Real wood is easy to live with, and a charger you use every day will outlast most plastic ones. A few habits keep it looking the way it did when it arrived.
Dust it, do not soak it
A dry microfibre cloth is all a wooden charger normally needs. If something sticky lands on it, dampen the cloth very slightly and dry it straight away. Never run wood under a tap, never leave it sitting in a wet patch, and keep it away from kitchen sinks and bathroom counters where standing water is a fact of life.
Skip the household cleaners
Bleach sprays, alcohol wipes and all-purpose kitchen cleaners strip the oil finish and leave the grain looking grey and dry. They can also fog the charging surface. Water on a cloth, or nothing at all, is the right answer.
Re-oil it once or twice a year
Our pieces are finished with a natural oil rather than lacquer, which is why they still feel like wood instead of plastic. Oil does slowly dry out. Once or twice a year, put a few drops of food-safe mineral oil, walnut oil or a standard furniture oil on a cloth, wipe it along the grain, leave it twenty minutes, then buff off whatever has not soaked in. The colour comes straight back.
Keep it out of direct sun and off radiators
Prolonged direct sunlight bleaches wood unevenly, so a charger that sits half in a window stripe ends up two-tone. Dry radiator heat can shrink timber slightly over a season. A nightstand or a desk away from the window is ideal.
Rings, marks and small dents
A pale ring from a glass usually lifts with a little oil and patience. A small dent in solid wood can often be raised by laying a damp cloth over it and touching it briefly with a warm iron, though go carefully and stay well away from any electronics. Scratches in an oiled finish can be smoothed with very fine sandpaper along the grain and then re-oiled, which is something you simply cannot do with a lacquered or plastic product.
Looking after the charging surface
Keep grit off the pad, since a trapped particle under a phone will scratch both. Take metal cards, ring grips and magnetic wallet attachments off before charging. If charging ever seems slow, clean both the pad and the back of the phone before assuming anything is wrong.
How each wood ages
Walnut darkens and warms over the years. Oak lightens slightly and its open grain becomes more pronounced. Bamboo is the most stable of the three and changes least. None of this is damage. It is the reason people buy wood in the first place.