For additional protection, there are many products on the market, and some are hazardous to your furniture's health. Cleaners such as Pledge and Murphy's Oil Soap are not recommended because they leave a dull residue on the finish. Never use products containing ammonia on water base finishes.
Store Bought Cleaners:
These may look like great options when you're shopping around, but some of these will do more harm than good. One of the biggest culprits is Murphy's Oil Soap. Even though it says it is safe of wood, it actually leaves an oily film on the top of the hardwood.
You should absolutely NOT use Murphy's Oil Soap to clean your wood floors!
Murphy® Oil Soap is one natural cleaner that's effective on hardwood floors and more when used as instructed. It's always important to know what's in your product and how to use it the right way.
For heavy cleaning, dilute 1/2 cup Murphy per gallon. Clean well with wrung-out mop, and mop any excess water. No visible residue, no rinsing required.
Water (with a pH of 7) and dish soap (with a pH between 7 and 8) are always good options. The best cleaner, the one that is less likely to do damage to the wood is good old-fashioned elbow grease. Applied with a damp cloth, elbow grease should be effective at removing dirt and dust and even oil and grease build-up.
I've been using Murphys Oil Soap for about 4 years now and LOVE IT! THE SMELL IS FABULOUS! It leaves a shine that is picturesque! and since using Murphys Soaps, I have used nothing else on my hardwood floors.
1. Murphy Original Formula Oil Soap. This classic wood cleaner takes care of your wooden furniture, floors, cabinets, tile, and linoleum. In fact, we've also included it on our list of best wood floor cleaners.
Oil Stains
When cooking oil affects wooden floors and surfaces in the kitchen, mineral spirits can help to lift the oil stain from both treated and unprotected wood. Apply it using a clean cloth and rub it into the wood surface, though not so much that you oversaturate the wood. The stain should rub away.
The company continued to be run by the Murphy family for 80 years, when they sold it to Colgate. It is available in a concentrated liquid form which is then mixed with water, as well as pre-diluted form which comes in a trigger spray bottle.
Waste from residues : The product should not be allowed to enter drains, water courses or the soil.
Ok, I came up with my own solution, so if anyone ever needs it: 2 cups white vinegar in a gallon of water, mop vigorously and let dry, repeat as needed. I had to do the whole place twice over and two areas a third time.
For additional protection, there are many products on the market, and some are hazardous to your furniture's health. Cleaners such as Pledge and Murphy's Oil Soap are not recommended because they leave a dull residue on the finish. Never use products containing ammonia on water base finishes.
Start with a mixture of a safe, Natural Product Like Murphy® Oil Soap and hot water. Use a soft cloth and work your way over the surfaces of your shelves, chairs and desks, and notice if the wood is becoming cleaner. Even though oak is fairly strong, don't let it get too wet during this cleaning process.
A sticky surface typically comes from an accumulation of dirt, cooking grease and grime. Another possibility is from the buildup of furniture polish, especially waxes or oils. Fortunately, it's usually enough to give it a good clean without having to strip and refinish the surface of your table.
As a first step to removing layers of grime from old wood furniture, use an oil soap (Murphy Oil Soap Wood Cleaner, $4, Target) and water. Rinse and dry well. If the finish still seems dirty, clean lightly with #0000 steel wool dipped in a cleaning product.
First off, Murphy's Oil soap is oil. It leaves OIL on the finish (water evaporates....the soap and oil residue does NOT). This oil can and WILL penetrate THROUGH the poly and onto/into the wood. The worst that can happen: your floors will never take more finish again....
Murphy Oil Soap is specially designed to clean both finished wood and non-wood surfaces so they maintain their beautiful shine at all times. The Murphy Oil Soap aims to bring out wood's beauty in a gentle and natural* way. 98% Natural* Wood Cleaner.
These versatile cleaners are made from natural vegetable oils, and are safe to use on any kind of wood—including flooring, chairs and cabinets. Dilute a gallon of warm water with this soap, and use a soft rag dipped in the solution to wipe down your cabinets.
Simple solutions of dish soap and water can do wonders for cleaning away grease, splatters, and food messes. Dawn® Platinum makes cleaning kitchen cabinets So Dawn Easy! The unique formula quickly breaks down grease particles while staying gentle enough to not cause any damage.
PREPARE YOUR CABINETS
You'll want to get two buckets that are large enough to swish a rag around in the water to shake it of excess dirt, and you'll also want a good natural wood cleaner. Murphy® Oil Soap gets deep into grime to break up dirt particles and it's safe to use on wood products like cabinets.
Vinegar is the go-to natural cleaner when faced greasy cabinets. Mix a 50/50 solution of vinegar and warm water and pour it into a spray bottle. Mist on cabinets, let sit for a minute or two and then wipe clean with a soft cloth.