How to Prevent Dust Build Up on Reproduction Furniture

When you buy a piece of vintage reproduction furniture, you want to keep it as beautiful as it was the day you brought it home. Dust build-up is a common problem in every house. While establishing a regular (even daily) cleaning routine is one of the most effective ways to fight dust, there are also measures you can take to prevent dust from reaching your furniture in the first place.

As a disclaimer, any of our suggestions that involve putting certain chemicals directly on the surface of your furniture should be tested before applying those chemicals to the entire piece. Choose a small area that isn't generally visible and test the chemical there to see how your wood or upholstery will react. If you're still unsure or have no desire to concoct your experiments, you should reach out to your reproduction manufacturer to ask for specific cleaning guidelines to prevent damages.

How to Dust Your Antique Reproductions

When trying to pick the right dusting tool, avoid feather dusters. Instead, use a clean cloth--damp, if possible--made out of an absorbent material that will lock dust particles in and keep them from spreading all over the room. One of the best kinds of cloths you can use for dusting is a microfiber cloth. If you'd rather not use a damp microfiber cloth, adding just a few drops of water will have a similar dust-trapping effect.

Dust your furniture from top to bottom, not bottom to top. That way, if the dust you wipe falls onto a lower part of the furniture, you can just wipe it away later. If it falls on the floor, even better--you can vacuum it. In fact, as a general rule of thumb, when you dust any room in your house, always work from ceiling to floor. After all, it'd be silly to vacuum your floor and then dust your lights; when more dust inevitably falls onto the floor, what was the point of vacuuming in the first place?

A special trick to give the appearance of a dust-free environment is to go over your wooden furniture with a dryer sheet after wiping it down with the cloth we mentioned earlier. The dryer sheet will make your furniture look cleaner, but it will also prevent any dust particles from sticking to the wood surfaces.

If your antique reproductions have any kind of upholstery, the prevention of dust build-up can get a little tricky. Typically, upholstery fabric is made out of fibers that easily trap dust particles. If your upholstery has a tag that includes specific cleaning instructions, or if your antique reproduction furniture supplier has included information on how to care for the upholstery fabrics you purchased from them, refer to those first before reading further. Otherwise, start by brushing off the fabric with a stiff brush, and then use some baking soda to get rid of embedded dirt and dust. Baking soda is famous for removing stains, but using a smaller amount is very effective at combating dust.

Want to know the specifics of how to use baking soda to remove dust from fabrics? All you need is baking soda, a vacuum, and a brush attachment for the vacuum. Sprinkle your upholstery fabric with baking soda and let it sit for no more than 30 minutes. Once your time is up, use the brush vacuum attachment and vacuum up the baking soda. You should be able to see a noticeable difference!

How to Prevent Dust Build Up

After you've dusted your furniture and managed to get all the dust onto the floor, refrain from sweeping: use a vacuum instead. While it's impossible to remove dust from any environment completely, vacuums will suck up most of the dust particles while brooms will just spread them around.

One practical way to keep dust off of your nice wood furniture is to try and keep your pets from lounging on it. Cats are notorious for making themselves comfortable anywhere and everywhere, but animal dander is one of the biggest causes of dust in a house. Another note for pet owners is to brush your pets regularly, in a designated environment, so you can get rid of loose hair/fur in a controlled manner instead of letting it build up on your hardwood floors, carpets, and furniture pieces.

Refrain from using oils on your wood furniture. It may make your pieces look nice and shiny at first, but oiled surfaces collect dust even faster than regular wood. Additionally, many people use reproduction furniture to hold electronics like video game consoles and televisions. Keeping your electronics dust-free will ultimately help keep your furniture dust-free.

Keep your air filters clean so that dust particles aren't released into the air when you need to blast the heat or air conditioning. It's also a good idea to clean your vents once a year for the same reason!

Did you know that up to 80% of the dust in your home comes from the bottom of your shoes? Keep doormats on both sides of the door to keep your floors clean and minimize dust from the outside world. To see the most effective results, choose doormats that are rubber-backed and tight-weaved. If you're feeling extra spiffy, think about initiating a "no shoes allowed" policy inside your house.

If one of your antique reproduction pieces includes a bed frame, you'll want to wash your sheets and pillowcases once a week. When you sleep, you lose skin cells and hair that turn into the dust at the bottom of the frame. To prevent as much dust build-up as possible, wash your sheets regularly so that there's less build-up on the blankets and other fabrics.

Lastly, we know that choosing the perfect outfit for a special occasion can feel like a big deal, but try to resist the urge to throw your clothes around a room. After all, loose fibers from fabrics also contribute to the high levels of dust in your house.

We hope all these dust-related facts will help you proactively prevent dust build-up on your nice, carefully chosen, antique reproductions. If you'd like more details about caring for your Laurel Crown furniture, we'll be happy to answer any questions you have.