From wood furniture — a quick note to anchor this piece for readers.
From wood furniture: Quick notes
It all happens at some point. Some one doesn’t use a coaster on a wood coffee table or end table and when they pick it up, the glass has sat long enough and had enough moisture and condescension to leave a ring on the table top that doesn’t come out and looks awful. Whether it’s a piece of furniture you own or one you’ve picked up and want to rehab, while the blemishes are heartbreaking, there are a few tricks to try to hopefully remove the stains off wood furniture. I had a table with white ring stains from the kids glasses ans tried several “remedies” to see what worked the best.
That white, stained ring is from moisture leeching through the surface of the finish and getting trapped underneath. Many of us also have kids that spill and leave wet products laying around as well. How well the white ring is removed depends on what the surface is sealed with. Unsealed wood mat need to be sanded. Waxed surfaces can have the wax removed and rewaxed if the damage doesn’t go below the surface.
Trying Mayonnaise to Remove a White Stain On The Wood
The easiest start to fixing it is to trying the old wives tale: mayonnaise. This is easy because most people have it on hand, but this works best with surface level stains in the finish and not those that have penetrated deeper. Take a scoop of mayonnaise in a small bowl and with a clean cloth. Apply the mayo in a circular motion on the white ring to work it in and then let it sit on the ring for up to 30 min. The oil should help darken and hopefully make it less obvious than before. Vinegar can also be tried, but this could ruin the other finish around the stain by dulling it depending on what it’s finished with, so use this sparingly and test it on an inconspicuous area first.
Trying Olive Oil To Remove A White Ring Stain
I also tried olive oil on our most recent stain and my experience is it did moisturize the wood and make the white stain ring less obvious, but didn’t remove it. Start with a small amount of olive oil , let sit for 5-10 minutes and then remove and buff with a clean cloth.
After wiping it clean, I saw it did remove the white ring, but there was still a very faint mark.
Furniture Oil Option
There are a few furniture oils that have stains in them that will also help to mask stains, scratches and white rings. Old English is a brand I like and use. Depending on the shade, it has a light to dark scratch cover that can also help cover the surface. So either way, while it does work, it doesn’t completely remove the water stains. So in my experience, mayonnaise can’t totally remove stubborn stains and white rings from furniture, but it’s not a perfect fix, but it does make them less noticeable, so there’s that.
Wood Furniture Care
One of the biggest ways to prevent wood staining and future water stains on furniture is to make sure the furniture has a good sealant on it whether it is wax, polyurethane or another tough finish. Some basic furniture care includes:
-Using a microfiber cloth to remove dust
-Use a lightly damp cloth to remove sticky residue
-Use coasters to protect from initial damage
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So either way, while it does work, it doesn’t completely remove the water stains.This is the one downfall with waxed surfaces, which I talk about the difference between the finishes in this post between using wax and polyacrylic to finish a tabletop. I knew that risk when I was waxing this top, but to be honest, I thought I would at least get a few months out of it. I have to admit, they work fast. So mayonnaise can remove water stains, and white rings from furniture, but it’s not a perfect fix, but it does make them less noticeable.
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