Cleaning “hacks” on websites like Pinterest and YouTube video tutorials have been an absolute godsend for individuals that love to take advantage of their creativity – and a little bit of elbow grease – to transform ordinary household objects into extraordinary creations. Do-it-yourself tasks aren’t all perfect, however. DIY furniture polish recipes are popular online, but they shouldn’t be used on your furniture if you want to keep it safe.

Organic everything is all the rage, people trust chemical formulations from big companies less and less, and almost all of the DIY furniture polish solutions out there are going to be far less expensive than store-bought products. Win-win, right?

The only problem is that unlike most other DIY projects you’re actually going to be running the risk of completely damaging or destroying your furniture if you decide to go it alone rather than move forward with professional options.

The Downsides of DIY Cleaning Products

While it may sound like a fantastic idea to rub a concoction of olive oil and a handful of other ingredients into your furniture to really bring out its natural luster and breathe new life and shine into a piece of furniture that may have looked pretty dirty and dingy otherwise, the truth of the matter is that when you combine these components together you run the risk of creating a solution that is going to penetrate deeply into the layers of the wood or your furniture. This is not the kind of risk you should ever be willing to take, especially if you were hoping to apply DIY furniture cleaning solutions to antique or expensive pieces of furniture.

Olive oil in particular has a nasty habit of turning rancid and ruining your furniture, yet it is commonly recommended in DIY furniture polishing recipes.

Because furniture is most commonly made out of wood (a 100% natural and organic material) you are dealing with pieces that are filled from top to bottom with cellular structures that are always going to be looking to pull moisture and liquid into their cells long after the original tree has died.

When you apply olive oil to your furniture all of those cells are going to soak it up, but when the olive oil turns rancid – as it will over time – it will discolour, stain, and transform the overall look of your furniture in a completely unpredictable and an even or consistent way.

Keep Your Furniture Safe – Choose Professional Furniture Cleaning

This just might be the fastest way to ruin all of your favorite furniture pieces. If you want to polish up or to breathe new life into your pieces, choose commercially available solutions or have professionals handle this kind of project for you. You will be much better off!

In trying to save a few dollars here and there, you may end up racking up hundreds in repair bills, or ruining your furniture beyond all repair. It’s not worth the risk. Trust professional equipment, products, and techniques to get the job done right.