Did your beautiful wooden kitchen table get strange stains? Or maybe that wooden closet or floor has got ugly blemishes, spots, and discolorations. But no worries anymore as we have some great DIY hacks to remove stains from wood in this Chlorine post.
Removing stains from wood depends both on the type and severity of stains and surface treatments applied to the wood i.e oiled, waxed, or varnished. Stains and blemishes also become harder to remove with time. So, it’s best to erase the spots as soon as possible.
1. Hair Dryer for Heat Stains, Candle Wax
A simple hair dryer can remove certain types of stains. The blow dryer is indispensable, for example, if a hot pot has left a white stain on the dark table – provided the surface is waxed or glazed.
Heat stain: Simply hold the hairdryer close to the affected area for a few minutes. The heat stain should disappear almost instantly.
Candle wax: The hairdryer is also effective against candle wax on untreated or oiled surfaces. After you’ve carefully scraped off most of the wax, place a blotting paper on the stain and hold the blow dryer in place. The blotting paper soaks up the warmed-up wax residue.
2. Hot Iron For Dents on the Wood
At first look, you may feel like there is no easy solution for the dents. But there definitely is at least one. A wet cloth and an iron are often sufficient to smoothen the surface again.
To do this, place a damp linen cloth on the damaged area and go over it with a hot iron. The combination of heat and water causes the wood fibers to swell up again and the surface is evened out.
3. Hair Dryer Again for Water Stains
Water itself is a stain remover, right? But it also leaves stubborn stains on wooden surfaces. Removing water stains from wood is not so tricky though. You just need a few kitchen ingredients to make them disappear.
To do this, apply beeswax to the stain, blow-dry it and then polish the area.
Many people also swear by a combination of sunflower oil and salt to remove water stains. To do this, put a few drops of oil and a pinch of salt on a soft cloth and rub the water stain thoroughly.
You can even erase old stains using this method. If the salt is too aggressive on the surface and leaves any abrasions, use toothpaste to polish the sensitive surface.
Related: 6 Great Cleaning Hacks With Ice Cubes, Better Than Chemicals
4. Remove Stains From Wood: Sauce, Grease
Even if oil or wax is supposed to protect the wood surface against the ingress of liquids, this barrier only lasts for a while. It is all the more important to wipe up any spilled drinks or sauces immediately. If, for example, the sauce has left a grease stain, you can try to remove it with stiff lather.
To do this, add washing-up liquid to water and beat it with a whisk to form a stiff foam. Put the solution on the stain and wait for a few minutes. Then dab it off with a cloth. This method also works on coffee stains.
You can tackle larger stains on solid wood with neutral soap on a soft sponge and a little water. Rub the stains until they are erased, wipe the leftover soap and rub dry the water.
5. Erase Wood Scratches With A Walnut
Small scratches on wooden surfaces may not simply leave without a tasty offer. You may need to treat them with tasty nuts such as walnuts and hazelnuts. To do this, rub the area with half a nut. The walnut is good for deeper crevices. For lighter woods, use a hazelnut instead.
Advice: Avoid Excessively Polishing
To freshen up wooden surfaces we usually use different types of wood polishes. Even though they are very popular in furniture care because of their quick freshening effect, they often contain silicone oils or chemical compounds with mineral oils.
These oils can easily penetrate the wood and can no longer be removed. Restoration of the surface is then no longer possible and valuable pieces, especially antiques, could lose their value.
The valuable furniture should therefore only be cleaned with a care product that is specially designed for it.
