Featured Proper ways to clean and care for antiques

For cleaning the insides of the wood pieces we receive, I follow the same procedure, but usually remove the drawers and any removables and vacuum out the all of the inside and the drawers, too. I use an old bar of Ivory soap (that's what I happen to have)on drawer runners to make them slide smoothly and vacuum up the loose particles so that they later do not fall on what we ha put in the drawers and cause a stain. After cleaning, I completely line the drawers with acid proof white paper before placing items in them. Otherwise, the wood will eventually stain the materials stored in them. To get rid of the smells, I dampen the cloth with water that has baking soda mixed in. If it still smells, I will set a small dish of baking soda in each drawer (especially if there are separations between the drawers) close the drawers and let them sit for a week or so. Usually this removes any foul oders. I have never heard of using olive oil on wood furniture, but maybe someone knows something that I don't know about using olive oil

 

That is excellent advice. I will wait and see what happens with my olive oil, and then remove the olive oil, and instead adopt this approach. Just to clear I would never used olive oil on the outside of the furniture it was just on the drawer rail.

This has been greatly educational for me, as i have many old drawers to clean out.

About Olive oil...
It appears from a little research that it is not deterimental to use olive oil but that indeed it is not recommended. I recall watching a video by Mr Johnson the furniture restorer, who was working on a table and had serious problems removing linseed oil from a table top.

While linseed oil, walnut oil and Tung oil and mineral other oils are ok to us on furniture because the oil cures and sets, olive oil apparently is not one of the recomended oils because as previous posters have said it might go rancid because it the oil remains liquid and does not cure and set.

However, i checked my drawers on my chest, the oil is still working and keeping them smooth. The smell is good, the pong is that was there before cleaning is gone, and it has worked very well.

So as a short term solution it worked. i will wait and see if it goes 'rancid' and then i will treat the wood again and remove the oil and replace it with something more appropriate. I have feeling it wont, and will continue to keep my drawers moving smoothly.

 

Removing pongs: Fullers Earth cat litter works very very well.