So after my post last week about how to use vinegar to clean the house, I went looking online for some new chemical free cleaning ideas to try. I kept running into sites that said you could use a mixture of oil and vinegar to repair old scratched up furniture. I’m going to tell you I did NOT believe the before and after pictures I was seeing. I have a set of antique furniture that was my Great Grandma Klien’s and it was looking mighty worn. I used it as a child, in college, in 3 apartments, and it’s finally made a home in my guest bedroom and that’s just 20 years of 90+ years of life. I decided I would give this cheap trick a try to see if it would work. Here is the bedroom set before.

So to make the cleaning solution all you need is 3/4 cup olive oil (I’ve seen some people use canola too) and 1/4 cup white vinegar. I put both into a jar and shook it up. I tried the solution in a hidden spot first because I’m going to be honest, I thought there was about a 5% chance that this was actually going to work, and I didn’t want to ruin my furniture. I was amazed at the results! All you have to do is wipe on a small amount and work it into the wood going with the grain. You can let it sit, or I just went over with a dry rag to remove any excess left over. Doing both pieces of furniture only took me about 20 minutes and it was well worth the time! Look at the results below!

Thin scratches are easily fixed with this solution. If you look real hard I’m sure you can see it, but over all it’s basically gone!

Bad wear and tear looks much improved, but is still noticeable if you look up close.

Water marks will improve, but don’t go away. I guess this really does prove that you need to use a coaster like Grandma says!

Over all this quick and cheap trick really helped to improve the look of my furniture without having to spend a lot of time and money sanding and restaining it. It not only helped the areas of the furniture that were damaged, but really helped bring the furniture back to life. I guess you really can fix (to a degree) scratched wood furniture with $5 and 20 minutes!

If you try this trick at home post your before and after pictures in the comments. Or share your own quick fixes you use around the house!