Care of Hardwood Furniture

With Just a little care your genuine hardwood furniture will last a lifetime - several lifetimes, in fact. Taking good care of your solid wood furniture ensures it longevity. It's easy, and largely a matter of common sense.

Heat, Humidity, and Hardwoods

Did you know that up to half the weight of freshly sawn wood is water? Furniture is crafted from wood that is carefully dried, retaining just enough moisture for the furniture to properly acclimate to the relative humidity in your home. The wood in furniture continues to exchange moisture with the air, shrinking and expanding in response to changes in relative humidity.

Like your skin, solid hardwood furniture's natural response to extremely dry air is to lose moisture and shrink a bit. The halves of an extension table may part slightly or a few tiny openings may appear on a solid wood surface. This will correct itself as the relative humidity in the home rises, and the wood absorbs enough moisture to expand slightly.

On the other hand if you don't have an air conditioner or dehumidifier, your home's relative humidity may get too high. Parts of your wood furniture may absorb excess moisture from the air and expand, perhaps causing drawers or doors to stick. Once again this will correct itself as your home's relative humidity decreases. The furniture's quality and sturdiness are not affected by these natural changes.

Here are some ways to ensure your solid hardwood furniture's longevity:

A: For your comfort, as well as to protect your furniture, use a humidifier and heater in the winter and an air conditioner in the summer to keep the relative humidity at 25 - 35 percent.

B: Avoid placing furniture directly in front of radiators, heat runs, or fireplaces.

C: Don't expose hardwood furniture to continuous direct sunlight.

At Regal Poker Tables we want to make sure your table lasts you for a lifetime. We take great pride in our work and believe that a well cared for table will outlast a table that is neglected. If you should spill a liquid on the table and this liquid gets in the area between the center felt and the wood racetrack we recommend that you remove the center board by removing the 8 - 10 furniture bolts that hold the center in place. Accident such as this are one reason we build our table modular. This allows you the owner to do simple cleaning and replacement of parts without having to return the table to us. In order to clean the wooden parts of your table we recommend using a furniture polish such as Pledge. Do not scrub the wooden surfaces but rather lightly wipe them to remove any debris. We recommend using armor all on the vinyl rail to keep it looking new and also to prolong the life of the vinyl. If you have chosen the leather rail option then please clean your rail with a leather cleaner and conditioner to keep it looking beautiful for years to come.

Custom Dye Center cloths can be cleaned by usual upholstery methods. we recommend wiping the cloth with a damp rag with water only to remove most dirt. You can use a light soap and water mix to remove tougher stains. We have tested these cloths with many different chemicals to allow us to give advise on what to use for cleaning. There is nothing that is commonly used around a poker table that can really damage these custom dyed cloths. The colors of your cloth don't change after cleaning. Fire or cigerette burns are probably the largest reason to need to replace a cloth.