Furniture care - How do I properly care for my metal furniture

You can use these cleaning agents to care for furniture

When cleaning your metal furniture , you should always be extra careful not to scratch the surface. In many cases, however, cleaning is very simple: it is best to just wipe them with a dry cloth. However, if you have made a mess, a dry cloth is often no longer sufficient. Then you can use soap and detergent. These products are suitable for the care of metal furniture:

• soapy water
• PH-neutral cleaner (pH value 5 to 8)
• Household cleaners such as washing-up liquid or window cleaner
• multipurpose cleaner

You should not use solvents, alkaline cleaners and scouring milk or powder, as they can attack the surface of your metal furniture.

To be on the safe side, you can use the cleaning agent on a small area that is as inconspicuous as possible to check whether the product is suitable.

When cleaning the furniture, also make sure that no cleaning products are left in cracks or similar, as this could also damage your furniture.

After cleaning with soap, dish soap, or a cleaner, you should wipe the furniture down with water and then dry it thoroughly.

Which cloths and sponges are suitable for cleaning furniture?

It is best to use a soft sponge or a soft, white cloth to care for furniture. You should definitely avoid scouring pads, steel wool and scouring pads, as they are far too rough and can damage the surface. You should also not use dyed textiles as a cleaning cloth, as these can leave residues.

Furniture care depends on the metal

Metal furniture is made from different metals. Therefore, they have different properties that you should consider when cleaning and caring for your metal furniture:

iron

Iron furniture for indoor use is neither varnished nor sealed, so the originality and coloring of iron are preserved. However, this furniture needs special care. High-quality iron furniture for outdoor use, on the other hand, is treated in such a way that wind and weather do not bother them.

steel

Rust that develops over time is part of the appeal of untreated steel furniture. If you want to remove this, you can do this 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 this furniture with a damp cloth, be sure to dry it well with a soft cloth afterwards.

stainless steel

Stainless steel is rustproof. The best way to clean it is to use a steel cleaner. This will remove most stains and dirt. You can also use dish soap and water to clean, but you should wipe dry quickly. Furniture made of highly 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 marred by fingerprints. Therefore, you should rub furniture made of these metals regularly. A damp cloth with a little washing-up liquid is usually sufficient to clean this furniture. Then you should wipe with water and polish the surfaces dry. But be careful not to chafe. A metal cleaner helps against rust.

Alternatively, for stains on chrome furniture, you can use a damp cloth with sodium carbonate. Polished copper likes special care: wash copper with hot sauerkraut broth and then cool it down. Then buff the surfaces with a soft leather rag. Brass tarnishes quickly, but should never be cleaned with rough cleaning agents. Salt or vinegar will help with heavy soiling. You can clean unvarnished brass with a paste made from salt and lemon juice.

nickel

Furniture with elements made of nickel is best cleaned with hot water without additives. After that, you should polish the furniture with a cloth or newspaper. The same applies to black nickel-plated surfaces. You can rub off dark stains 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 caused by humidity. There are different polishes for furniture care. The right polish for your furniture depends on whether the metal is treated or untreated and hard or soft. Using the wrong polish 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.

When caring for metal furniture, water and soap or a cleaning agent often help. Depending on the metal, however, you should pay attention to the special properties when caring for the furniture.

You can find suitable metal products at Metallbude.