Photo by Gaetan Lee
My apartment is filthy. Thus, I thought it would be useful to find a natural, easy-to-make furniture polish recipe. My main goal was to save money, but I discovered that there are some other great reasons to ditch the aerosol dusting spray and head the DIY route.
While searching, I came across a great website called Care2 that promotes living a healthy, green lifestyle. An article entitled “Alternative Furniture Polish” was posted back in 1999. Sure, 10 years is a lot of time in internet world, but the article seems like an oldie but a goodie!
According to article author Annie B. Bond, normal furniture polish spray can be “neurotoxic”, meaning the residue that it leaves on furniture causes a low level of air pollution that can leave people feeling cranky and depressed. Solving this neurotoxin problem is a nice side effect of using an all-natural furniture polish!
The Recipe
Mrs. Bond (the name’s Bond, Annie Bond) recommends a solution of 1/4 cup vinegar plus a few drops of oil as a wood cleaner and polish, as opposed to the traditional solution of 1/4 cup oil plus a small amount of vinegar. This new formula leaves furniture less oily, plus it eliminates the chance of the oil becoming rancid in hot weather. I was happy to read that lemon juice can be substituted for the vinegar. In case it’s not obvious, we have a soft spot for lemons here at Insourcer.
Before using the DIY polish on expensive furniture, be sure to try a small dab of it on a (preferably) out-of-sight part of the furniture.
Repurpose a Shirt
To be extra green (and resourceful!), she also recommends repurposing an old shirt to use as a dusting cloth (flannel works very well). Most of use have a cotton shirt that we either don’t use or is starting to get rather “holy.”
OUTSOURCERS: Buy expensive, neurotoxic furniture polish with petroleum distillates and solvents. Feel sad and ornery.INSOURCERS: Throw together some natural household ingredients into a simple yet effective dusting solution.
Alternative Furniture Polish [Care2]
One Comment
When I first read about home made furniture polish, I was pretty worried about things smelling like vinegar around my place… so I was relieved to see that lemons can be used to to help change the smell a little bit.
If you don’t prefer to use lemons and don’t want to smell, be sure to shake the mixture before you use it to polish or spray it.
You can also use a different types of herbs or seasonal smells like clove, and cinnamon to help liven up your home for the holidays!
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[...] as vinegar, oil, fruit juices, soy sauce, and (mostly) common spices. (Almost sounds like our homemade furniture polish recipe with some extra zing…) Mix and match one of his marinade recipes with beef, chicken, lamb, [...]