It is best to clean them only with a dry cloth. However, if you have spilled something, a dry cloth often is not enough. Then you can resort to soap and cleaners. These products are suitable for the care of metal furniture:
- Soap solution
- PH-neutral cleaner (pH value 5 to 8)
- Household cleaners like dish soap or window cleaner
- All-purpose cleaner
You should not use solvents, alkaline cleaners, and scouring milk or powder, as they can attack the surface of your metal furniture.
For safety, you can use the cleaning agent on a small, preferably not visible spot to check if the product is suitable.
When caring for your furniture, also make sure that no cleaning agents remain in crevices or similar, as this could also damage your furniture.
After cleaning with soap, dish soap or a cleaner, you should wipe the furniture with water and then thoroughly dry it.
Which cloths and sponges are suitable for furniture care?
For furniture care, it is best to use a soft sponge or a soft, white cloth. You should definitely avoid scouring sponges, steel wool and scouring pads, as they are much too rough and can attack the surface.You should also not use dyed textiles as a cleaning cloth, as they can leave residues.
Furniture care depending on the metal
Metal furniture is made from various metals. Therefore, they have different properties that you should consider when cleaning and caring for your metal furniture:
Iron
Indoor iron furniture is neither painted nor sealed, preserving the originality and color of iron. However, these pieces of furniture therefore require special care. High-quality outdoor iron furniture, on the other hand, is treated in such a way that it is unaffected by wind and weather.
Steel
Over time, rust that forms on untreated steel furniture adds to its charm. If you want to remove this, you can do so with fine steel wool and gentle pressure. However, you will hardly be able to avoid scratches. Painted or powder-coated steel is better protected against rust. If you clean these pieces of furniture when they are wet, be sure to dry them thoroughly afterwards with a soft cloth.
Stainless Steel
Stainless steel is rust-free. For cleaning, it is best to use a steel cleaner. This can remove most stains and dirt. You can also use dish soap and water for cleaning, but you should wipe dry quickly. Furniture made of high-gloss polished stainless steel should be treated with a polish from time to time.
Chrome, Brass, Copper
The shine of chrome, brass, and copper is quickly tarnished by fingerprints. Therefore, you should regularly polish furniture made of these metals. To clean these pieces of furniture, a damp cloth with a little dish soap is usually sufficient. Afterwards, you should wipe with water and polish the surfaces dry. However, make sure not to scrub. A metal cleaner helps against rust.
For stains on chrome furniture, you can alternatively use a damp cloth with sodium carbonate. Polished copper requires special care: Wash copper with hot sauerkraut broth and then rinse with cold water. Polish the surfaces with a soft leather cloth. Brass tarnishes quickly, but should never be cleaned with coarse cleaning agents.For heavy soiling, salt or vinegar can help. Unpainted brass can be cleaned with a paste of salt and lemon juice.
Nickel
Furniture with nickel elements can be best cleaned with hot water without additives. Afterwards, you should polish the furniture with a cloth or newspaper. The same applies to black nickel-plated surfaces. Dark spots can be rubbed off with table salt, cigarette ash helps with heavy soiling.
Furniture care with polish
In many cases, the surface of metal furniture is specially treated to protect the furniture from corrosion due to humidity. Therefore, there are various polishes for furniture care.Which polish is right for your furniture depends on whether the metal is treated or untreated and hard or soft. If you use the wrong polish, it can damage your metal furniture. Therefore, you should only use the care products recommended by the manufacturer. Also, make sure that the polish does not dry out.
For the care of metal furniture, water and soap or a cleaning agent often help in many cases. Depending on the metal, however, you should pay attention to the special properties when caring for your furniture.
You can find suitable metal products at
