5 ways to get your furniture ready for the monsoon; Expert shares tips and tricks

Protect your furniture this monsoon with simple maintenance habits that help prevent moisture damage, mould, odours, and wear.

Keep furniture fresh, dry, and protected this rainy season with smart care practices that help extend its lifespan. (canva.com)

By Neha Ravi Khandelwal

Neha Khandelwal
Content Lead, HT Travel | Travel & Lifestyle Journalist
With over 10 years of content writing experience, Neha Khandelwal is a lifestyle journalist and the Content Lead at HT Travel. She specialises in destinations, hotels, aviation, luggage, travel gear, and practical guides that help readers plan smarter and travel better. Her work combines first-hand experience, expert insights, and extensive research to create stories that are informative, useful, and easy to follow.

Career Journey & Experience
Neha began her writing career as a freelance journalist in 2010 before entering mainstream media with The Times of India in 2022. She later joined Hindustan Times, where she has written extensively across travel, lifestyle, home, and consumer trends. Her professional background extends beyond journalism. Before moving into digital media full-time, she spent nearly a decade in interior design, managing residential projects from concept to execution. She also trained in visual merchandising with Shoppers Stop and Pantaloons and worked with women-led startups across design and operations. These experiences continue to shape her storytelling, especially in how she evaluates hotels, design-led stays, hospitality spaces, and travel experiences.

A naturally curious learner, Neha has completed beginner certifications in pottery, scuba diving, baking, creative writing, and other creative pursuits. She has read more than 2,000 books, trained in Bharatanatyam for 8 years, and ghostwritten a book on Ladakh tourism.

Subject Expertise
Travel is at the heart of Neha's work. She covers destinations, hotels, airlines, luggage, packing strategies, travel accessories, and emerging travel trends through a mix of reporting, product testing, and conversations with industry experts. A frequent traveller herself, she approaches every trip with a journalist's curiosity and a planner's mindset, focusing on experiences that readers can realistically recreate. From choosing the right cabin bag to decoding hotel openings and destination trends, her writing prioritises practical advice over promotional claims. Her background in interior design also gives her a distinct perspective on architecture, hospitality design, boutique hotels, luxury stays, and thoughtfully designed spaces.

Education & Professional Background
Neha holds a Master's degree in Interior Design. Her early experience in interior design, visual merchandising, and design operations gives her a unique understanding of aesthetics, functionality, and user experience, adding depth to her coverage of hotels, resorts, and travel spaces.

Editorial Philosophy
"As an avid, research-driven traveller, my goal is simple. To answer the questions you actually have before booking a trip. I cut through the promotional noise with honest reporting and expert insights. Making travel planning seamless, smart, and reliable so you always know where to go next."

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I love the rain. What I do not love is the way they quietly take over every corner of the house. Cushions start feeling a little damp, wardrobes smell a little musty, and that beautiful wooden side table suddenly looks like it has had a rough few weeks. The monsoon has a way of making even the smallest household issues impossible to ignore.

Furniture often bears the brunt of all that extra moisture in the air, which is why a little seasonal maintenance can make a big difference. When I reached out to Vaishali Shah, Design Lead, Home Storage at Interio by Godrej, for her top monsoon furniture care tips, she pointed out that humidity is one of the biggest reasons furniture ages faster during this time of year. "Ensuring adequate ventilation is one of the most effective ways to control indoor moisture and prevent issues such as mould, musty odours, and material deterioration," she says.

Vaishali Shah's top tips to get your furniture monsoon-ready

The good news is that protecting furniture during the rainy season does not require a major overhaul. A few smart habits can help keep moisture-related problems at bay and save you from dealing with swollen wood, musty smells, and stubborn mould later. Here are the five tips Vaishali Shah recommends.

1. Pull furniture away from damp walls

Walls tend to absorb and retain moisture during the monsoon. Keeping a small gap between furniture and the wall improves airflow and reduces the chances of mould, damp patches, and long-term damage.

2. Give wooden furniture an extra layer of protection

A fresh coat of polish or a protective finish acts as a shield against humidity. It can help preserve the look of wooden furniture while reducing the risk of swelling and surface damage.

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3. Let the air flow

Cross ventilation is your best friend during the rainy season. Open windows when conditions allow, switch on exhaust fans, or use a dehumidifier to keep indoor moisture levels under control.

4. Stay on top of cleaning

This is not the season to skip dusting. Regularly wiping furniture with a dry, soft cloth helps remove moisture and prevents dirt from settling into surfaces. Also, avoid leaving wet clothes or damp items on furniture.

5. Do not forget upholstery

Sofas, cushions, and upholstered chairs can easily trap moisture. Use washable covers, vacuum them regularly, and air them out whenever possible to keep musty odours and mould away.

Useful products that can help protect furniture during the monsoon

Furniture Care Need	Product Type	How It Helps
Preventing dampness behind furniture	Moisture absorber or dehumidifier	Reduces excess humidity and helps keep rooms drier.
Protecting wooden furniture	Wood polish or furniture wax	Creates a protective layer against moisture and helps maintain the finish.
Keeping upholstery fresh	Fabric freshener spray	Helps tackle musty odours that tend to build up during the rainy season.
Controlling mould and mildew	Anti mould spray	Useful for treating moisture-prone corners and surfaces.
Protecting sofas and chairs	Washable furniture covers	Shields upholstery from moisture, dust, and everyday wear.
Improving air circulation	Pedestal or tower fan	Encourages airflow in rooms where ventilation is limited.
Keeping storage units dry	Silica gel packs or moisture absorbers	Helps reduce moisture buildup inside wardrobes and cabinets.
Cleaning furniture surfaces	Microfibre cleaning cloths	Absorb moisture effectively without scratching furniture surfaces.

The rains are going to do what the rains do. The least we can do is stop them from turning our favourite pieces of furniture into damp, musty disappointments. A little effort now can save a lot of cleaning, repairing, and regretting later. Your sofa, wardrobe, and coffee table will thank you for it.

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The author of this article holds a Master's Degree in Interior Design and has spent over a decade in research, teaching, and designing homes from scratch.

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