How to Maintain Wood Furniture - Continued

To freshen up wooden furniture that is scuffed or scratched, sand the damaged areas lightly with extra fine grade steel wool.  Then apply one of the oil-based colored furniture polishes available at hardware stores.  Allow the polish to dry completely.  If necessary, sand again lightly with the steel wool to feather in or soften the color.

White spots that appear on the surface of wooden furniture are caused by moisture.  To remove these kinds of spots, dip a piece of extra fine grade steel wool in mineral oil.  Rub the steel wool back and forth over the stain.  Remember to always rub with the grain of the wood.  If a white stain is small and does not appear too deep, use your finger to gently rub a little toothpaste into it and then wipe the area clean.  Another way to remove white stains from wooden furniture is to apply baking soda to them with a damp cloth then wipe the soda off. 

To get candle wax off your wooden tabletop, gently scrape or peel up as much as you can with hurting the wood.  Then use a hair dryer to soften the wax so that the wax does not heat up too much.  Once the wax is soft, blot it with a paper towel.

To tighten a loose screw in a piece of wooden furniture, first remove it.  Insert wooden matchsticks or toothpicks into the hole, and then replace the screw in the hole.  The sticks should hold the screw tightly in place.  To strengthen a shelf that is sagging, screw metal supports to the underside of each end of the shelf and its corresponding upright. This will keep your wooden furniture strong and looking good.