Natural Cleanin’ Corner (Kim Bowen, published in Resorter Reporter, state-wide Minnesota resort magazine)
For a healthy Resort, and a healthy YOU!
Wood Furniture Fix-its
Got some water stains, spots or cup rings on your end tables? Try:
- a fresh walnut (or other nut). Break it in half and rub the freshly broken edge of nut meat on the furniture.
- OR, get some wood ashes and mix with a tablespoon of vegetable oil to make a paste. Rub it gently onto the affected area
- OR, try rubbing some white toothpaste onto the spot
I used to LOVE using Old English Scratch Remover on scuffed chair legs and wood trim, doors, etc. But whew! Stinkipoo! It was sadly expensive ($6 a bottle, what a rip!) and toxic (gave me a headache every time).
You know what works just as well?
All natural wood polish - or use vodka and have a heckuva fun afternoon washing down cabin walls . . .
Vinegar and iodine. To make up a batch, simply pour some vinegar in small bottle and dump some iodine in. Presto, instant scratch remover! Apply with a cloth and rub into the wood. Use lots and lots of iodine in a batch for dark woods, and less for lighter woods. (You could also use vodka or whiskey instead of vinegar. This may be too much of a temptation to gain a headache in an entirely different manner, but you could have a heckuva fun afternoon polishing furniture.)
(Note: Crayola crayons that match your wood color also make wonderful boo-boo fixers. Color your scratches away! OR, even better: instead of yellin’ at the kids and grandkids for coloring your walls, you can sic ‘em on your cabin furniture with the appropriate crayons. They’ll prob’ly even work for cookies. Train ‘em early, right? They get to do the work while you go fishin’. Ahhhhhhh, life is good, life is great.)
(Original recipes came from the book: “Clean & Green” by Annie Berthold-Bond which I highly recommend. If you have a natural cleaning technique, product or solution to a common resort issue, zip me an e-mail so that we can write it up and add it to our Natural Cleanin’ Corner column.)
Originally Published July 2006
