How to Care For Antique Hardware
If one of the things you love about your home is that it has a number of antiques that have been handed down throughout the generations, you probably also understand the importance of taking good care of these items so they last for many more generations to come. This isn’t always easy.
One of the easiest way is to keep those antique items in your home looking good is by not touching them more than you have to. This will work for things like Lamps and even some furniture items that you don’t have to put your hands on all the time, but not nearly as much for items like antique hardware.
Unfortunately, antique hardware is something you’re going to have to touch regularly. Any time you want to open a cabinet, drawer, etc., your hand is going to have to touch that piece of fancy hardware. So how do you keep it looking as beautiful as you can for as long as you can? Well there are a few things you can learn here and follow that may help you.
Dry Wipe
The first thing you need to do is regularly use clean dry cloth to wipe your hardware. It keeps dust from settling on it which can be rubbed in and do damage when you use the hardware.
Damp Cloth
The next thing you’re going to want do is use a damp cloth to wipe off anything that not coming off when you wipe it. Sometimes just using a light amount of water is all you need to clean things up and make your antique hardware great again. Other times, whatever is stuck to it needs a little more convincing to go away. In this case you can use a mild detergent, preferably something that’s no stronger than hand soap, to help wipe away whatever grime or debris is sticking to your hardware.
Polish
While you may think the next thing you want to do is put some sort of polish on your antique hardware to protect it, this could definitely be the wrong answer. Depending on what type of material your hardware is made out of, polishing it can actually do more damage to the finish that it can do good. Imagine how upset you would be if you took all the time to clean and polish a piece of hardware and then noticed the metal itself was changing color because of the polish you applied. In this case, it’s best if you check with an expert before ever putting any type of polish or additive on your antique hardware. If you can’t find an answer it’s best to go without rather than risking damaging the antique pieces.
When it comes to your antiques in your home don’t just treat the trinkets and big pieces with a lot of love and kid gloves, but you also need to make sure to give your hardware pieces that same type of love to keep them in good working condition.