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Give Your Wooden Furniture The Extra Love It Needs This Winter!
As much as we all love the magical feeling of snow, winters as a season can have a very unfavourable effect on our homes – especially our doors. Whether they are inside or outside our homes, doors need to be shown a little bit extra care during winters.
Wooden doors exhibit a range of symptoms, which, if not tended to immediately, will steadily deteriorate, and gradually obstructing a door’s ability to function.
Why do doors change in winter?
Before we pick up our gears and take action, it is important to identify the causes of this deterioration. When the weather begins to cool, doors mainly deteriorate in two main respects. Each comes about because of wood expansion and contraction in response to changes in temperature and moisture.
Sticking: Wooden fibres which make up a door, start to contract when the weather gets chilly. When the weather starts to get warmer again, the same wooden fibres start to expand. Over a period of time, this cycle of expansion and contraction causes a door to become just slightly the wrong size and shape for its frame. It is only a matter of time before the door begins to catch on its frame, as the space around a door is just a few millimetres wide, thus causing warping. In most cases, a warped door will begin to catch on the floor first – you can thank gravity for that one. Over time, warping may also cause the door hinges to come loose, and in some cases even fall off.
Cracking: Cracking occurs because of a drop in humidity on the inside of our homes – which is not as a direct result of the cold weather, but as a result of the heating systems, we use to counteract it. While cracking isn’t as serious a problem as sticking, it does however effect the aesthetic appeal of our home.
This is not just true for wooden doors, but also for wooden floors! Just as winter dries out your skin, it dries out your wooden floorboards as well. Dried out wood can create gaps between your floorboards.
Tips to maintain your wooden furniture in winters:
(These tips are inclusive of but not limited to just doors.)
1. Cleaning: It is not just about cleaning your wooden door. Especially a door that is outside. You need to clean the area around the door as well, otherwise debris, foliage and muck will make their way to your door. Be sure to gently clean your doors and furniture with a cloth, and not accidentally wipe away the lubricant!
2. Lubricate your Door: Make sure that you refresh the lubrication on the moving parts of your door – whether it is inside or outside. You can use a cloth to remove an build-up from the moving parts of your door. Also remember to lubricate your door after you are done.
If you are looking to refresh your wooden furniture then wood staining is a popular practice for improving the look of your wood projects, but it also has many practical advantages.
You can have a look at our Wood Stains here - https://wittswood.co.uk/quality-hardwood-products/coatings-and-stains
3. Test the balance: It can be difficult enough to open any door in winters, especially a garage door or a barn door or the front door of your house, battling the wind and rain while wearing gloves. The last thing you need is an exterior door which is stiff or unbalanced. Check that the door is easy and smooth to lift, without too much strain on either side. If the balance of weight feels off, it could be that your springs or cables are damaged and require some attention.
Wittswood are experts at making bespoke Garage Doors – be sure to check us out.
4. Heat Protection: This is a general tip for all furniture especially indoor wooden furniture. If your wooden furniture is exposed to heat such as from a fireplace or furnace for a long time, it can cause the wood to dry and twist. Make sure that you keep your wooden furniture angled away from sources of heat. Heating systems also attract a lot of dust inside the house. The easiest way to avoid any long-term damage is to keep them clean.
5. DIY Tip: Use lemon oil to polish your furniture. Lemon oil helps to add moisture to wood and keep your furniture looking new and fresh. Lemon oil also protects furniture from heat damage.
6. Avoid hot stains: It is natural to want to curl around with a cup of tea or coffee during winters. It is also only natural to put them down on your wooden table. But alas, it is recommended that you use a coaster or a tray to avoid heat damage to your furniture.
7. Protect your wooden floors: If you don’t want to keep up with a ton of work for hardwood floors in winters, then make sure you keep up with their upkeep during summers. Clean off spills and stains as soon as possible, dust your floors daily, polish them often and avoid using household cleaners that can discolour the wood!
Wooden furniture usually requires a hefty investment. When taken care of properly, it can last for generations. Therefore, instead of avoiding little issues with your furniture, try and take care of little problems as soon as you can.
If you are looking for your next wooden flooring look no further. Visit our website today – Hardwood Floors.
At Wittswood, all our wooden garage doors are made from solid European Oak in prime or character grade, oiled or unfinished.
All our wooden garage doors are custom made in our factory to any size you may require.
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