1. Most wooden furniture can be cleaned with a bit of warm soapy water and a damp cloth. The only exception is wood that has been finished with something other than polyurethane or hasn’t been finished at all. Use a mild soap of the sort you use for washing hands rather than a harder laundry soap.

2. Never use the method described above for French polished wooden furniture – this has not been treated with polyurethane! Dust frequently to keep it shining and keep water well away. If you really need to, use straight beeswax to polish it. Dust before you polish. Just rub the beeswax straight onto the wood, then buff with a soft cloth. You can use the same method for putting a gentle shine on your fingernails, if you want to.

3. Untreated wood can be cleaned with a home-made polish of blended oil (use olive oil or some other vegetable oil – the cricketer’s favourite, linseed oil, is a winner) and a little white vinegar. Add essential oil if you like. As usual, apply with a soft cloth and buff with another one.

4. When you dust, make sure the cloth is slightly damp. This will trap the dust and take it away rather than merely pushing it along, which can possibly scratch the wood surface. Remember to rinse out the duster frequently. Feather dusters of the old-fashioned sort work well.

5. Very special wooden items should be kept out of direct sunlight, as UV rays will attack the finish on the wood. The UV will also bleach the wood. However, this may be an advantage for lighter coloured unfinished items.

6. Very special wooden items should not be allowed to become too dry. This can become a problem with items in modern homes with excellent ventilation, heating, dehumidification and all the rest of it. An old musician’s trick is to put a jar of water inside an upright piano to provide it with the moisture the wood needs. Special hydrators (try a good music shop) can also be used inside cases for guitars, violins and the like. Keeping up regular damp-dusting also works, to a certain extent. Also keep wooden furniture away from strong dry heat, or even in a special room that isn’t dried to desert-like conditions.

7. If dark wood gets scratched, hide the mark by dabbing on iodine, instant coffee mixed with vegetable oil or a brown wax crayon. Simple but very effective!

8. If you have an old-fashioned Scandinavian style raw pine kitchen table, don’t use boiling water to scrub it down unless you want the wood to turn slightly yellow. Scrub it with cold water and soap. However, boiling water is a very effective sterilizer and you may consider this factor worth a bit of yellowing. You can always counteract the yellowing effect, dry the table and sterilize the table even further by putting the table in strong sunshine for a bit and letting the UV rays do their thing.

9. You do use coasters on coffee tables and other tables to protect the finish, don’t you? One trick used by friends of this writer is to get a piece of glass cut to fit over the top of the wood. No problems with heat marks, everyone can see the wood and it’s a breeze to clean.

10. Linseed oil can be applied to any wooden furniture to nourish it and to help seal in moisture so it doesn’t dry out too much. Apply sparingly to clean, dry furniture. Sports shops are good places to find linseed oil.