How to Repair White Water Stains on Your Furniture

 

There is nothing worse than to see a water or heat stain on your prized wooden table surface.

 

These stains can be created by heat or moisture, or from both heat and moisture. Most commonly from a hot coffee cup or cold glass left on the surface for a period of time.  A white stain means that the moisture has only penetrated the surface coating.  A darker stain means that the moisture has penetrated the coating and entered the wood below.

 

If you search the Internet, you will find many methods recommended for the fixing of this problem.  Many of them are not appropriate and can cause severe damage to your piece. For example, there are remedies that advocate the use of Chlorine Bleach, Tooth Paste, Mineral Oils, Baking Soda, Sandpaper, Steel Wool etc.  The use of these methods can and often do cause more damage to the surface which then requires a return of the piece to the factory for a total stripping of the surface and a re coating.

 

There are several types of finishes that are used on wood. They can be either polyurethane based (water), lacquer based or oil based. Some manufacturers may also have a stain applied to the timber before the finish is applied.  We at Jarrah Works Fine Furniture do not use a stain on our pieces, so I will not cover how to treat pieces with a stained base coat here.

 

 Without doubt, we have found the method below works best for us.  It is also the safest and least likely to cause additional damage if followed carefully.

 

If the stain is new, less then two days, then this process will be fairly quick.  If the stain is older, then this may take a day or two to work.

 

Step 1: Things Needed

 

You will need an iron and a large piece of clean white 100% cotton fabric.  Do not use colored fabric as it can sometimes transfer the color to the top.

 

Step 2: Prepare the iron

 

You will need remove all water from the iron and turn off the steam if it is a steam type of iron.  If not steam type, then good.

 

You should then put the irons temperature control to the lowest setting possible.  As a test, you should be able to place your hand on the surface of the iron and comfortably hold it there just feeling warmth.  This is where we start operating from.  We can increase the temperature in steps further into the process.

 

Step 3: Prepare the Fabric

 

You will need fold the fabric so that there are four layers that are larger than the base of the iron.  It is important that it is larger than the iron in size, so that the iron will not be in direct contact with the surface of the top.

 

Step 4: Place the fabric and iron over the stain.

 

Place the fabric over the stain and then the warm iron on the fabric .  The fabric will spread the heat from the iron evenly over a large surface area.  This heat will then penetrate the coating and start the drying process.  This process can take several hours if the stain is only a few days old.  If the stain is older, it may take a day or two to work.

 

Step 5: Check after one hour.

 

After one hour, remove iron and fabric.  Test with you hand flat on the surface of the top to see how warm it is.  If it is as warm as a coffee cup that you can hold in your bare hands for 20 seconds, then it is good.  If not warm, increase iron temperature to the next setting.  SEE CAUTION NOTE BELOW. Replace fabric and iron.

 

Step 6: Check after three hours.

 

After three hours, remove iron and fabric.  If the stain is still not reducing, increase the temperature of the iron slightly.  Replace fabric and iron.  Repeat this step until you see the stain reducing.  Once the stain starts reducing or changing from cloudy to opaque, leave the temperature at that setting and check progress hourly until stain is gone.

 

Caution

 

Do not use more than 10% of the irons lowest temperature setting.  Higher temperature settings can and will cause more damage.  Time not speed will work here.