By Laura, Guest Blogger
Picture this: you’ve bought some brand new end tables, a coffee table or a credenza, and decide to throw a party to show them off. Friends and family come over; you eat, laugh and have a great time. Everyone leaves, and that’s when you spot it: someone has set a glass down on your new furniture without a coaster and left a water mark! Before giving into your fiery rage and disowning all your relatives and friends, give this a try.
When wet glasses are set down on wooden tables, they leave behind white rings. Those are caused by water vapor penetrating into the finish. You’ll need to free that trapped moisture by rubbing the stain in the direction of the wood grain with a gentle, abrasive cleaner. Denatured alcohol, non-soapy ammonia, or even a mix of baking soda and water will do the trick. Do this for five to ten minutes until the stain is gone. Then dry and clean the area with a soft cloth and seal the finish with furniture or paste wax.
Growing up at my house, my mother was a stickler about coasters. We didn’t have the problem of water rings too often. There was one time, though, when my uncle was throwing a football around the living room. He threw a pass towards me. It was a little over my head, but I committed to catching it. I dove through the air to make an amazing catch! The downside came when I landed on the end table with my face, breaking my two front teeth out in the process. I remember that there was no pain at all, and I wondered why everyone in the family was freaking out. It could have been the teeth stuck in the wood, or the blood streaming down my shirt. But I hadn’t noticed those things – I was living in the glory of the sweet catch I’d just made. If I had somewhere to Lambeau Leap, believe me I would have. Instead, I had to go to the dentist and have fake teeth inserted until my adult teeth grew in. And, I don’t think the fixes above would have helped that end table out in that situation. Until next time!
