Is Murphy’s Oil Soap Good For Wood Furniture? (Review)

You’ve probably heard of Murphy’s Oil Soap cleaner: The natural wood cleaner relied upon by generations of people to get wood furnitures: antique or modern in pristine condition.

But is the century old cleaner  as good as people have advertised it to be? Does it work? And if so, what does it do?

In this article, we’ll discuss the constituents of Murphy’s Oil Soap Cleaner and find out if it’s safe for your furniture. We’ll also be checking out what people have to say about it.

Does Murphy’s Oil Soap Clean Wood Furniture?

Yes, Murphy’s Oil Soap does clean wood furniture, especially those with finishes such as lacquer, varnish, laminate and polyurethane, and it is great for getting rid of dullness caused by dirt and gunk accumulation on wood as well as grease and oil stains. 

In fact, it is primarily made for that purpose, and one extra bonus is that it gives this polished off look to the wood which helps restore the furniture to it’s glorious state. This is because of the potassium vegetable oil base of the soap, although no free oil ends up in the soap after the ingredients are transformed into a final product. 

But don’t just take our word for it. Let’s check out what other people have been saying about this cleaner online as well. 

We individually reviewed more than a thousand feedback from both the product’s website, other retail websites as well as from our twitter and Facebook polls, and overall, the results are on the positive side. 

People seem to agree that the soap is particularly effective for everyday furniture issues such as dust, grease and oil, and that it also adds this extra layer of sheen to it. 

There were are a few minority of people that had “a not so great experienced with the soap”. 

Some claim the new formula doesn’t work as great as the original, and that it took so many trials to get blotch, residue, grease and dust off from the wood, sometimes requiring the full strength solution and a lot of it. 

And surprisingly, there were people that had allergic reactions from using the products, but I suspected it’s because they allowed direct contact with their skin which should trigger allergic reactions since the products is tagged as a skin sensitizer in it’s Product Fact Sheets due to the fragrance component in it.

Is Murphy’s Oil Soap Safe For Wood Furniture?

If you’re worried whether Murphy’s Oil soap might not be a good bet for your wood furniture, then worry not so long as you have a finished wood furniture, as the soap is made out of gentle surfactants like sodium tallate and lauramidopropylamine oxide which help to calmly lift of dirt and oil without stripping the finishing of the wood but rather add to it. And this helps to prevent drying and cracking.

In fact, for how gentle the cleaner is, the diluted solution can actually be used on a daily and weekly basis without any issues. 

Avoid using it on bare wood however, at least, consistently, because it can cause excessive drying, which without polishing, can lead to cracks, or even water stains. 

And just quickly, Murphy’s oil soap isn’t meant to get rid of water stains, either the white or the dark one, so don’t be disappointed if you tried removing them and they weren’t coming off. 

What Is The Difference Between Murphy Wood Cleaner And Murphy Oil Soap?

As far as Murphy’s Oil Soap is concerned, there are only three products available, and all three products are perfectly suited for wood cleaning. 

One comes in a concentrated form, which is expected to be diluted before applying it on wood, and the others are diluted; one comes in a spray bottle, and the other is marketed as a “squirt and mop” solution for floors, but these are great for cleaning wood furnitures like cabinets too, as well as marble, vinyl, washable wall papers and laundry stains.

To get the best out of these products, you just need to know how to use them properly and you should be good to go. 

How To Dilute Murphy’s Oil Soap For Furniture

If you’re using the concentrated variant of the soap, you need to make sure you’re diluting it, especially when you’re going to be regularly cleaning your furniture worth it. And this is just so as to prevent any damage to the finishing of the wood. 

So how do you dilute Murphy’s Oil Soap for Furniture? 

It’s simple, add a quarter cup of the soap to 1 gallon of warm water. This creates a super mild dilution that cleans every kind of wood furniture and materials like flooring and antique without any issues. And this diluted form can be used on a daily or even weekly basis. 

If you need to get rid of more stubborn marks, grease stains or blotch, use ½ cup instead. It’ll create a more stronger solution for your needs. But be careful so it doesn’t touch your skin as it could trigger allergic reactions. 

If the rest of the Murphy’s Oil Solutions, they’re all diluted so you don’t need to mix them with water before using. 

The Steps to Use Murphy’s Oil Soap on Furnitures

Can I Use Murphy’s Oil Soap As Furniture Polish?

Yes, Murphy’s Oil Soap Spray does contain polish in it which can help restore the shine of your furniture. 

You can use the spray for both cleaning and polishing. Or, go over a cleaned wood furniture with the polish afterwards. Make sure the wood is dried up properly before polishing with the Murphy oil. 

Because the products is diluted, you can use it as your everyday polish without any problem, note though that it wont protect your furniture from all types of damage, albeit, it will help in many regards such as: reducing surface scratch, repelling insects and dust, and add to the existing finishes strength of preventing seeps that could otherwise cause water damage. 

When Should You Not Use Murphy’s Oil Soap?

There are two scenarios when you shouldn’t use Murphy’s Oil Soap, or be cautious when using it. 

One is when you have a bare wood furniture that isn’t finished or a waxed flooring; but the likelihood of having these kinds of furniture nowadays is pretty low, given that finishes are highly critical for preventing a lot of damage to wood. 

Using it once or twice on the wood might not be detrimental, especially the diluted version, but consistent usage could cause cracking. 

And then the second scenario is the daily usage of the concentrated version on your wooden furnitures even when polished. 

Using the concentrate once or twice might be helpful for removing stubborn marks and stain, but using it too much (like the diluted version) can cause stripping of oils and coating which if not replenished, can leave the wood prone to damage.