I found a miracle in a bottle!
A quick and easy DIY to restore your furniture and revive wood finishes in your house. Howard’s Feed-N-Wax restores moisture and life to your furniture. (No, this is not a sponsored post! I just want to share my recent discovery.) (Update 5/1/17: I now am an Amazon Affiliate and the link above is an affiliate link.)
Just as we moisturize our skin, wood needs occasional moisturizing. This became obvious in my house lately. Those of you who have read much of this blog or who know me personally know we have had some problems with water leaks over the last 15 months. As in TWICE! And after a water leak always comes the drying process. (TWICE!)
Both of our leaks occurred in the kitchen, although from different sources. After each leak we had to call in a water abatement company to remove the damaged wood and dry out the moisture. Both times my husband and I frantically moved furniture, china, and a multitude of other possessions out of the way of the water and the workers.
I was very concerned about the dust and dirt associated with removing and replacing wood floors. We covered everything possible with plastic tarps, quilts, and sheets. Dust protection was a top priority!
What I didn’t think about was that drying up the moisture in the air would also dry out my furniture. I was cleaning up after the latest disaster and realized that my furniture looked faded and dry. I just thought it was time to replace it all! A horrible thought after all the repair expenses.
Exhausted by all the work in the house my husband and I decided to spend a day antiquing, an activity that is relaxing and fun for both of us. In one of our local antique stores I noticed a display. One I have seen in many antique stores over the years.
This was a display for Howard Products. (www.howardproducts.com) Their motto is “Restore it – Don’t strip it!” They had me at RESTORE.
I stepped up to take a look and discovered their Feed-N-Wax. Reading the label it seemed to be just what I needed for my dried out, tired wood.
I bought the smallest bottle and brought it home to try. It is a miracle worker!
Feed-N-Wax contains beeswax and carnauba oil. You wipe it on with a soft cloth (I used an old washcloth), wait 20 minutes, and then buff. When I started buffing the first piece of furniture I was amazed. The color of the cherry wood was richer and darker than it had ever been. This swivel-top games table which we had purchased on one of our antiquing jaunts had indeed been restored. As I have worked my way through the bedroom, breakfast room, and into the dining room. piece by piece, I have continued to be delighted at the difference it has made in our furniture.
The real test was our well-used dining room table. It has always lived in a room with strong, late-afternoon light. It has served as a project table, desk, cat bed, staging surface, and drop zone. This table has been the scene of many lively dinners, often with ten people crowded around its space designed for eight. Well used and well loved.
In addition to being subjected to lots of light and lots of use, I sadly mistook the bathroom cleaner (yellow top) for furniture polish (also yellow top) and polished (cleaned and disinfected) the table’s top one day of frantic cleaning before company arrived. No amount of furniture polish would correct what I had done to this poor table. The hazy, dull finish looked terrible!
Just this weekend I finally tried Feed-N-Wax on the table. The finish is no longer hazy or dull. It shines! The table legs and claw feet were dinged and scratched with thirty years of constant use. This product covered all of them. Although it is not a scratch remover and it doesn’t contain stain, the wax somehow covers shallow scratches and softens the look of deeper ones.
I am receiving no compensation for this post. I know it reads like a paid testimonial, but it is not. I had despaired of our furniture, collected over a period of many years, ever looking nice. I found a wonder-worker.
I have tried to post pictures here so you can see how much difference this product can make, but wood is very difficult for my camera to capture well. The smallest bottle of Feed-N-Wax costs less than $5 where I live. At this price it is worth a try.
As for me, I will be purchasing the large bottle tomorrow. I love a hard-working bargain – especially a miracle in a bottle.
Now, if I can just find something that works this well on tired, dull, wrinkly skin . . .
Looking forward to another visit Under the Butternut Tree,
Susan
P.S. I am linking to Metamorphosis Monday with other bloggers. Check it out!
Update 5/1/17: This post now contains an affiliate link. Although I may receive a small bit of compensation, I wrote this post because I was so pleased with the product. Please refer to my disclosure policy.