Best solution to wiping down some painted wood furniture?

Murphy’s Oil Soap.

Are you going to show us the unit?

Its painted so you should be able to wipe it down. Raw wood will raise up in places sometimes if it gets wet but with painted wood you aren’t wiping any wood. You are wiping the paint on it. Unless I’m missing something.

It’s the “Expedit” from Ikea. I’m on my phone and it’s too tedious a task to open multiple browsers at the moment!

That wood has been finished. So you should be able to clean it with anything you want. I prefer Murphy’s Oil Soap, but I’d still rinse and dry it.

The key is to use something damp rather than all-out wet. So long as you’re not letting the liquid pool up or sit on the surface, you should be fine. The Ikea Expedit isn’t really painted wood, anyway…it’s laminated particle board; I wouldn’t use Murphy’s on that. Damp paper towels or paper towels sprayed with any all-purpose cleaner will be just fine.

I wouldn’t use Murphys Oil Soap on it either. If it’s brand new it’s not dirty and it’s painted so it should be somewhat impervious to moisture. Just use a damp paper towel or rag but make sure it’s not soaking wet and you should not have a problem.

Ikea lists the care instructions for this unit:

“Care instructions

Wipe clean using a damp cloth and a mild cleaner.
Wipe dry with a clean cloth.”

For future reference, if you ask for advice about cleaning “painted wood furniture”, be prepared for it to differ from the advice you should be receiving for the item you actually have. As @augustlan points out, this is not painted wood. It’s laminated particle board. This explains what that is, and how it differs from actual wood.

Cleaning the surface of your piece entails taking care of the laminate surface, which is basically paper treated with plastic or resin. This is why you don’t want to use an excess of liquid when cleaning.