Homemade Furniture Polish – Easy Natural Recipe

Create this super simple and natural homemade furniture polish to clean, polish, and protect your wood furniture without harmful ingredients or fumes. It takes just a minute to create and is made with all natural ingredients. Follow my tips below to get your wood furniture looking beautiful again.

Growing up, I rarely had to clean or do chores, so the learning curve over here was pretty high. But one thing I loved doing was dusting.

Instant gratification. You wipe it on, and it makes wood sparkly.

And if you got it on the hardwood floors on “accident,” you’d have an instant skating rink, sliding all over the floor with socks.

Now as an adult, polishing the furniture used to be last on my list of chores. And since we only use natural cleaners over here (you can see more about what I use and how to use it here), if I was going to do it, I knew I had to make one myself.

One of my wood pieces was looking so ridiculously sad, worn, and old, so I figured it was time. That, and a friend who is switching over to natural cleaners asked for a natural furniture polish recipe. Here you go friend, because I love you.

You will be shocked at how easy it is to make your own furniture polish, and how well it works.

What is wrong with commercial furniture polishes?

If you do a quick search on EWG website, you’ll be shocked how many of the products are rated C-F. We talk a lot about how harmful synthetic fragrances are, but there are other ingredients in conventional cleaning products that can be harmful.

Many contain silicon compounds, which have been shown to cause possible endocrine, developmental, and reproductive issues. C12-20 isoparaffin has a high concern for cancer, and some concern for developmental, reproductive, and environmental toxicity.

I could go through all the ingredients and what possible issues they may cause (cancer, allergies, toxicity), but I won’t. If you are interested, head over to EWG, browse through the conventional products, and be appalled.

You will see many of them have terrible ratings and terrible ingredients. Skip that stuff and make this natural wood furniture polish instead.

Benefits:

Cheap: These pantry staples are usually fairly inexpensive and will only cost you some change unlike store-bought products/

Easy: Mix together the simple ingredients you probably already have in your pantry and it is ready to go.

Healthy: As someone who struggled with asthma the majority of my childhood, I realized after I was in college trying to switch to more natural products that my asthma was directly correlated with the harmful chemicals that were in the cleaning products. Once I made the switch, my breathing got a whole lot better. This recipe is much better for the air.

Natural: No weird toxic chemicals here. It is made with almost the same ingredients as salad dressing.

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Tips For Making DIY Furniture Polish

• If your wood surface is really dirty, I suggest you clean the surface first with a natural all-purpose cleaner. and then use this wood furniture polish.
• Change up the scent with your favorite essential oil. Grapefruit, pine, tangerine, lemon oil, etc. would all smell amazing.
• Use reusable cleaning cloths (typically I use dish clothes, microfiber clothes, or a cut up old t-shirt) to be even more eco-friendly.
• For darker woods, you could also use apple cider vinegar, but white vinegar will also work
• May or may not work well on unfinished wood. Test a spot before proceeding.
• Since you are not planning to cool with it, you could just use cheap olive oil to save you more money.
• Test a spot before applying to make sure this DIY wood polish recipe will react weirdly to your wood’s surface.

Ingredients used:

Olive Oil (like this one): Adds moisture and helps protect the wood. Many recipes include mineral oil, which is a petroleum-based product; therefore, I avoid it. If you are worried about the olive oil going rancid, then just make this homemade furniture polish in small batches, which is how I do it and how it is included below. Walnut oil or tung oil can be used, but are not safe for pets.

Vinegar: Helps clean and remove grime from wood surfaces. Distilled white vinegar or apple cider vinegar.

Essential oils: They smell pretty. Lemon oil (and other citrus oils) helps get rid of grease and grim. Clean doesn’t actually have a smell, but so many people are used to having that smell, and who doesn’t love for things to smell nice? Just be sure to only use pure essential oils.

How To Make Homemade Furniture Polish

The first step is to add oil to a glass jar with a tight-fitting lid or a spray bottle.

Next, add vinegar and essential oils.

That is it. Shake it up and you are ready to go.

To Use: 

Shake before each use. For light cleaning, spray onto the clean cloth and then wipe the wooden furniture in the direction of the grain. For more heavy duty cleaning, spray directly only the furniture and wipe.

If you do not have a spray bottle, no worries, you can also carefully add a small amount of the homemade wood polish onto the rag and wipe down the furniture..

Do you have to use lemon essential oils?

No, you could leave it out or use another citrus oil, or even just one you think smells pretty. I’ve also used grapefruit, which is delightful.

What types of oils can I use?

You can use olive oil, avocado oil, coconut oil (fractionated would be better since it is already liquid), or jojoba oil. You possibly could use others but I haven’t personally tried them.

How Do You Make Homemade Furniture Polish?

In a container, fill it with oil, vinegar, and essential oils. That is it. All done. So simple, right?

How do you use Homemade Furniture Polish?

Shake the homemade furniture polish well and apply to a clean soft cloth. Rub on furniture in the direction of the grain. This product will clean and polish at the same time, but if you have a super dirty wood piece of furniture, I would suggest cleaning it first with a natural cleaner, then follow it with this homemade furniture polish.

How often should you use natural wood polish?

Use it as often as you would like, especially when your furniture is starting to look dull. This will nourish the wood and add some shine.

Can I use this on wood floors?

It is not recommended to use on wood floors because it may leave the floor too slippery from the oil and vinegar in higher concentrations is not meant to be used on wood flooring as it can break down the sealer over time ruining the finish. Some say vinegar is not safe at all for wood flooring.

Find More Of MY Favorite Homemade Cleaning Products:

• 15 Tips For Cleaning Your Home Naturally
• Homemade deodorant is a go-to.
• Our favorite Homemade Hand Soap
• Why you should get a water filter – And my favorite one.
• DIY All-Purpose Spray
• Homemade Glass Cleaner

If you try this recipe and love it, I would love if you could come back, comment on the post, and give it 5 stars! Please and thank you.