Caring for Antiques

"We are living in a world today where lemonade is made from artificial flavours and furniture polish is made from real lemons."

Alfred Newman

Or maybe it’s an old house you live in….

“A house with old furniture has no need of ghosts to be haunted.”
Hope Mirrless

So which sort of home is yours?

I have recently been doing some research on cleaning old furniture and antiques. The National Trust in the UK has produced a large book on such activities and I was particularly drawn to the uses of a Hogs Hair and Pony Hair Brushes. 

According to the National Trust in order to gently remove dust from  objects with intricate carving and detail we use two different kinds of small brush. A pony hair brush is soft enough to use on ceramics, ivory piano keys and gilded surfaces. Hog’s hair brushes are much stiffer and used for wooden furniture, metals and plasterwork. Each material has its own individual brush. Over the course of many years most of the objects will have been subject to various polishes and treatments that we would never use today, so we should separate the brushes to prevent cross contamination. Brushes are used together with a small vacuum cleaner so that dust is removed and not just displaced. When handling some objects we should wear white cotton gloves to prevent the acidic oils in our hands from having a cumulative effect.  

Brushes may be used for dusting and will vary in size, shape and material depending on their use; for example, we should use a stiffer hog’s hair brush for dusting a wooden chair and a softer pony hair brush for plasterwork. The aim being to remove the dust whilst causing as little disturbance to the object as possible.

Other tips include

• Dust into a vacuum cleaner- takes the dust away rather than spreading it around
• Use a cocktail stick to pick out any old wax from carved furniture, it's amazing how much better it looks
• If your ceramics need more than dusting use a cotton wool swab in a padded sink and avoid any old mends
• Never brush textiles, always vacuum them through fine netting, especially if they are delicate or have loose parts.
• For rougher surfaces use a paintbrush with the metal feral covered with tape. Hogs hair is fine for substantial surfaces, but use softer pony hair for more delicate items

Hogs Hair or Boar Hair brushes were once the standard bristle for most brushes. Today synthetics have taken over, for reasons of cost. However beware as hard plastics can scratch surfaces even if they are harder than the plastic. Many car washes have had to replace the plastic rotating brushes with hogs hair for that very same problem.

Ladies you may have invested in a hogs hair hair brush. Yes it may be expensive but the argument is that the natural oils in the hogs hair leaves your own hair looking way better that any of the TV adds. Artists would never dream of using anything synthetic. Hogs hair has a natural split end so will hold more paint for the artist to apply to the canvas.

Back to home care, keeping dust at bay is an essential part of our lives. Some people even cover their antiques to stop them from collecting any more dust which can be abrasive, acidic or alkaline. Dust is also hydroscopic (attracts and holds moisture) and harbours and feeds pests, hence we try hard to stop it gathering.

Don’t forget we are always here to help. Just call the Pristine Home office and we will deliver that special Dusting for you and leave your home sparkling for one and all. Antiques may require more specialist care and we can advise on seeing the piece.

Call me on 1890 929988

Talk again soon

Diana