Food safe way to clean 2 yr old dust from wooden shelves
I just inherited three large "homemade" wooden shelves and intend to use them in my pantry. I know the shelves were coated with polyurethane. There is a thick layer of dust on these shelves. I tried to clean the dust using just wet rags/towels and water. I tried many different types of rags and towels. Unless I get in there with my fingernails I can't seem to get all the dust off. It's "stuck" in the wood. (Not sure how else to describe it.) Calgon dissolved in water worked a little bit better, but still doesn't get everything off. Someone recommended oven cleaner, but that doesn't sound right to me. Any other ideas? I'm trying to avoid harsh chemicals because I will be placing food containers on these shelves and because I don't want to ruin the polyurethane coating. But if that's the only way, I'm all ears.
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Try Scrubbing Bubbles. Don't have the foggiest idea what that stuff is. Gentle enough that you don't have to use rubber gloves, but it got the worst crud out of the tiniest crevasses in my kitchen. It also removed a coating of kitchen yuck that I hadn't even realized had built up on the cabinets. I had tried everything under the sun and then this stuff worked with no effort at all. You have to work quickly on painted surfaces but it shouldn't harm the polyurethane.
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You need soap or some other surfectant to lift and dissolve the dust; water alone won't do the job. Just put about a quarter cup of Mr. Clean in a gallon of hot water and use that to clean the shelves; scrubbing with a nylon scrubber or a scrub brush where necessary. Then follow the scrubbing with a rinse with clean water using a clean rag or sponge. Easiest is to have two buckets - one with the cleaning solution and one with clean water, rinsing as you go and changing the clean water as it gets soiled. After rinsing I'd dry the shelves with a clean cloth.
Are you sure the finish is polyurethane and not shellac or some other finish? Polyurethane tends to not be porous, and should clean really easily.
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I was going to suggest using Murphy's Oil Soap too, or some other kind of pure suds like dishwashing liquid. Use a soft nylon brush and rinse well, polyurethane can take it.
I would also suggest, once these are well dried and left to air out for a couple of days, that you use a shelf liner. You never really know what is on furniture. I once received some pieces from my departed in-laws, who were at one time very heavy smokers, and the coating of cigarette/cigar residue after thirty years of exposure was amazing. The furniture literally had brown gunk coming off it when I washed it with Murphy's, and it smelled of nicotine. Hopefully, your shelves have been kept in a cleaner and better environment, but I would always invest in a roll-out shelf liner, just to be safe.
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Cherylptw
May 3, 2010 07:37 AM
My suggestion was going to be Dawn & ammonia, which cuts through grease; it's harsh but usually works.
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re: Cherylptw
BeefeaterRocks
May 3, 2010 03:03 PM
I used straight ammonia & a brush to strip the polyurethane from my kitchen cabinets doors before I refinished them, they cleaned up beautifully.
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what about something like Murphy's Oil Soap? I think you need a soap of some kind (rather than just water, which has its limits on "grime"). I don't know that I'd *drink* murphy's soap, but I also don't think it's a terribly toxic thing, and you're not eating off these shelves, right?
