How to Clean Sticky Wood Furniture
If you’ve ever had to peel your arms from the dining table, you may have wondered how to clean sticky wood furniture. It’s such an unpleasant sensation and simple soap and water do nothing to remove it. That’s because wax buildup on wood furniture from spray polish is to blame.
So today, we’re going to talk about how to clean sticky wood furniture, to safely get that residue off your table and chairs along with other furnishings using natural cleaning methods.
How to Clean Sticky Wood Furniture
Why Wood Furniture Gets Sticky
We all love our dining tables to gleam. Unfortunately, the very same commercial sprays we use to give that beautiful shine also lead to sticky residue on wood furniture.
Why? Because commercial sprays contain silicone, a substance that creates a smooth, reflective surface. But over time, the layers of silicone trap humidity and moisture between them. This prevents the layers from adhering to each other, so they don’t harden.
Instead, they leave a sticky residue on wood furniture. Over time, the buildup will make your table and other furnishings look dull and dirty even when you’ve just cleaned them.
You Need to Remove the Wax Buildup from Furniture
If you picture your grandmother sweating away as she scrubs sticky residue from wood, relax. These days, few people use the heavy furniture wax favored by past generations.
That’s one thing about modern commercial furniture polish: it may attract dust, and it may turn your furniture cloudy and sticky, but it’s easy to remove.
Tips to Remove Sticky Residue from Wood
- Dust your furniture before attempting to remove wax buildup.
- To remove wax buildup in wood furniture’s crevices, dip a soft brush (like an old toothbrush) in the cleaning solution (below) and scrub, rinse immediately and buff dry.
- In humid areas, or if you have several layers of wax buildup, you may need to repeat the process a couple of times to remove all of the layers.
- You’ll know you’ve removed all of the sticky residue and wax build-up when you can slide your hand against the grain of the wood and feel the wood’s grain, not the wax.
How To Remove Sticky Wax Buildup From Furniture
Here are two ways to quickly and inexpensively remove the sticky wax buildup from wood furniture. Use caution and test the solution in an inconspicuous spot first. For antiques, it’s best to see a professional.
Wax Build-Up Remover For Light Wood
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup warm distilled white vinegar
- 1/2 cup warm water
- 1-2 drops liquid dish detergent (not one with moisturizers, or with antibacterial or oxygenated bleach additives)
Directions
- Add the ingredients to a spray bottle and lightly swirl to combine.
- Spray lightly on the surface to be cleaned.
- Using a soft, lint-free cloth, rub in the direction of the wood grain. Rotate the material often, so you’re always working with a clean spot.
- Switch to a fresh cloth and repeat going against the grain.
- Follow with another clean cloth dampened with plain water to remove the remaining residue then polish it. (Related: Homemade Furniture Polish.)
Wax Build-Up Remover For Dark Wood
The method above works for dark wood, but using the method below will help bring out the wood’s grain and preserve its color.
Ingredients
- 3 black tea bags
- 1 cup hot water
Directions
- Steep the black tea bags in the water for ten minutes. Remove bags and allow the liquid to cool.
- Use a clean, lint-free cloth to apply to furniture following the grain of the wood.
- Switch to a fresh cloth and repeat against the grain.
- Wipe off with a damp cloth and buff dry, then polish.
Sorry for being stupid,but is it safe to assume you mean white vinegar, also my table is oak,any other ideas?
Yes, I mean white vinegar. 🙂
my grandson put hot plate on wood table, resulting in white spot on wood, i assume its melted wax buildup-how do i get rid of white spot
It’s probably trapped condensation from the heat of the plate. Try rubbing oil or even mayonnaise into the area and covering it with plastic wrap overnight. The next day, wipe away the oil/mayo and it should look like new.
Put a wet towel over it and iron it. It works amazingly very old tiny trick
Thinking about purchasing a wooden table that has been used. It is dark wood and she has been waxing it. Is it hard to remove or should I not get the table
It’s not too hard. You can always sand it, too.
Tried the black tea to remove old buildup on a hutch. Really turned out great! Now going to try the homemade furniture polish
Doesn’t it work wonderfully? As someone who routinely forgets that she’s brewing a cup, I love that I don’t always have to throw it out.
I have floor wax stains on my dark furniture. Should I use the black tea method on it and if not what should I use.
I’m a bit confused by floor wax stains on your furniture. Did you try polishing furniture with floor wax? Unfortunately, if that’s the case, there’s no easy way to remove it. Household ammonia will strip that wax, but it smells horrible and you need to take serious precautions to protect your skin. You also need excellent ventilation, because ammonia will irritate your lungs and eyes.
I have a lovely polished wood table that came from South America ( Louie Phillippe table by Willis and Gambia. We’ve had the table for about 15years and was told not to polish it. I had forgotten this comment and remembered being given a lot of tins of furniture beeswax which I had never used and stupidly decided to give my beautiful table a polish with it. Well all I can say is the table looks patchy, cloudy, and scratched but it isn’t really scratched but badly marked.
I’m actually quite upset about it as I’ve really looked after this table and other furniture that we have as you can imagine ,and really don’t know what to do.
To have a French polisher look at it and try to sort it would be about £500-600 pounds which I just cannot afford.
The shop that actually sells the same table but in a different wood suggested I use methylated spirits on a soft cloth working the way of the grain to get rid of the cloudy ness, which I have done and although it has improved it it still looks marked.
Can any of your remedies work safely for me to try?
I look forward to hearing from you
Many thanks Sandra Brown
With furniture of that quality and price, I’d recommend talking to a professional.
I painted an entire dresser with finishing wax, thinking it was a dark chalk paint. What should I do? Can I paint over the wax? Or do I attempt to remove the thick layer of wax first and then paint?
I don’t paint furniture much and have never tried it over a piece that’s been waxed. I’d think, however, that you’d need to completely strip or sand the wax away to get good adhesion with the paint.
To be clear, for light wood use white vinegar and water solution applying this first application with the grain of the wood. Then with same solution using a different cloth rub AGAINST the wood grain to remove wax build up. In other words I go AGAINST the grain to rub off wax buildup?
You go in both directions to remove wax.
Cleaning a waxed pine table with cold left over black tea from the teapot … genius. First with the grain … then across it … so easy and time saving. Thanks for that tip !
You’re welcome!
I’m trying to remove wax build up using your vinegar recipe. How many times do I have to repeat ? I’m running out of cloths. Should I let it dry between “efforts”? I’m getting discouraged. Any help will be greatly appreciated.
Hi Sylvia,
It shouldn’t take more than a couple of applications, and it doesn’t need to dry in between. Are you sure what you’re trying to remove is actually wax, and not disintegrating lacquer?
Hi,
I have furniture I purchased in Korea in the late 90s It has a high gloss finish which has been polished. This now shows fingerprints and smudges. Do I clean it the way you suggest here? I just want to remove the layer which shows the smudging.. and leave the gloss finish underneath.
Thanks,
Sus
E
Hi Sue,
That kind of lacquered surface should come clean with a warm cloth in soapy water followed by buffing dry with a lint-free cloth.
I set a bottle of floor cleaner/wax on a table while cleaning my floors and now there is a ring the shape of the bottle, how can I remove it? Thank you in advance.
Hi William,
I’d try applying warm vinegar to the area and rubbing it well with a microfiber cloth to lift up the wax. Change the cloth and repeat as needed.
I used the teabag treatment on my 50s sideboard/dresser and it has removed the old polish, it looked SO much better when I left 3 hours ago BUT I just came home and there are some black marks (along the grain of the wood) in a central panel of the wood top. It also looks a bit dry around the whole srupfacecthat I treated with the teabag water earlier.
Im not sure how to deal with the situation.
Many thanks,
Mairi
Hi Mairi,
I’d go over it again with a lightly damp microfiber cloth to make sure you’ve got up all of the tea and any old residue, then moisturize it with a homemade furniture polish.
Hi, I have just purchased some secondhand walnut veneered bedroom furniture. It wasn’t until I got home, I realised that the person before had used wax on the veneer and it feels tacky and in the light looks awful. How can I remove the wax and get the veneer back to its original finish? I have tried white vinegar with water and also washing up liquid but I’m really struggling as the wax is very thick in places.
Hi Spencer,
Are you using a microfiber cloth while cleaning it? The fibers can help lift away the grime without damaging the veneer. Sorry that I don’t have any other solutions off the top of my head.
Hello, I bought a Beautiful used couch that was just reupholstered that has gorgeous wood arms on it. I’ve been trying your recipe to take off the wax build up that’s been there for years and iI’m not sure it’s working. Can you tell me what the difference is between pulling off the years of wax build up and the disintegrating topcoat would be? As I’m rubbing, there is a cloudy film and sometimes a layer starts to roll up a peel away.
When the surface feels smooth and not gummy, you’ve removed the wax.
Which is the best to use on mahogany table tea bag or the vinegar method ,after cleaning can you polish it with beeswax thank you
Hi Rita,
I’d use the tea method. If you want to apply beeswax afterward, I don’t know any reason why you couldn’t. But you may need to do this again in the future because even beeswax builds up over time.
I have a dark hammered wood table. Will the tea treatment cause any discoloration to the table? Thanks!
It will color the scratch to whatever color the tea is. For darker wood, use a strong brew. If you’re concerned at all, though, you might want to use a scratch-filling wax that matches the table. They’re available in many hardware stores like Home Depot. Here are some on Amazon if you’d prefer ordering online.
Good afternoon!
I have just tried the vinegar solution on my sticky light wood kitchen table. I have never used anything but Murphy’s Oil Soap on it. However, our vent above the stove does not vent out of the house, but back into the kitchen (yes, I know!), so I was assuming that at least some of the stickiness might be due to a layer of grease.
Parts of the table actually became more sticky during the cleaning process, although it is a little better now. Is there a way to tell when you are cleaning the buildup rather than dissolving the finish? Thanks!
Hi Marianne,
The stickiness is loosened buildup. I’d keep at it until it feels smooth again.
Best,
Katie
We have a Teak dining room table which method would be better? Not knowing if teak is considered light or dark wood.
Since I can’t see the tone of your teak dining table, I’d recommend choosing the method that’s closest in color to what you have.
I have a restored 130 year old buggy. In the past 10years it has been gone over yearly with furniture polish. The shiny black paint on spokes and wooden body look dull. How do I bring back the original shine of the paint?
With antique items, I recommend contacting a professional restoration service.
Hi katie. I have a very large Oak table and over the years has water Mark’s.I want to strip and get the color all the same.Should j use tea method or what. Rob.
If you’re stripping the table, you’ll get rid of the watermarks in the process, so I would skip these steps.
can i use apple cider vinegar?
Yes, ACV also works to remove sticky wax from furniture.
My old ercol Windsor furniture has been polished with an orangey coloured beeswax polish which I’m rather unhappy with. I wanted it to look paler. Is there any way I can rectify this?
This method works to remove wax and furniture polish. If that’s what has caused the orange tinge, it should help — though I recommend consulting professionals for antique restoration. If varnish or stain is the cause of the orange tinge, this will not help.
What is the recipe for homemade furniture polish referenced in some of your tips? Thanks!
Hi Patti,
I’ve linked to the furniture polish recipe in the article above and you can also find it here.
My daughter used a whole can of spray furniture polish on my piano. The lovely black shiny surface is now smeary, sticky and dull. What can I do? Please Help!
I’m so sorry that happened — what a mess! I’d use a soft cloth and soapy water made using a liquid dish detergent with good degreasing power. Wring out the cloth well then wipe a small section of the surface and then immediately buff it dry with a soft, lint-free cloth. Repeat until you’ve gone over the whole piano then wait. Repeat if needed.
We have a very large solid cherry wood kitchen table that we have used daily for more than 26 years. We’ve always protected it from stains, burns and water rings. We’ve used place mats and table cloths and I make sure to wipe it after each meal and dry the surface. It has always remained smooth and never sticky. I’ve noticed that it is starting to show it’s age with small scratches (some are lighter) and small dents (those are darker) just from having stuff sat on, and slide across the table over the years. I would like to give the table a good “cleaning” and apply something to “protect” it, but I don’t want anything like a varnish or anything that is going to get sticky, hazy or gummy. I’m also not looking to do any sanding to anything drastic like that. I’ve seen stuff like beeswax (terrifies me), and I’ve also read not to use anything with silicone but to use carnauba instead? I’m so confused. I’m not afraid of using elbow grease but I need direction. Any suggestions?
Hi Karen,
The steps I’ve described in this article are for the kind of cleaning you’ve described. If you want to polish and moisturize the table after you’ve cleaned it, try my homemade furniture polish.
Hi Katie,
I have a big desk that I think is wax finished originally. I’ve cleaned it over time with Scott’s from time to time but it seems to sit on top and not seep in. Today I spilled a huge mug of hot coffee on the desk and when I blotted it up it all left whitish stains. I tried to clean that up and it pilled up onto the paper towels. I then tried Scott’s on it but it does nothing. What should I do? I don’t want to have to re do the entire surface of the desk, just this one main area. Help!
Shari
The whitish marks may fade in a day or two. If they don’t, then you can try these steps to remove water stains from wood. And you’re absolutely right that if there’s a heavy wax buildup, Scotts can’t sink in.
Hi again Katie,
I forgot to ask in my last comment, the desk is darker wood, but if water and liquids caused this problem, why would the tea water help? Does the tannin in the tea cut through the crud?
Yes, the tannin in the tea cuts through the stickiness. Since you’re not letting it just sit there like a puddle, it won’t cause a haze.