Clean up spills immediately. Use a blotting action rather than a wiping action.
Use a soft, lint-free, absorbent cloth for cleaning and polishing. The Guardsman Polishing Cloth is ideal for this purpose.
Avoid placing furniture in direct sunlight, as sunlight causes fading.
Avoid extremes in room humidity. Too high or too low humidity can cause wood to warp or the glue lines to fail.
Avoid extreme changes in temperature. Arrange furniture away from radiators, registers and air-conditioning units.
Rotate accessories on furniture so they do not sit in the same spot all of the time.
Avoid placing plastic or rubber objects on a wood finish, as their ingredients react with those of the finish.
Use pads, cloth or felt to protect the furniture surface from plastic, rubber, hot dishes, beverages, bookends, flower pots and vases
Use a protective pad when writing with a ballpoint pen.
Lift and place objects, do not drag them across the furniture surface.
Make minor repairs while they are still small.
Use the proper materials or professional help to repair badly damaged surfaces.
Avoid silicone polishes. Silicone oil is an ingredient used by many furniture polish makers to create a high degree of shine. Silicone seeps into even the most lacquered finishes, making it difficult to remove. Should it become necessary to refinish a piece of furniture, silicone makes it a very difficult process—even for a professional refinisher. Most furniture manufacturers recommend using polishes that do not contain silicone
Avoid wax polishes. Regular use of wax polishes may result in the build-up of wax film on the surface of the furniture. This build-up may then pick up dirt, smoke and other pollutants in the air, which may result in smudges and streaks. Used long enough, this may cause the finish to soften, requiring expensive refinishing work. Wax build-up over time hardens, making it difficult to remove from the furniture's finish.
