4 Steps To Remove A Water Stain From Timber Furniture

By Author: Todd
Total Articles: 6
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When you choose real timber furniture for your home, it will impart a real feeling of warmth and quality to your rooms. However, timber is a natural product, and if you’re used to mass produced laminates or composite products, it’s important to understand that real timber has certain needs. One thing that you need to be particularly aware of is water stains; removing the stain may be simple, but quick action is recommended if you don’t want to sand and refinish the surface. In this article, we will look at four simple steps that you can take to remove a water stain from a timber furniture surface.

Evaluate the Damage

Before you begin, the first thing that you need to ascertain is the depth of the damage, and this can be determined by examining the water mark or stain carefully. If the stain was created by steam or liquid, it will typically have a light or even white colour. This colour indicates that the damage hasn’t penetrated deeper than the protective waxed or polished timber surface. But, if the stain is a darker colour, then the liquid deep penetrated deeper, and it may even have reached the wood. ...
... In this case, the required fix will be more extensive and beyond the scope of this article. Here we will only look at how you can remove the lighter surface water stains from your timber furniture.

Step 1: The affected area can be rubbed with a variety of things, such as petroleum jelly, a very oily furniture polish and even mayonnaise! The purpose is to use the oil in those things to displace the water stain, and in many cases, this may be all that’s required. If this is not successful move on to step 2.

Step 2: Get a clean wet cloth, add some toothpaste and rub it gently into the affected area until the water stain disappears. Many toothpaste products contain a very mild abrasive agent that’s safe to use on your teeth, so it’s also kind on timber furniture. If this doesn’t work, you may need a more abrasive solution covered in step 3.

Step 3: Equally mix together toothpaste and baking soda to create a slightly more abrasive cleaning material. Place some on a clean cloth and gently work it into the water stain to clean it away from the surface. The amount of this cleaning mix that you need will vary a great depending on the size of the water mark. Generally, a ¼ or ½ tsp of toothpaste and baking soda will be enough. If this doesn’t work the water stain is very stubborn, and you need to move onto step 4.

Step 4: Take a soft cloth, dip it in a mild solvent, such as odourless paint thinner and mineral spirits and squeeze the excess liquid out until the cloth is just damp. Test the solvent first on a part of the underside to make sure it will not cause damage and then rub the cloth on the water stain until it disappears,

If you’re looking for high quality Australian made timber furniture get in touch with us here at Jarrimber, and we will be happy to help.