Spring Cleaning: Fragrant Wood Polish

Many herbes and flowers with their fragrant sweet smels doe comfort, and as it were revive the spirits and perfume the whole house. John Parkinson, Paradisi in Sole, ­Paradisus Terrestris, 1629

February/March 1997
By Louise Gruenberg 
02-97-044-Spring-Clean1.jpg
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Simple herbal cleaning products bring nature’s fragrances indoors. Clockwise from upper left are Citrus Scrubber, lemon oil, Fragrant Wood Polish, Disinfectant Air Freshener, Herb Soap Concentrate, and Herbal Rug Fragrance.
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Makes about 1 cup
This formula forms a soft paste that can be applied with a wool or cotton rag or lamb’s-wool pad. I use it on fine furniture about once a year.

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  • 1 ounce beeswax
  • 8 ounces mineral oil
  • ½ teaspoon essential oil of Peru balsam
  • ¼ teaspoon each essential oils of ­lavender, orange, tangerine, and lemon
  • 1/8 teaspoon each essential oils of bergamot, rosemary, and spruce
  1. In a double boiler, melt the beeswax in the mineral oil. Remove the upper pan from the lower one, allow the mixture to cool slightly (but not to the point at which the surface skims over), and stir in the essential oils. Allow the mixture to cool completely. Store in a jar with tight lid.
  2. Apply the polish to the wood surface sparingly with a rag or pad, leave it for about 5 minutes to allow the wood to absorb it, then rub off any excess with a clean cloth.

Louise Gruenberg gardens as much as possible and cleans house as little as possible in Oak Park, Illinois. She writes and teaches about herbs.

Click here for more recipes from the original article, Spring Cleaning.

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