How to care for your Mennonite furniture

With a little care and maintenance, solid wood furniture can retain its original beauty and durability for a lifetime. However for this to be possible, we have outlined some measures that need to be taken.

Our furniture is crafted from solid wood that is kiln dried, retaining enough moisture in the wood for the furniture to properly acclimatize to your home. Wood will however continue to exchange moisture with air, expanding and contracting in response to changes inrelative humidity.

Solid wood's response to dry air is to lose moisture and shrink a bit. The halves of an extension table  may part slightly or panels in your cabinet doors or bed may shift. Tiny openings may also appear inthe wood surface. This will correct itself as the relative humidity rises, and the wood absorbs enough moisture to expand again. In extreme conditions the wood may be under enough stress to crack.

Solid wood's response to a humidity that is too great causes it to absorb moisture. This can result in making moving parts non-functional. This should correct itself when your relative humidity returns back to a normal percentage.

Below are a few tips to maintain your solid wood furniture:

• Maintain an environment at a rate of 45% - 50% relative humidity to prevent swelling, shrinking, warping and cracking
• Keep your furniture away from direct sunlight or heat sources such as forced air, fire places and radiators
• Do not write directly on the table surface without protection
• Clean your furniture with water only as solvents can damage the finish
• Do not place hot objects directly onto the surface of a table

Your furniture has a life time warranty on the construction and wood of the product - please be sure to follow these guidelines to ensure that your warranty remains valid. Finishing is not covered under warranty. Please keep your receipt of purchase as the product will not be covered under warranty without proof of purchase.