Don’t use a stronger concentration of peroxide. This might discolor the wood or lighten it too much. Peroxide shouldn’t irritate your skin, but wash your hands after you handle it. Don’t touch your eyes or face before you wash your hands. This trick works on finished and unfinished wood. It shouldn’t discolor the finish.
Make sure you cover the whole stain. If it’s a very large stain, you may need another rag.
If you do this in the morning, then let the rag sit for 4-6 hours instead of waiting until the next morning.
If you’ve tried this 2 or 3 times and don’t see any improvement in the stain, then it probably won’t work. You need a stronger treatment like bleach or sanding.
Oxalic acid usually comes in powder form, which you can mix in with water when you’re ready to use it. This method also works for finished and unfinished wood.
If you get any bleach in your eye, flush it for 15 minutes with cool water. Just let the water flow over your eye and don’t rub it at all. After that, call poison control for further instructions. [8] X Trustworthy Source Mayo Clinic Educational website from one of the world’s leading hospitals Go to source
Always check the instructions to confirm the mixing instructions. They may be different for different brands. Don’t mix the bleach ahead of time and try to use it later. It doesn’t last very long in storage.
Make sure the toothbrush is clean and unused so you don’t get any stains on the wood. Don’t rub the bleach on unstained spots or you might discolor the wood. If you want to protect the unstained areas, you can tape off the stain with masking or painter’s tape. [11] X Research source
Keep kids or pets away from the area. Bleach is toxic and they might touch it.
You can repeat this 1 or 2 more times if the stain isn’t completely gone. If it still isn’t gone after this, then you may need to sand the wood.
Even if you haven’t tried to clean the stain with chemicals, it’s a good idea to wash the area first to get rid of any dirt.
If the stain is only in a small spot, then you probably don’t need an electric or belt sander. If you’re removing a lot of stains, like on an entire floor, then an electric sander might help. Try to limit your sanding to the small area above the stain. If you sand too much, you’ll have more to refinish later.
For very severe stains, sanding won’t even get them out. In this case, you’ll have to replace the wood panels or floorboards. [17] X Research source Try to collect some of the sawdust while you’re sanding. You can mix this with wood putty to match it to the wood color if you need to fix any holes.
If you don’t have a tack cloth, a wet sponge or rag usually picks up a good amount of sawdust as well.
Try to match the finish that you use with the original finish on the wood. Otherwise, the colors will be different. If you aren’t sure what that color was, try using a finisher’s color wheel from a hardware store to match colors and find the right finish type. [21] X Research source If you have to plug any holes with putty, try mixing some sawdust from when you sanded the floor with the putty. This matches its color to the wood for a less noticeable repair.
