Whether it's your two thousand dollar leather couch, the wooden table that once belonged to your great-grandmother, or the plastic furniture on your patio that you use during barbeque season, you want to keep it looking great, and that means keeping it clean. It's important to know how to care for all types of furniture, because using incorrect products and techniques can leave your furniture looking less than perfect, and you could even damage delicate surfaces like leather if you don't know exactly what you are doing. Here are some useful tips for cleaning all types of furniture so that it will look great for years to come.

Leather Surfaces

The methods you will use to clean leather depend on whether the material has been treated with a coating to protect it. If not, there are very few options for cleaning this furniture. Never use soap, water, leather creams, or any other type of cleaning product. Instead, dust the material frequently. Because uncoated leather is so hard to clean, and stains often cannot be removed, it may be better to purchase a couch or chair that is coated. In this case, you can use a mild soap mixed with water to remove dirt. Be sure to wipe the soap off the surface and dry the leather right away. Leather cream should be used only a few times a year. As with uncoated leather, no harsh or chemically-based cleaners should be used.

Wood Furniture

Aside from leather, wood is perhaps the most sensitive to damage and staining. Water can be especially harmful to oiled and varnished wood, so if you must use water to clean a spill, ensure that you thoroughly dry the surface right away. The best way to keep wood clean, aside from regular dusting, is by using a polish that is suitable for the type of finish on the furniture, so find out whether the finish is soft, hard, or painted at the time of purchase. For furniture that is not used on a regular basis, it is only necessary to apply polish three or four times a year. Polish should be wiped from the surface before it dries to prevent buildup. If the furniture gets heavy use, it may be necessary to polish more often, and it is recommended that the same type of polish be used each time.

Outdoor Furniture

If you decide to leave your outdoor furniture outside or in a garage during the winter months, spring usually calls for some heavy duty cleaning. For surfaces like cloth chair covers, apply a mixture of dish detergent, Borax, and hydrogen peroxide (if suitable), and water, then scrub the surface before rinsing. Rusted metal surfaces can either be treated with a rust remover or sanded and repainted. Plastics can usually simply be cleaned with a mixture of mild soap and water.

Upholstered Furniture

For regular maintenance, it is recommended that upholstered surfaces be vacuumed and brushed on a weekly basis. To clean stains and upholstered surfaces, the solution you choose should be mild and suitable for the type of fabric you will be cleaning. Apply the cleaner with a brush or damp cloth and remove promptly-usually a minute or two is enough to clean areas that are not stained. The furniture will be somewhat wet, so turn on a fan or open some windows to ensure prompt drying.

Woven Furniture

Furniture made out of natural materials like bamboo is attractive, but many wicker furniture pieces are also very delicate. To clean these surfaces, they can be dusted, wiped with a small amount of water and mild soap, or vacuumed. Many are reluctant to get wicker wet, but the pieces can also occasionally be sprayed down, as long as they are dried with a towel right away and left outside or in a well-ventilated area until completely dry.