So you have bought a futon as a second bed, just in case you have visitors from another town. You not only use the futon as a bed for a guest, but also as a sofa during the day. How would you go about caring for this piece of furniture?

How you look after your futon frame and other furniture depends on whether the frame is made of hardwood or metal. In case it is made of hardwood, you would dust it, remove the mattress, and polish it with furniture polish at timely intervals. You would ensure that no one scratches the wood frame. If the futon frame is a platform bed, then you would ensure that the headboard is free of scratches. Check that your futon or platform bed is free of termites and other pests, because these could damage the wood. If you are using a futon bunk bed made of metal, then you would have to check for rust and get the frame freshly painted every couple of years.

When caring for mattresses, cushions and comforters, you can do no better than the Japanese and see that these are aired during the summer. Find out if you can use the terrace in your apartment house, if you don't have a balcony. You can also get two sets of futon, comforter, and cushion covers made, along with window treatments, for the spring-summer and autumn-winter seasons. You can have one set dry cleaned while you use the second.

As for furniture, such as tables, you will need to use coasters while serving tea or coffee, and table stands, while serving hot or cold meals. The aim is to avoid damaging the wood by placing excessively hot or excessively cold items on the surface. You will also check your furniture for pests of all kinds and polish it at regular intervals.

When using screens, you need to take care of the frame and the body of the screen as well. The frame and the body could be made of wood, in which case you need to dust and polish on a regular basis. Else the frame could be wooden and the rest of the screen could consist of canvas or plastic panels that depict a scene of some kind. In this case, you would dust and polish the frame and ensure that the body of the screen is not torn or damaged.

For more details, visit www.ellensfuton.com