Every RUTED object is cut, milled and finished by hand in our own workshop in South Tyrol. Wood keeps moving, breathing and changing after it leaves us — that is not a flaw in the material, it is the material. Looked after properly, these pieces get better with age rather than worse.
The short version
Do
- Wipe dry after any contact with water
- Use a soft, lint-free cloth
- Re-oil roughly once a year
- Keep it at normal room humidity
Don't
- Dishwasher, ever
- Leave standing water or spills
- Household cleaners, alcohol, solvents
- Radiators, windowsills, direct sun
Everyday care
For daily use, almost nothing is required. Dust with a dry cloth. If something needs more than that, use a barely damp cloth and dry the surface immediately afterwards.
Standing moisture is the one thing solid wood does not forgive. Water left sitting on an oiled surface will work its way past the finish and raise the grain, and a ring left overnight is far harder to remove than one wiped up straight away.
Skip household cleaners entirely. Anything containing alcohol, ammonia or solvents dissolves the oil finish and leaves dull, blotchy patches that only re-oiling will fix. Plain water on a soft cloth handles essentially everything.
Where you put it matters more than how you clean it
Wood doesn't crack because it gets old. It cracks because the air around it changes faster than the wood can follow.
A desk in a normally heated room is ideal. A windowsill in summer sun, the shelf directly above a radiator, or a room that swings from damp to bone-dry with the seasons will all shorten the life of a solid wood object considerably.
Refreshing the oil finish
Our pieces are finished with a natural hard wax oil. It sits inside the wood rather than forming a plastic film on top — which is why the surface still feels like wood under your hand, and why it can always be renewed. A lacquered piece, once damaged, has to go back to a workshop. An oiled piece you can repair yourself at the kitchen table.
When
The surface tells you. It's time when the wood starts to look dry or chalky, when the colour flattens out, or when a drop of water soaks in instead of beading up. For a desk object in normal use, expect roughly once a year. A tray that catches keys and coins every day may want it twice.
How
- Clean and dry. Wipe the piece down and let it dry completely — at least an hour. Oil applied over trapped moisture will cloud.
- Sand only if needed. If the surface feels rough or has a raised water mark, go over it lightly with 320-grit paper, always along the grain, never across it. Wipe off all dust afterwards.
- Apply thinly. Put a small amount of hard wax oil or furniture oil on a lint-free cloth and work it in following the grain. Less is genuinely better here.
- Let it soak in for 10–15 minutes.
- Wipe off the excess — all of it. This is the step people skip, and it is the one that matters. Any oil still sitting on the surface has nowhere to go and will stay tacky for weeks.
- Cure for 24 hours before putting the piece back into use.
One thin coat is enough. If the wood still looks thirsty after curing, do a second thin coat rather than a thick first one.
Caring for the diffusers
Refilling
Top up with fragrance oil when the level runs low. Fill slowly and don't overfill — oil that runs down the outside will mark the wood if it isn't wiped off.
The reeds
Turn them every one to two weeks. This keeps the scent even and stops the exposed ends from clogging. Replace the reeds when they stop drawing oil upward, usually after two or three refills.
Spills
Wipe concentrated fragrance oil off the wood immediately. Undiluted, it acts as a mild solvent and will leave a visible ring on an oiled surface if it sits for any length of time.
Placement
Out of direct sun, away from heat sources and strong draughts. All three make the oil evaporate faster, which costs you scent and money.
What is normal
We work with real wood and we don't try to make it look like something printed. A few things will happen to your piece that are simply what solid wood does.
Every piece is different
Grain, colour and tone vary from piece to piece — within the same batch, and even within a single board. Two trays milled minutes apart will not be identical twins, and photographs on the shop show one example rather than a template.
The colour will shift
Walnut lightens a little over the years. Oak and ash deepen towards a warmer, richer tone. This is patina. It happens fastest in the first months and then slows down, and it is the reason people keep wooden objects for decades.
Also completely normal
- Fine tool marks or surface lines visible at a low angle
- A faint smell of oil for the first two or three weeks
- Slight seasonal movement — wood expands in humid months and contracts in dry ones
- Small tonal differences between two pieces bought as a set
None of this is a defect, and none of it affects how long the piece will last.
Our three woods
| Wood | Character | Over time |
|---|---|---|
| Walnut | Deep brown, flowing grain, occasional lighter streaks | Lightens and warms; the contrast between light and dark grain softens |
| Oak | Open, clearly drawn grain with visible medullary rays | Darkens towards a golden-honey tone |
| Ash | Pale, bright, long straight grain | Takes on a warm cream tone; the most noticeable change of the three |
Fixing small problems
When something is actually wrong
Cracks that run through the piece, joints coming apart, or damage that arrived with the parcel are a different matter entirely, and not something you should try to fix yourself.
Write to info@ruted.eu with your order number and a photo, or use the contact form. We'll tell you what we can do before you send anything back.
You have 30 days from delivery to request a return — the conditions are in our refund policy, and the EU withdrawal form is here if you need it.