Birch plywood typically gets dirty and discolored over time. If you have furniture made out of birch plywood, you may want to clean and polish it to look as good as new. When you clean birchwood, you most likely want to restore it to its original finish.
For a simple cleaning job, a slightly damp cloth can do the job. For grime and dirt accumulation, use a cleaning agent and a dusting rug. For tough stains and mold, use a mix of vinegar, bleach, and carbonated water.
Even though cleaning birch plywood isn’t too elaborate or difficult, it can be a time-consuming chore. Below are several ways you can clean your birch plywood furniture.
Fast and Simple
If you’re doing your regular daily or weekly cleaning, you probably don’t have too much dirt or stains to grapple with. A good rule of thumb is to first use the mildest cleaning agents before trying out the big guns. If you can get the birch plywood clean with just a damp cloth, no need to whip out the strong detergents and polishes.
Birch plywood can be expensive, so protect it from damage even when cleaning. For instance, each time you need to use a product to clean or polish the surface, test it on a small hidden area before using it on the visible surfaces. When your birch plywood isn’t too dirty and needs a once-over cleaning, here’s all you’ll need:
What You’ll Need
- Microfiber cloths
- Clear dish soap
- Cheesecloth
- Semi-solid furniture polish
- Mineral spirit
How To Clean
- Spray some water onto the microfiber cloth to make it a little damp.
- Using the damp microfiber cloth, wipe down the birch plywood surfaces to remove grime and dirt.
- With a dry microfiber, wipe the surfaces dry.
- Once you’ve removed the top dirt, it’s time to attack sticky grime and stains. Add some clear dish soap to a fresh microfiber cloth.
- Using the microfiber cloth, wipe a small hidden patch of the birch plywood to ensure the solution isn’t strong enough to remove the finish.
- If the clear soap works fine, work on the rest of the surfaces. Avoid making the birch plywood too wet.
- Immediately after cleaning with dish soap, wipe dry with a fresh dry microfiber cloth.
- In case you spot a stubborn stain somewhere, use the mineral spirit. Once more, test a hidden surface of the birch plywood first before wiping the visible surfaces.
- If the mineral spirit works fine on the hidden [patch without removing the polish, use the microfiber cloth dipped in mineral spirit to clean out the stained or sticky area.
- When working with mineral spirit, make sure you’re working in a well-ventilated area.
- If all this cleaning has left your birch plywood looking a little dull, you may need to apply some wax. The wax will extend the birch plywood life, protect it from dirt and stains, and keep it looking new and shiny. Using the cheesecloth, apply some wax to a hidden patch of birch plywood surface.
- Wait for five minutes, then inspect the patch. If the wax worked well, apply it to the rest of the wood.
- Once you’ve applied the wax let it rest for ten minutes, then buff the surface with a clean dry microfiber cloth.
Spring Clean
For the purposes of this article, spring cleaning means any thorough cleaning you need to do. Whether it’s your scheduled monthly cleaning or cleaning up after a party, this goes beyond the regular daily or weekly chores.
A spring clean can be after a long time without thorough cleaning or when there has been a significant happening that caused lots of dirt or tough stains to muddy your birch plywood furniture.
However, keep in mind that birch plywood is relatively expensive and sensitive. You will need to be careful and gentle to preserve and treat it with care.
What You’ll Need
- Dusting rug
- degreasing cleaner
- spray can
- Scrub brush
- Sandpaper
- Vacuum cleaner
- microfiber cloths
- Linseed oil
- Paint brush
How To Clean
- Using the dusting rug, clean up all the loose dirt, dust, and any other residue on the birch plywood surfaces.
- Fill your spray can with a degreasing cleaner and spray it onto your birch plywood furniture.
- A minute or two after spraying the degreasing cleaner, use the scrub brush to clean off any grime, oil, and dirt.
- If there are sticky clumps of dirt, food particles, or lumpy wood, use the sandpaper to level off the surface.
- Use the vacuum cleaner to remove all residue around your cleaning area. You don’t want the dirt you’ve removed to find its way back onto your beloved furniture.
- Using a reasonably damp microfiber cloth, rinse out all surfaces of your birch plywood furniture to remove any remaining dirt, oil, or chemicals.
- Immediately after, use a dry microfiber cloth to remove all dampness. Then let the furniture air dry for about ten minutes.
- As you wait, boil some linseed oil then let it rest and cool down.
- Using a paintbrush, apply the linseed oil to the birch plywood surfaces. The linseed oil polishes the wood and protects it from dirt, stains, and moisture.
- You can repeat the spring clean after three or four months in an active household or six months in a fairly clean inactive home.
Mold Remediation
Sometimes a regular cleaning or spring cleaning doesn’t quite do the job. For example, if your birch plywood is getting mold on it, you may have to take extra steps when cleaning and restoring your furniture. The mold remediation cleaning process is suitable for reversing the effects of mold and sterilizing commonly used surfaces against contaminants. This should be part of your regular routine to reduce chances of contracting infections such as the COVID-19 coronavirus and its variants.
Before you start cleaning your moldy furniture, it’s best if you find out the cause of the mold first. A damp room can be a cause for infections to the pets and human residents in your home.
What You’ll Need
- Wooden surface cleaner
- Cleaning vinegar (or white vinegar at five to six percent acidity)
- Degreaser
- carbonated water
- Bleach, especially oxygen bleach
- Wood dust mask
- Cleaning gloves
- microfiber cloths
- Dusting rug
- Wax
How To Clean
- Start by wearing your wood dust mask and cleaning gloves. Some of the chemicals used in mold remediation can have pungent smells, which may affect your respiration or make you feel dizzy. Touching mold may cause allergic effects on some people, and it’s just gross.
- Once you’ve taken care of your personal safety, start by using a dry dusting rug to remove loose dirt, debris, and dry residue from your birch plywood surfaces.
- Use a spray that can spray the degreaser all over your furniture.
- Give the degreaser a few minutes to break down the oils and greases on surfaces and in the joints and corners.
- Using a microfiber cloth, wipe off all the degreaser, removing all the dirt, grime, and mold.
- When the surfaces look clear, take some microfiber cloth and dampen it with carbonated water. Wipe off all surfaces, especially the areas which had the most mold.
- Wait a few minutes, then repeat with a microfiber dampened with some vinegar. White vinegar is a very sharp microbe killer, and it’s safe for home use.
- Though not necessary at this point, you can repeat the process with bleach. Oxygen bleach is especially useful as its recommended for home use, has tough disinfectant qualities, and is used as a mild fragrance. Laundry bleach can smell too harsh for most people and can damage the finishing of your birch plywood furniture.
- Give the bleach about 30 minutes to clear off, then clean the whole furniture with the furniture cleaning agent. This removes any resilient dirt while giving your furniture a slightly glossy finish.
- Once the furniture cleaner dries up, buff and wax your furniture for that clean finish. The wax will protect your four nontiered from humidity and mold.
Deep Clean
Birch plywood is expensive and often the material of choice for high-end furniture and professional design projects. It’s strong, has a clean appearance, and has fewer defects compared to other plywood. Thus, you will find most observers of birch plywood furniture and products like to take extra care of them.
A deep clean is necessary at least once a year. For areas with high human traffic, the deep clean should be done more regularly, like once a month. With a deep clean, you may want to restore, bleach, and polish your furniture to return them to their original appearance and condition. A deep clean may include sanding and staining plus the use of a finish restorer.
What You Need
- Microfiber cloths
- Finish restorer
- Furniture cleaner (preferably a biodegradable cleaner)
- Degreaser
- Spray bottles
- Dusting rag
- Plastic covers
- Linseed oil
- Chemical stripper
- Sandpaper
- Bleach (Oxalic acid, chlorine bleach, and peroxide bleach)
- Sodium hypochlorite
- White vinegar
- Baking soda
- Distilled water
- Scrub brush
- Paint brush
- Sodium peroxide
- hydrogen peroxide
How to Clean
- Use the dust rags to remove loose dirt and grime.
- Fill a spray bottle with a degreaser and spray all over the furniture, then let it rest for a few minutes to break down and absorb the oils and greases.
- Use a scrub brush to brush away dirt and grime.
- Dampen a clean dusting rug with the cleaner and clean the whole furniture.
- Fill a spray bottle with distilled water and spray, then wipe with a clean rug. Repeat the process until all of the cleaner is removed.
- Cover the floor, other furniture, and countertops with the plastic covers to avoid stains in case of spillage.
- If your birch plywood furniture has become a darker color since it was bought, then at this point you need to decide whether you want to lighten the color of your surfaces. If you do, then the following steps are for bleaching and lightening your birch plywood furniture. If you don’t want to bleach, jump to the last two instruction steps (Steps 18 & 19).
How To lighten Your Birch Plywood
- Strip off the current finish using a chemical stripper.
- Use sandpaper to remove any residue.
- Use the appropriate bleach depending on your circumstances. For example, if your birch plywood has iron and water stains, use oxalic acid. For tea, coffee, wine, fruit juice, and dye stains, use chlorine bleach.
- Use peroxide bleach to lighten the birch plywood to your preference.
- Mix oxalic acid with water, then use a paintbrush to spread the saturated oxalic acid all over the furniture. Let it rest till it dries. You may need to apply more than once.
- Use sodium hypochlorite mixed with water to remove unwanted stains and dyes. You may need more than one application.
- Bleach using a mixture of sodium peroxide and hydrogen peroxide and let it dry. One application is often all you need.
- Wash your furniture with a mixture of one part white vinegar to two parts water to neutralize the birch plywood.
- Use a solution of 2 tablespoons of baking soda to one quart of water to neutralize the oxalic acid.
- Wash the furniture with distilled water.
- Using microfiber cloths, dab the finish restorer in circular motions all around the wooden surfaces.
- Apply linseed oil to give your furniture a glossy finish.
General Cleaning Tips
- When cleaning, always be gentle. Don’t scrub roughly as this can damage the top layer of your birch plywood furniture.
- Always use a clean, fresh cloth for each substance whenever you use any detergents, polishes, or other chemicals.
- Don’t use too much liquid or keep the liquid too long on the wood when you use any liquids. Liquids tend to cause the top veneer of the birch plywood to form bubbles and bumps, leading to warping.
- Whenever you notice a stain or spillage on your birch plywood, clean up and remove the stains as fast as possible. The stain might become permanent or much tougher to remove later.
- The first time you use any cleaning or chemical products, test it on a small hidden section before using it on the larger visible parts.
- Avoid placing your birch plywood furniture in highly humid rooms or direct sunlight. Humidity will damage the wood and cause mold, and the sunlight damages the wood and will dull the appearance of the surface.
- Whenever you clean birch plywood, clean in the direction of the veneer pattern.