Iron Your Furniture

What causes white rings? 

When something wet or hot is placed on wood furniture, moisture can become trapped under the protective finish on your piece leaving a hazy white patch.

Hold the Mayo.

We love a good life hack. Maybe a few of you are like me and reach for the mayonnaise or furniture polish to keep wood furniture looking fresh at home. DON’T.

The oil in mayo can seep under the finish and discolor the wood, making it more difficult to refinish if and when the time comes (check your furniture polish as well to make sure it doesn’t contain silicone oil, which can also seep under failed finish, stain the wood and cause problems down the road).

Here’s how to treat it.

Instead get out your trusty clothes iron and a dry cloth. We’ve used kitchen towels, linen napkins and old t-shirts when treating these stains. Crank up the iron (medium-high) and iron the spot through your cloth. Go relatively lightly and quickly the first few times until you get a feel for the process.

Take a peek under your cloth to see if the spot is disappearing. Repeat until the white stain is gone.

If there’s more going on under the surface or the protective coat hasn’t held up, this process makes it better, but a full surface refinish is needed. We can help with that too.

Now what about the dark rings?

That’s an entirely different animal. We’ll talk about that one in the near future.