How to protect wood with natural solutions
Wood is perhaps the most sustainable of the raw materials used for construction and cladding, an ecological and healthy choice that can maintain its characteristics intact for decades, if accompanied by careful maintenance in line with the principles of sustainability.
Vegetable oils and waxes have been used for wood maintenance for centuries, and are certainly the most eco-friendly choice for caring for parquet floors and wooden furniture. Thanks to innovation and research, the properties of these natural substances can be fully exploited not only to impregnate wood and protect it from external agents, but also to polish it and give it a new finish.
Sustainable Parquet: From Wood Choice to Maintenance
Wood is one of the few renewable raw materials . It's durable, stores large amounts of carbon dioxide, and its processing has a much lower impact than that of materials like steel or concrete.
It also generates little waste within production chains, as it can be recycled and used to generate energy. According to data from Rilegno, the national consortium that collects, recovers, and recycles wooden packaging, over 1 million tons of wood were recovered and recycled in 2023 , corresponding to approximately 65% of the material placed on the market.
There are also certifications that guarantee the eco-compatibility of wood: the FSC and PEFC certificates , for example, ensure that the wood comes from consciously managed forests.
But to be truly sustainable, wood must be able to extend its life as much as possible, reducing the need to replace structures and floors. In this sense, wood care and maintenance play a crucial role, not only because they preserve the material's beauty and integrity, but also because they allow for equally natural and sustainable solutions, thus extending the ecological approach to the wood's entire life cycle .
Unlike older chemical products, natural wood products are biodegradable and do not emit harmful substances. In addition to preserving the natural beauty of the wood, they allow for healthy environments that comply with environmental protection requirements.
How to nourish parquet naturally?
Apart from flames, the main enemies of wood are atmospheric agents , in particular water and UV rays, and the long list of fungi and wood-eating insects that feed on wood fibres.
The exposure of wood to these forms of degradation has been known since ancient times : already Pliny the Elder, in the 1st century AD, described the use of cedar, larch and juniper oils for the preservation of wood, and it seems that the Romans and Vikings used tar to protect the hulls of their ships.
Now as then, the goal of wood maintenance treatments remains the same: to destroy potential food sources for fungi and insects and reduce the wood's ability to absorb liquids . This can be achieved using chemical products, which are certainly effective, or by turning to natural solutions —which may borrow active ingredients from nature or be the result of innovations and discoveries in the field of green chemistry.
New-generation natural products also have another important feature: advanced formulations based on oils, resins, and oleo-waxes can be designed to enhance the natural color of the wood , even out surfaces, or give them an elegant satin finish . Regular wood maintenance thus becomes an opportunity to renew the appearance of furniture and parquet floors, bringing back the wood's original shine .
Natural products for wood: what are they?
Natural wood products cover the entire maintenance spectrum, from routine cleaning to protection against stains and moisture . Their effectiveness relies essentially on the action of just a few ingredients (at least for now):
- vegetable oils: used for centuries to care for wood, oils such as linseed oil, safflower oil and sunflower oil deeply impregnate the wood and protect it from stains and humidity without altering its natural breathability. They are also used in various neutral detergents specifically designed for cleaning wood;
- natural waxes: Beeswax and carnauba wax are highly appreciated for finishing and polishing wood but also for Waterproofing treatments;
- water-based paints: thanks to the presence of wax-resin emulsions and new generation resins, the water-based paints they allow wood to be waterproofed very effectively while maintaining its natural appearance and the healthiness of the environments;
- innovative compounds: over the years, research has studied new sustainable solutions for wood care. Among the most promising compounds, polyamidoamines (PAA) functionalized and crystalline nanocellulose (CNC), which could conquer the market of ecological wood treatments in the future together with dozens of other compounds yet to be discovered.
Several products exploit the combined action of resins and natural oils to offer an eco-friendly and long-lasting water- and oil-repellent impregnation , while others rely on the traditional properties of vegetable oils, also in combination with waxes and other natural ingredients such as propolis.
As always, choosing natural wood products requires careful reading of the labels : true sustainability, when it comes to household chemicals, can only be found in the list of ingredients.
