Why Is It Important To Remove Dark Stains From Woods?
Woods are the most used materials when you build homes, furniture, and floors. Woods are great materials. However, they can get stained easily.
For this reason, people are looking for a way to eliminate dark stains from wood. If you are one of them, you have come to the right post.
This page will give you working techniques to remove dark stains from wood. Read the instructions below to remove dark stains from your wooden pieces effectively.
What Are Dark Stains?
Dark stains are stubborn and hard-to-clean stains that require extra steps to clean. This article will show you the fast and easy way to eliminate them.
It is important to address the dark stains on your wood as soon as possible because if you don’t, the dark stains will make your wooden furniture and floor turn bad.
You can try a few methods to eliminate dark stains with minimal effort.
Know Your Wood’s Type Before Removing The Stains
Before you remove dark stains from wood, the first thing you need to do is to check what type of wood you have.
Are their types finished or unfinished? Once you understand the type of wood you have, it will be easier to remove the stain. Besides checking the type of wood, you also need to check the type of stain.
Check The Stain’s Type Before Cleaning It
It is always a good idea to observe what type of stain is on your wood. Once you know it, you can take the proper action accordingly.
It doesn’t matter whether the stain has sat in your wooden piece for a while or if the stain has widespread. What matters is searching for a solution to get rid of the stain.
Removing the stain immediately is essential because it can cause many problems on your wood piece.
Some of the things that can cause dark stains on your wood are:
Ink exposure
Water exposure
Metal rust
Spills from drinks or other food liquids
These stains are very difficult to clean. However, you can use various wood stain removers to get rid of these stains.
The home products used in this tutorial are oxalic acid, regular toothpaste, vinegar, hydrogen peroxide, and wood stain remover. We will teach you how to use these items to remove dark stains from wood effectively.
Cleaning Dark Stains Using Toothpaste
Toothpaste is a common cleaning product you can find easily in your house. You can use it to clean wood stains that the size is not very thick or intense.
Use a hair dryer or heat gun to dry the bad stain. You should use them by setting the temperature at a minimum level.
Apply toothpaste to the surface spot and let it sit for a few minutes. After that, the next thing you need to do is to use a sponge to clean up the stain.
Then you will see some good results. You can repeat this process many times until the stain is eliminated.
One of the advantages of using toothpaste to clean a dark stain is it can lighten the dark spot a little. Then, you can use a wood finishing product like Restor-A-Finish to bring your wood surface to its original color.
If you still can’t clean your wood using the step above, you can try using other cleaning materials such as vinegar.
Use Vinegar To Remove Dark Stains
Take a towel or cloth and put it into a container. Pour a dash of vinegar into the container and soak your cloth or towel in the vinegar.
Rub the towel or cloth on the stained area with a dark stain. Keep rubbing the area until the stain is no longer there.
Use Hydrogen Peroxide To Eliminate Dark Stains
Hydrogen peroxide is one of the most powerful items that can eliminate stains on your wood. You first need to take a towel or cloth and put it in a container.
Pour about 3% hydrogen peroxide into the container to soak the towel. Then take the towel and squeeze it to prevent the content from dripping.
Go ahead and use the towel to rub on the affected area. Put the towel on top of the soaked spot and leave it for 4 to 6 hours. This will let the hydrogen peroxide absorb the stain.
Then remove the towel or cloth and any leftover hydrogen peroxide from the wood. This method is enough to eliminate the stain. You can repeat this process many times until the stain is completely removed.
When you are about to reapply the hydrogen peroxide, make sure you clean up any excess hydrogen peroxide. If using hydrogen peroxide does not solve the dark stain issue. You may consider using oxalic acid.
Removing Dark Stains From Wood Using Oxalic Acid
Oxalic acid is another best option to try when you need to remove dark stains from wood. This oxalic acid works on your finished wood and unfinished wood.
You can purchase oxalic acid products from hardware or improvement stores near your house.
Oxalic acid harms humans, so you must take safety measures when working with oxalic acid. Here are things that you need to do to stay safe when working with oxalic acid:
You must use rubber gloves and eye protection to prevent the acid from falling on your skin or eyes.
If the acid makes contact with your skin or eyes, quickly wash your skin with running water.
Ensure you follow the oxalic acid product instructions carefully before use.
Don’t bleach oxalic acid if you don’t plan to use it.
Before using oxalic acid, ensure you have already prepared the stained surface.
If your wood piece has a surface or coating finish, you have to remove the surface or coating before using oxalic acid.
If your surface has an oil finish, you don’t need to prepare the wood in advance.
Don’t forget to mix the oxalic acid product with water measurement. For the correct water measurement, please refer to the usage information written on the product.
Do not rub the oxalic acid on other unaffected parts of your wood.
You need to leave the bleach to sit on the stained surface of your wood for a few hours.
Use regular water to clean up the bleach from the wood surface. This will remove any dark stains on your wood surface. If the stain isn’t removed yet, repeat the step above over and over until the stain is gone.
You can sand the stain to clean it away if the step above doesn’t work.
