Water stains on the parquet, grease stains on the wooden table: such small mishaps can always happen. Luckily, there are a few simple methods that can help get rid of unsightly residue in the wood. Like you without special means Remove stains from wood you can read in this post.
The best tip is to clean up the mishap as quickly as possible so that water, grease or even wax don’t have a chance to penetrate deep into the wood.
Remove water stains on parquet and other wood
Table of Contents
There are light and dark water stains, each treated differently. If the water stain is still light, only the surface is damaged, while in the case of dark stains the water has already penetrated deeper layers of the wood.
How to get rid of water stains:
- Treating white water stains with the hair dryer: To allow the water to evaporate from the surface of the wood, blow-dry the stain at a medium temperature and preferably at a distance from the surface so that the wood is not too hot and any paintwork is not damaged. Depending on the size of the stain, this can take 10-20 minutes.
- Eliminate light-colored water stains with salt and oil: To do this, mix a pinch of salt with a few drops of light-colored vegetable oil to form a paste and rub this into the stain until it is gone. Wipe off with a dry, soft cloth. For an even coloration, it is advisable to then treat the entire wood with a care product that matches the rest of the wood.
Dark water stains are best sanded off. You will find out how to do this in the next section.
Sand stains out of the wood
In order to remove dark water stains, but also deep-seated oil or wax from wood, it is advisable to sand down the affected area.
This is needed:
- 120 or 150 grit medium sandpaper
- Fine sandpaper with 200 or 240 grit
Time needed, depending on the size of the stain: 20 minutes.
How to remove stains from wood
- sand away stains
Sand away the stains with the coarse sandpaper, always sanding in the direction of the grain for a smooth result without additionally damaging the wood fibers.
- Sand affected area smooth
Sand down with the fine sandpaper until the treated area feels as smooth as the surrounding wood.
- post-treat wood
Protect treated wood from new stains on the repaired area with varnish, oil or wax, depending on how the rest of the wood is treated.
So that the processed area is no longer recognizable later, it can make sense to lightly sand the entire piece of wood and reseal it.
Remove grease stains on wood
For grease stains, agents are needed that suck the grease back out of the wood. Before you have to reach for the sandpaper (see above), try one of the following two methods:
- Removing grease stains from wood with an iron: Position blotting paper, toilet paper, or an old tea towel over the stain. Heat the iron to wool temperature without steam and iron over the absorbent material until the fat has been absorbed.
- Removing fat from wood with pipe clay or clay: To do this, mix a paste of water and clay. Spread this on the stain and let it dry, then wipe away. The clay absorbs the fat.
To ensure that any remaining color differences to the surrounding wood disappear, it is best to treat the entire wood surface again with an agent that corresponds to the other treatment, such as oil or wax.
Removing wax from wood
If a candle has fallen over or wax got onto wood in some other way, it makes sense to wait until the wax has set. Then carefully scrape the coarsest residue off the surface with a blunt knife.
Then use the same trick with the iron that was already described in the section on removing grease stains: place blotting paper or another absorbent material on the stain and run a moderately hot iron over it without steam until the wax has been pulled out of the wood .
Tip: An iron can also help to remove scratches from wood – in this case in combination with a wet piece of fabric.
In our book you will find out how many other things in the household can be cleaned with simple (household) products:
What tricks do you know to remove stains from wood? We look forward to your additions in the comments!
You might also be interested in these topics:
