Karen May from Panguitch recently called me to ask if I remembered what Vi Blake had once recommended to remove a water mark from furnature. She said she had used it on a sewing machine case top once and it worked beautifully. I looked through the past columns, but couldn't find just what it was. Then Karen said she remembered, that it was one part vegetable oil and one part salt.
I had found some other suggestions that I add here--just in case you want to try them. Certainly, before you waste time and money stripping your furniture and restaining it to remove water marks it is worth trying these suggestions
Take tooth paste (not the gel) and place it directly on the water mark and using your clean cloth rub it in a circular motion until the spot is gone. This process should take only a few moments. Once the spot is gone dip your cloth in your bucket of water and clean the toothpaste from your table.
A suggestion, if the marks are from heat marks (like setting a hot pizza pan or box on the table) is to use a medium hot iron on a clean white linen tea towel in circular motions this will take out the white heat marks. I was hesitant to try it on my oak table but figured it looked bad with the marks, so what do I have to lose. It took the marks out beautifully and now my table looks like new!
You might try first to simply gently heat the area with a hair dryer to see if that drives out the moisture.
Denatured alcohol
Gently pad a denatured alcohol dampened cloth over the spot in a sweeping motion. The alcohol is miscible in the water and they should evaporate away together. This is very effective on shellac finishes, but the alcohol is a solvent for shellac, so go gently. Aged lacquer is also susceptible to alcohol.
Another person I talked to said: "I mixed mayonaisse and cigarette ash, and left it on about an hour. When I wiped it away the white heat ring was gone too.
A similar approach is baby oil and cigarette ashes, gently rubbed in.
Still another suggestion:
1. Spread about 2 Tablespoons of mayonnaise on a paper towel.
2. Place the paper towel on the white water mark. Press lightly.
3. Leave the mayonnaise on the stain about 15 minutes.
4. Lift the paper towel and check the stain. If the mark remains, rub more mayo into it again and check it later.
Some people report similar results with peanut butter or Vaseline.
Paint stores carry a yellow felt cloth that contains oils and a light abrasive. With rubbing, the oil displaces the moisture. Clean off the oil when finished. This may raise the sheen on flatter finishes.
Send suggestions to Veda Hale, Box 956, Pangutich, Utah, 84759 or email vedahale@hotmail.com
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