How to Easily clean Wood with just 2 ingredients

For about four years now I have been cleaning my wood furniture with a very simple mixture. I’m not even sure where I found this but it has worked wonders for me. I’ve used it on the showcase table and on the drawer and stool repurposed as a small table.

But I have never really shared it with all of you, not properly. Today I am going to correct that and show you how to easily clean wood with just 2 ingredients. A great way to upcycle items!

Ingredients:

One part olive oil
One part vinegar

The how to:

Simply pour the olive oil and vinegar into a jar and shake! No we are not making salad dressing. When you are ready to apply, just dip a clean peace of cotton cloth into the mixture and rub it onto the wood.

Below you can see a section of a wooden miniature sailboat. This is before I added the mixture.

wood miniature sailboat, before, How to Easily Clean Wood with Just 2 Ingredients www.theboondocksblog.com

I simply rub it into the wood, wait a few minutes for it soak in and then wipe off the excess. It is that easy.

wood miniature sailboat, after mixture, How to Easily Clean Wood with Just 2 Ingredients www.theboondocksblog.com

Another example with an old piece of wood that was looking pretty thirsty.

A piece of wood, before, How to Easily Clean Wood with Just 2 Ingredients www.theboondocksblog.com

After you can actually see some color on the wood piece.

A piece of wood, after applying mixture, How to Easily Clean Wood with Just 2 Ingredients www.theboondocksblog.com

This is my friend’s headboard. As you can see it was looking pretty dull. We had discussed adding stain or paint to liven it up…

headboard before, How to Easily Clean Wood with Just 2 Ingredients www.theboondocksblog.com

In the end she went with the oil and vinegar mixture. Yes, that’s all it took to revive the tired wood. See how fresh and alive it looks now.

Headboard and bed, after treatment with mixture, How to Easily Clean Wood with Just 2 Ingredients www.theboondocksblog.com

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Even an ikea wooden cutlery caddy looks better after this treatment.

wooden cutlery caddy with mixture, How to Easily Clean Wood with Just 2 Ingredients www.theboondocksblog.com

It serves two purposes, it cleans the dirt and grime off the wood…

wooden picture frame, before, How to Easily Clean Wood with Just 2 Ingredients www.theboondocksblog.com

While at the same time giving moisture to the thirsty wood! And a nice shine to boot.

Wooden picture frame, after, How to Easily Clean Wood with Just 2 Ingredients www.theboondocksblog.com

Did I mention that it environmentally friendly? No one wants to be using chemicals and strange products on their precious wood!

Oil and vinegar mixture in a jar, How to Easily Clean Wood with Just 2 Ingredients www.theboondocksblog.com

And there you have it!

A cleaner and rejuvenator, and an easy way to upcycle your wooden items all in one small jar. Using the most humble ingredients!

And speaking of upcycling this little blog has been included in the Top 100 Upcycling Blogs list compiled by Feedspot! I am truly humbled to be in such great company. Go check it out and discover some new blogs!

And that is my simple tip for how to easily clean wood with just 2 ingredients. To keep them clean and rejuvenated.

Have you ever used this “salad dressing” method or do you use other natural products to clean your wood?

A mixture of oil and vinegar as a cleaner and rejuvenator of wood, How to Easily Clean Wood with Just 2 Ingredients, www.theboondocksblog.com

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Wood Projects:

Pieces of a Table

The Showcase Table

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Wild wodd

Tuesday 25th of August 2020

That method could be applied to any wood particularly on cutting boards which is great. Awesome tips.

Michelle Leslie

Monday 24th of July 2017

My mom always uses olive oil and freshly squeezed lemon juice to polish her pieces and they look amazing. Sadly we don't have a lemon tree and I don't always have lemons, so I'll definitely be trying your recipe Mary. Nothing cuts through grime quite like vinegar ;-)

Mary

It's the perfect combination Michelle. And afterwards the furniture looks almost brand new.

Doreen@foxdenrd

The olive oil works a bit like mineral,oil, while the vinegar helps clean things up. Olive oil is pricey here in the states (I imagine in Greece it's more affordable) so I try to stick with mineral oil. Lemon works well too if vinegar isn't handy. We have a little boat like that too. ) xxx

Doreen you are absolutely right about the price of olive oil in the States. And don't get me started on Feta cheese. But I digress, mineral oil would be a great substitute for the wood, although not for a salad! ;)

Nancy Andres

I've been using olive oil for a few years now and happy with that. I love the way the wood looks in your pictures so may try your combo the next time for cleaning the wood in my house. Thanks for the great idea that I pinned.

Thank you Nancy. The vinegar really helps to cut the dirt and grime.

Marjan Hoebeke-Pfaff

Isn't it odd: a century ago it was still normal to use the things one had in the kitchen for cleaning etc. Then, all of a sudden, after the war, those "simple" and "normal" things weren't any good anymore. Thank you for sharing, dear Mary! We've lost touch with those basics, with the simple things of life. Isn't that sad?

Thursday 3rd of August 2017

Your comment is so true and goes to the heart of the matter Marjan. We have been brainwashed into thinking chemicals are better.