Pledge doesn't work real well if there is furniture wax on the piece and you applied it over the wax. It can make the mix streaky and gummy. Get some plain old mineral spirits out (yes, its smelly!) and some clean rags. Liberally wipe the piece down the mineral spirits (turning the rag frequently) and that will take you to as close as you will get to the bare topcoat. From there you can use a wax or polish of your choice and try again.

Duane Collie

"My floors are polyurethaned, but not sealed? What's a good product to use on the floors?"

Poly IS a sealer... all I do to mine is damp mop with plain water.

Paul Downs,
If not Pledge, could you please tell us then what do you recommend for cleaning wood furniture? Nothing? Just a plain rag?
TIA

I'm not Paul - but I have been doing what the manufacturer's suggest for my furniture....
I use a cloth diaper with lemon oil, or a barely, barely damp cloth diaper.

It depends on the finish, but a damp rag usually is sufficient. If there is food crusted on the surface, keep rubbing it and it will eventually loosen and disappear. That's all I use on my stuff, but then again I have kids and the house is a mess and I'm not bothered by a bit of dirt. I would not recommend any oils or furniture polishes - wood does not need to be fed. There are situations where an application of wax every 2-3 years is helpful. And there are many situations where nothing but dusting is needed. My recommendation: when in doubt, do less than you think.

Paul Downs

I recently revived my grandmother's chiffrobe cabinet. It's a very old antique piece. "Washing" down the piece with a warm soapy sponge with original Dawn liquid worked very well. When dry, using an old sock, I wiped it down with a matching stain because it had wear and rub marks, and when dry, followed with an application of tongue oil. Gorgeous! The inside was the challenge. It was very evident that my grandmother made the error of spraying Pledge directly on the wood inside and the wood absorbed it before she could wipe it off. I used the same Dawn method but the silicone in the Pledge kept resurfacing. I tried another technique of cleaning it which was a 1:1 white vinegar to water ratio. It really didn't remove much of the silicone. The third option was mineral spirits and that is just too harsh. BUT my husband is an engineer and his hobby is cars and detailing. He told me to just use Denatured Alcohol. As a woodworking hobbiest, I thought it would hurt it. NOPE! I tried it (using paper towels but rags are okay, too)

and it cleaned up the old Pledge beautifully and I won't have to do anything to the inside of the piece! It's beautiful! AND it didn't hurt my hands, nor did it emit noxious fumes. What is great about using the denatured alcohol is that it quickly evaporates so it doesn't soak into the wood. I'm attaching some before and after photos!

I had a table custom made for my dining room with a glossy finish. The cabinet maker told me NO PLEDGE.

He said I should use Endust for the weekly type of cleaning with a cloth.

Every six months or so, he suggested Meguiar’s Mirror Glaze Show Car Glaze as a polish to be use sparingly.

Helen, he probably sealed/finished your table with a lucite finish similar to my grand piano and my cherry dining room table. It's a furniture finish like the clear coat on your car and it will scratch if you're not careful. Pledge is definitely a NoNo on these newer finishes. This is why he suggested Maguiars. Pledge contains oil and silicone, originally designed to penetrate into varnish and tongue oil finishes. Lucite finishes are like plastic and they repel so Pledge leaves a residue. It can get technical but enjoy your table!

I have a problem. Our housekeeper sprayed pledge on our walnut Veneer table from West Elm and must have forgotten to wipe it off , leaving spray marks which are quite noticeable in the sheen of the table as the light hits the table. The care instructions say ” we do not recommend using chemical cleansers, abrasives or furniture polish on our lacquered finish.” Any ideas? I read In the thread about the Denatured alcohol? Do I need to refinish the table?

A similar Pledge incident occurred on the inside of my grandmother's chiffrobe. My husband told me to use denatured alcohol with a soft rag. I thought it would be too harsh but it wasn't. The marks you see are the wax in the Pledge. I'm not saying it's going to be easy.... I had to do multiple applications.... but the denatured alcohol removed it. If you're concerned, try an inconspicuous spot underneath the table first. But I'm thinking you'll be okay. Pictures of my grandmother's antique are posted above from 8 months ago.

Thank you. Yes I read your post. I may try your idea.

The same thing happened with my housekeeper ruining my grandmothers antique mahogany dining table. I came home to find round whitish/filmy marks on my table. Obviously, she had sprayed and failed to wipe it up. I've noticed the whitish marks on other furniture. Now, when the housekeeper cleans, I go around and check the surfaces and polish it out with a dry rag. I am going to get the table refinished when we move into our new house. And I am not taking the housekeeper with me!

I did not know about Pledge. Getting some Endust!

Go back to my post 12 years ago and use Mineral Spirits on the top, not alcohol. That will remove the product your housekeeper sprayed on. - Duane Collie

Will mineral spirits hurt the table surface? Mine has a nice sheen.

No it will not, did you happen read the prior post?

Endust is junk, anything you can buy at the grocery store or Target should not go on fine furniture. Minwax Furniture Paste wax is best, if not, use a non-silicone based wood polish such as Oz..

I did not see a post from you posted 12 years ago. I'll look for Oz.

Hello Duane Collie From The Keeping Room,

i Had the walnut veneer Lacquered finish walnut table ruined by Pledge. The description of the table says “Solid Eucalyptus wood and engineered wood with walnut veneer, covered in a water based dark walnut finish.“ West Elm who I purchased the table from advised me to contact the Furniture Medic - this is a franchised furniture repair business. Hmmm. Awaiting their call.

Home Depot in California does not carry mineral spirits, but my woodworking neighbor has Klean Strip- Xylol-Xylene and V.M. &P Naphtha. wouldnt these ruin the veneer? His wife thought I need to oil the table to dissolve the pledge- she gave me jojoba oil!

i am afraid I will ruin the table even more...what are your thoughts?

Pledge has silicone which permeates the finish AND the wood and goes deep into the grain, making it impossible to repair on a piece that is veneered. The only real solution is to re-veneer the piece, sorry.

Mineral spirits strips all the gunk off any surface top without damaging the finish, but it can't remove silicone.

I might just leave it alone and let time work on it. Certainly don't use any more Pledge on it. If just a one-time deal, it may sluff off over time so I wouldn't fuss on it. Be patient, might take a year or two to find out.

You can level the sheen with # 0000 Steel Wool going lightly with the wood grain, that might soften the look of the Pledge a bit. good luck.

Duane Collie

Hello,

We just got an acacia table that has a Water-based clear lacquer sealant and the manufacturer's recommendation for cleaning was Wipe clean. No abrasive cleaners or furniture polish. However, the cleaning lady spilled pledge revive it floor gloss on top of it, and now there is a shining spot of pledge stuck on it. I tried Windex, and Method floor cleaner with no success. I read the comment about mineral spirits - would this work in my case? I am afraid of damaging the lacquer sealant. Does anybody have a suggestion?

Please, help me. Thank you, Camila.

Mineral Spirits will not damage any original topcoats. However it probably is not going to work on the Pledge spill. Give it a try, you can't hurt anything with it.

Hello Duane from The Keeping Room,

I have a dark brown table with a lacquer finish that has ugly white spots from waxy hot paper plates. I have tried mineral spirits and the iron-towel method without success. Any tips? Thank you in advance!