How do you clean old mirror glass?

Use a soft cloth barely dampened with water and a tiny amount of white vinegar. Spray the cloth rather than the glass. Liquid running down the pane pools in the bottom rebate and rots the silvering from the edge up.

Can I replace the backing board?

Leave the original backing in place if it remains solid. If it crumbles, a conservator can fit a safe barrier.

My wall is quite old and crumbly, so what is the safest way to hang a heavy oak frame without it pulling the plaster down?

Heavy frames need a structural fixing. Find the vertical timber studs behind the plaster and drive long screws directly into those. Use heavy-duty strap hangers screwed into the thickest part of the frame uprights rather than relying on old wire. Spread the load across two fixing points to keep it stable.

I read somewhere that the glass in these old frames was made flat by spinning it in a circle, so is that why the reflection always looks a bit warped and wavy when you walk past?

You are describing crown glass, which was spun into a disc. It leaves circular ripples and a central bullseye. Larger mirrors often used broad glass instead. Broad glass was blown into a long cylinder, cut down the middle, and ironed flat on a hot sand table. This process leaves linear distortions rather than circular ones. Both methods produce the wavy reflection common to early plates.

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Antique Oak Mirrors

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Framed looking glasses made from dense timber to protect the fragile silvered plate, serving both to reflect light in dark rooms and to check appearance.