I won’t name names, but I recently came across some articles on a popular home and garden website that left me shaking my head. Clearly, they’re just trolling for clicks or trying way too hard to be trendy. One article recommended rubbing olive oil on outdoor furniture to condition the wood, while another suggested blending coconut oil with beeswax to “repel dust” on indoor furniture. As a custom furniture maker, I was appalled.
Should You Rub Olive Oil on Your Furniture?
Absolutely not! You should never use olive oil on wood products, as they can go rancid over time. Typically, depending on the type of olive oil, it can go bad within 12-18 months. This can leave your furniture smelling funky and feeling scuzzy. Dust is going to be attracted to the rancid, sticky, oily surface and is going to stick to it, making it harder to clean. Olive oil never really fully dries, so it can create a sticky mess that just attracts dust.
Will Coconut Oil and Beeswax Repel Dust?
Coconut oil and beeswax won’t repel dust—they’ll do the opposite. Like most oils, coconut oil doesn’t fully dry (or takes forever to dry), meaning it can still go rancid. And since it stays oily, dust will stick to it, leaving your furniture feeling grimy. Don’t believe me? Think about an old machine with an oil leak or the greasy, oily spots under your car’s hood. Oily surfaces attract dust, and the dust sticks to the oil, creating a mess—and the same thing will happen with coconut or olive oil on your furniture.
The first step in caring for your furniture
Whether it is indoor or outdoor furniture, you need to determine what finish you have. If it is a polyurethane finish, I would recommend only recoating your furniture with another polyurethane, only if it is starting to show signs of wear. For lightly worn furniture, you can lightly sand and recoat with a wipe-on polyurethane. If your furniture is heavily worn. I would recommend refinishing the entire piece.
Polyurethane is a film finish, so it seals the surface of the wood, protecting it from other liquids, preventing them from soaking into the wood. So if you were to wipe on olive oil or coconut oil over a polyurethane finish, those oils sit on top of the urethane, and never soak in or dry. They just create an oily residue on your furniture, attracting and trapping dust.
If your furniture is finished with a hand-rubbed penetrating oil finish, I would only use an oil finish designed for furniture, such as 100% tung oil. If you were to wipe on oils such as olive oil that never dries, you risk creating a rancid mess.
How to properly care for your furniture
All you need is to dust it with a feather duster or a damp rag. There is no miracle cure for repelling dust.
General Maintenance for Furniture Finished with a Penetrating Oil Finish.
For General maintenance of a Penetrating oil finish, I would forgo any cleaner, as it will remove the oils from the wood. Just stick with a feather duster and a damp rag.
If your furniture that is finished with a hand-rubbed penetrating oil is looking a bit drab, a fresh coat of oil can revive your furniture, giving it a second life. It soaks into the wood, conditioning it and preventing the surface from looking dry and drab. However, it is important to use the right oil. As mentioned above, olive oil and coconut oil can go rancid and not fully dry. So instead you want to use a drying oil such a 100% tung oil, not only is it great for furniture, but it is also a food-safe finish for cutting boards. This tung oil will penetrate into the pores of the wood, helping protect it from other liquids, and will dry so it will not attract and trap dust on the surface. This type of finish is not as strong as polyurethane, but it is easier to repair if it gets scratched, and gives you that close to wood feeling.
General Maintenance for Furniture Finished with Polyurethane.
All you need is to dust it with a feather duster or a damp rag. If you have a stubborn spot that needs a little extra, or feel you need some additional cleaning power, I would recommend a mild cleaner such as Bona Hardwood Floor Cleaner. I realize it says hardwood floor, but there is not much difference between the polyurethane on your furniture and the polyurethane on your floor, so this cleaner will work great for both surfaces.
Pro Tips on Caring for Wood Products
- It is a common practice in the kitchen to wipe wooden spoons and cutting boards down with olive oil, but you risk the possibility of that oil going rancid. There are better options. Check out my article on “How To Care For Your Wooden Kitchen Utensils” for a full guide on how to care for these items.
- Cleaning and dusting your furniture should not be a daunting task. In this article, I talk about “How to Care for Your Furniture.”
I’m the owner of Benham Design Concepts, a mixed media art studio where I design and build custom furniture and other works of art using wood, glass, stone, and various metals.
In this blog, I talk about the art I create, my journey, and the things I learn along the way.