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Home
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Home Repair
Floors
Removing Hardwood Floor Stains
I was down in the basement making some repairs when I noticed a drip from the ceiling. I came back upstairs and traced it to a cat fountain that had soaked right through the towel I had under it. The floor was soaking wet, too. I dried it off, but there is a white area now (stain on the hardwood floors is a blond one). It looks as if the finish has been removed. There is no buckling or damage to the wood itself. How can I restore this piece of flooring? The stain is about a foot square. Thanks in advance for any advice!
ST
I saw this remedy on HGTV during a home show. Take wood stain that is as close as you can go to the floor and apply it to the floor. If it is a mystery stain, use a combination of dark and light stain until you get it as close as you can. (Only do this after the floor is absolutely dry!) Rub it in well and polish it well. Apply a thin bit of MINWAX® or other furniture wax and you are good to go.
LynAnne
I have similar stains in my recently purchased house and am using a wood-colored crayon (for now) until we get around to actually sanding and restoring the floors (probably in the summer). There's also an ink stain in my hall (ink on the hardwood?) that I'm crayoning over. No kids with crayons? Home Depot sells hardwood floor-colored grease pencils in many shades.
Wenchypoo
Buy a small can of stain mixed with polyurethane. The stain should match your floor and the polyurethane should match also. For example, try an oak stain with a satin finish. Clean the floor and follow the directions for applying multiple coats and sand if required. It will blend in better than you expect and the repair will be undetectable.
Ilsa
You might wait to see what it looks like when it's dried all the way. That may take a few days to happen. Often wood finishes will look white when they've absorbed water. It may feel unfinished because the wood has absorbed water and the fibers swell up. If it's still hazy/white when totally dry, you can sand just that area and refinish it. If you haven't done this before, you could talk to someone at the hardware store to make sure you get the right sandpaper grits and then stain and finish so it matches.
CAJudi
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