You’ve got a stunning custom front entry door. Here are the best ways to maintain its beauty.
After all the care you put into selecting just the right wood and design, you want your custom wood door to look great for years to come. To preserve protect your investment, here are some key cleaning and maintenance tips.
Cleaning frequency
How often you clean your doors will depend on a few factors. Do you have a lot of severe weather in your area? Do you have hordes of children running in and out of the house with dogs in tow? If so, you might need to clean them more often.
Otherwise, once per month is the best plan of action. Just add maintaining your exterior doors to your monthly house maintenance plan.
Waxing tips
Annual waxing will help keep your door looking beautiful. The best wax to use is a very light spray shine car wax from brands like NuFinish, DuPont, or Turtlewax. Do not use furniture wax. It is not designed for outdoor usage, and will bake the finish in the sun and will result in damage.
Once you have your wax, applying it correctly is key. You should never wax your exterior doors in full sunlight. Wait until a cooler and shadier time of day. Alternatively, do not wax if it is too cold out; anything less than 12 degrees and the application may not work.
The secret to successful waxing is speed. Always work within a manageable area — about one foot square sections at a time. You want to rub the wax completely in for each area before moving to the next one. This will ensure you don’t miss any spots and also that you won’t leave remnants of the wax on the surface of your door by mistake.
Best — and worst — cleaning tools
Cleaning prevents any serious grime from building up and causing damage. The best tools for day-to-day cleaning are microfibre or poly fibre dusters such as Swiffer or Quickie, followed up with a microfibre rag.
Never use cleaning detergents such as Windex, or any type of glass cleaner; these will damage the finish of your door.
To clean the hardware on your door, select a metal polish and use it at the same time you do the regular clean. For households with children, you might also want to follow this with an antibacterial spray on the door handles for extra cleanliness.
If you take these simple steps to caring for your lovely wood doors, you will ensure that they remain as charming and beautiful in the coming years as they are to you newly installed.
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