Maintenance Tips

General advice on the care of wood, upholstered and leather furniture

• Humidity and room temperatures have a decisive effect on the product life of wood, leather and upholstery. The ideal conditions are humidity of 50% to 60% and a constant room temperature of 20°C. Under these conditions wood does not shrink or expand, which means that the formation of cracks is avoided. However, fortunately flats and houses are not laboratories in which conditions are always the same and there are no fluctuations in temperature and humidity. When rooms are heated during winter times, the air often is dry and warm, and when in springtime a warm breeze comes in through the window it brings humidity with it. The fact that natural materials react to these
conditions is a perfectly normal phenomenon. As a result, when you heat and ventilate your home you should not just think about your own well-being – your furniture, too, also appreciates balanced ambient climatic conditions.

• It is important to avoid direct sunlight. Unfiltered UV rays cause colours to fade and sooner or later will damage wood, lacquer and varnish, fabrics and leather. Therefore you should avoid placing the furniture in direct sunlight if your rooms permit this. However, if your furniture is exposed to sunlight you can protect it by curtains – sunblock curtains are the most effective – and keep them closed during periods of intense sunlight. In order to avoid shadows and traces left by intense rays of sunlight, for the first few weeks you should not place any objects on a newly purchased piece of furniture. By the way, wood from coniferous trees is especially sensitive to light.

• Furniture should always be placed at a suitable distance from central heating radiators or other sources of heat or cold.

• All cleaning and polishing agents should always firstly be tested on a part of the furniture which is not in direct view.


Find more maintenance tips and detailed information in our “HOW TO CLEAN EVERYTHING” guideline

The KARE brand symbolizes furnishing ideas which are unique, non-conformist and authentic. Ever since 1981 the company has been surprising its fans worldwide with an incomparable and inexhaustible variety of new furniture, lighting and furnishing accessories, all expressing an intense passion for design.

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