cleaning wood paneling

[Ralph Mowery]

We just bought a house that is about 10 years old and one room has real wood paneling on the walls. What is a good way to clean them ?

[Phisherman]

What's the finish? You can clean bare wood using mineral spirits.

[Vox Humana]

If the wood is varnished, then all you need do is clean it with a damp rag. I would use some detergent like Murphy's Oil soap to cut through the 10 years of residue.

[www.4naturalcleaning.com]

One of the houses I clean has all wood floors, walls, and ceilings. Prior to moving in I cleaned the walls and the ceilings with a mixture of vinegar and water (about 50-50). I put a little bit of essential orange oil in there too to lessen the pungency of the vinegar (the odor goes away pretty quickly nontheless).

The walls and ceilings don't need to be cleaned often (dirt/dust tends not to settle much on verticle surfaces). On a monthly basis I dust-mop the wood floors with the same vinegar and water solution. The house always looks great when I'm done.

Vinegar's cheap, easy to use, nontoxic, and does a great job.

- Michael