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VampiressRN
Grand Member (1 year)
Sun City Lincoln Hills (NorCal)
Joined: Nov 23, 2006
Posts: 6166
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Since Tiki folks tend to be home decor mavins, there are often challenges we have in basic home maintenance. There are lot's of helpful hints on such topics as refinishing furniture and dressing up walls, but sometimes there are other tips that would be helpful. Starting out with a tip for removing rug imprints that I saw today (haven't tried it yet) and an old tried and true for moisture rings on wood.
SPRING CLEANING: How To Remove Carpet Dents
By Diana N. Nguyen
Have you ever moved a big piece of furniture, only to reveal small 'dents' in the carpet? These small divots, which are caused by heavy and constant pressure, may seem irreversible, but with our super simple methods, you can get your carpet surface back to its original appearance in no time. (This might be your easiest spring cleaning task!)
ICE CUBE. Simply place ice cubes in the carpet dips and wait a few hours or at least until the ice melts. Use a sponge to absorb the excess water, and then use a spoon or a coin to gently lift the carpet fibers.
STEAM IRON. For an entirely opposite approach, lay a clean cloth over the dent and steam heat with a iron. Do not place the iron directly on top of the carpet. Then, gently spoon up the fibers.
DAMP TOWEL. For deeper dents, lay a moist hand towel over the dent. On medium heat, gently iron over the towel. The fibers will start to spring up under the heat. Leave the towel on the divot and remove when dry. Finally, vacuum over the affected carpet area so the fibers are sucked to maximum height.
BLOW DRYER. You can also spritz any dents with water. Then, use a blow dryer to heat the affected areas. Use your fingers to brush up the fibers intermittently through the drying process.
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REMOVING WATER MARKS AND RINGS FROM WOOD
Most white marks or rings on furniture are usually left by water or moisture penetrating through the protective finish (varnish, shellac, lacquer etc.) and then getting trapped below the finish. When this happens the finish in that area appears white and looses its transparency. This usually appears in the shape of a ring and happens on a surface like a tabletop. The ring shaped mark happens because it is usually left by a wet drinking glass or hot cup under which moisture condenses (builds up) on the protective finish that has been applied to the piece of furniture. This usually happens on older pieces where the finish has started to crack or craze. The moisture will seep through the small cracks in the finish. There are a few methods you can use to remove water marks, listed here:
USE A LUBRICANT
This first method is the easiest and less likely to damage the finish. Apply any type of lubricant oily substance (petroleum jelly, furniture wax, liquid furniture polish etc.) and then let it sit at least 8 hours. If the water ring was not too pronounced, the water (moisture) under the finish will have been replaced by the lubricant you applied. I have used mayonnaise in the past with good results.
TRY ALCOHOL
Slightly dampen a clean cloth with some denatured alcohol and then pass it lightly over the water mark. Make sure you keep the cloth moving and just try to skim the surface. BE VERY CAREFUL. Too much alcohol will dissolve a shellac finish and could damage a lacquer or water based finish. Start with a very small amount of alcohol on the cloth and add more if needed. Make sure you watch closely what is happening. You may want to test this process on an unseen area of the piece first to make sure it will not harm the finish. After about 30 seconds to 1 minute you should start to see the ring lighten up. Alcohol will remove most water rings, however there are exceptions.
RUBBING OUT THE MARKS
In the worst cases you will have to physically remove the mark by using a lubricant and abrasive to rub it out. Apply some paraffin oil or mineral oil over the mark and use 0000 steel wool to rub the mark out. Be careful not to cut completely through the finish. Once the mark has been removed, the steel wool will have left the area dull. You will now have to even out the sheen in that area so it is even with the rest of the piece. To do this, once again use paraffin oil or mineral oil as a lubricant along with finer abrasives like pumice powder, or even finer, rottenstone. The finer the abrasive you use, the shiner the finish. Rubbing out the mark is the most likely to do damage to the finish and is the most time consuming. It should only be a last resort if the other methods have failed.
IRON
One way to remove white water stains from wood is to use a hot iron on a smoothly-textured, lint-free cloth placed over the stain, iron very briefly (seconds), lift the cloth, and repeat until stain is gone
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Please share any helpful tips you may have (including what kind of cocktail you prefer when doing household chores).
I prefer a good Gin & Tonic. :drink:
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