*
Despite our best efforts, we suffered frozen/broken pipes in an upstairs bath and arrived after the weekend to a cascade of water coming down the unstained,unfinished red oak staircase.The water stains are rather prominant…I hope I’m not the first one to give oak stairs this treatment. I’ll keep my fingers crossed that one of you will have the secret to remediate this problem. The origional intent was to use a “natural” or light stain to bring up the grain so a dark hiding stain is kinda out. Thanks in advance for the input.
Discussion Forum
Discussion Forum
Up Next
Video Shorts
Featured Story
A standardized approach, quick-to-install hardware, and a simplified design make building custom casework cost-effective.
Featured Video
Highlights
"I have learned so much thanks to the searchable articles on the FHB website. I can confidently say that I expect to be a life-long subscriber." - M.K.
Replies
*
Roy,
Dont worry it is not a big problem. Check with your floor man. If the stains arent too bad you should be able to sand them out. If they are really bad you can bleach them out and then stain them to the desired color.
Rick Tuk
*Hi Roy,The best thing I found to remove stains from any kind of wood is to use a pressure washer. I know you're thinking that water is what caused the stain but it doesn't work the same way. Water stains are caused by stagnant water sitting on the wood fibers and drying out slowly. The pressure washer will get into the wood fiber with very little water and lift the stain. Dry off the stairs after with a towel and let them completely air dry on their own. I've used this method on soft cedar siding,fencing and indoor cedar and hardwood trim. It works in seconds. No chemicals and no sanding. Place a few towels around the stain area to catch excess water and over spray. Then shoot bursts of water at the stain until it disappears, usually in a few seconds. I used a 1200 psi portable model (don't use more than 1200 psi). You have to be a bit carefull with softer wood because if you hold the nozzle too close it may splinter a little(you can lightlty sand it after if you have to). I've never had a problem and you don't have to worry with hard wood. A few guys here have tried it with good results. I personally think it beats sanding by a long shot because it's much faster and it will remove stains that sanding can't. Good luck and let us know how it turns out.Gaby
*Sorry Gaby, gotta disagree here. I would be petrified to use a pressure washer on anything indoors. What he is talking about is black water stain on oak. A good part of the staircase could be verneer(built up stringers), which will delaminate if the moisture is too extreme.(not waterproof grade plywood) I would be tempted to try the bleach method on a small unobtrusive area and go from there. Note your water damaged verneer and water damaged solid oak will react differently and likely be difficult to pair aesthetically.L
*Lawrence,I agree you should not subject veneer to excessive moisture. However, it's too late for that because like Roy said it was like Niagara Fall comming down his stairs. The entire stair case was probably saturated with water. The pressure washer will not soak through the layers of laminate of the plywood stringers (I'm guessing as to how the stairs are built). There is not enough water coming out of the machine to soak the plywood. Unless the veneer is extremely thin like cabinet type veneer then I don't see a problem.I've had black stains on oak and they don't always come out with bleach. The bleach can also lighten a portion of the wood so yes it is a good idea to test a small area first. I did get them out with pressure washing but it was not a veneered surface.As far as using the pressure washer indoors, it's not a garden hose that releases a ton of water. It's very little water but at a much higher velocity. This is why the wood doesn't get saturated with water. It dries out quickly and free of the stains. By using towels as overspray catchers you don't get any puddles of water forming especially if you direct bursts of water at a specific location.I admit that using pressurized water on wood in the house sounds unusual (maybe crazy) but you have to think of the mechanics of how the water is behaving when it comes out of the machine. It's a very fine fan type spray that is only about 4" wide at about 7" away from the nozzle. It is very easy to control the burst with the trigger. In any case, I had success doing this. I'm only sharing the experience I had. I'm not making any of this up.Gaby
*
Despite our best efforts, we suffered frozen/broken pipes in an upstairs bath and arrived after the weekend to a cascade of water coming down the unstained,unfinished red oak staircase.The water stains are rather prominant...I hope I'm not the first one to give oak stairs this treatment. I'll keep my fingers crossed that one of you will have the secret to remediate this problem. The origional intent was to use a "natural" or light stain to bring up the grain so a dark hiding stain is kinda out. Thanks in advance for the input.