Furniture is an investment and needs to be looked after and nurtured just like any other investment. On the whole it costs a lot of money and it is a shame to let it get damaged and ruined by not looking after it correctly. I am not just talking about a quick clean with a damp cloth, there is much more to furniture cleaning.
Depending what furniture you have will determine the cleaning materials and methods that you use. If you have upholstered furniture then you have to use special detergents and cleaning materials so as not to damage the fabric. Make sure whatever you use has been tested on your fabric and if you are still not sure then test a small corner that is not visible to make sure the color does not run or disappear. Upholstered furniture should also be vacuumed once a month to get rid of dust and crumbs, make sure you use an attachment that can get down all of the cracks and small spaces. Once you have cleaned your upholstered furniture, air it by opening all the windows in your home and having it as close to the window as possible to give it a fresh clean smell.
If you have leather furniture, the best way to clean it is with a special leather polish or cream that you can get from most supermarkets and specialist cleaning shops. Leather furniture should be polished once a month in order to keep it moist and stop it cracking. As with upholstered furniture, you also need to vacuum out the crumbs and dust that has settled in the cracks on a regular basis.
If you have wooden furniture, tables and chairs around the house make sure that water is not spilt too close to it as this can seep into the pores of the wood and warp it. If you need to clean in the area of the furniture and it cannot be moved then use a damp cloth rather than splashing water near it. There are many wood oils on the market that you can invest in which give your wood a shine and also are very good for it, but these should be used sparingly so as not to overdo it. If you have Formica units anywhere, the beauty of that is that you can just wipe them down very easily and they will look clean again. It is important to look after your furniture as it is an investment and you want it to last.