How to Remove Water Stains From Hardwood Floors

Hardwood floors are beautiful and increasingly popular with homeowners for their practicality—they are easy to clean and won't hold odors. However, hardwood floors do have a down side—they will stain, particularly if water is left on the surface for a time. Once hardwood is water stained, you can’t just clean it up with a floor cleaner; you need to get rid of the stain and refinish the floor. While that all sounds like a lot of work, if your water stain isn’t too big, removing a water stain from hardwood flooring is really a job most DIY’ers can take on. Here’s how.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Denatured (isopropyl) alcohol
• Lint-free cloths
• Sandpaper (150 grit and 22 grit)
• Orbital sander
• Safety glasses
• Dust mask
• Mineral spirits
• Natural bristle paint brush (2 to 3”)
• Polyurethane finish

1. Start by thoroughly cleaning the floor area all around the stain with denatured alcohol.

2. Using 150-grit sandpaper and your orbital sander, sand away the top layer of the stained wood. (The water will actually have gone right into the wood so you need to get rid of all the gray color.)

3. Move the sander gently around on the floor and let the sandpaper do the work. You don’t want to press too hard or you could create sanding marks on the wood.

4. Soak a lint-free cloth with mineral spirits and use it to wipe up all the dust on the floor.

5. Using your natural bristle paint brush apply the polyurethane finish. Start at one side of the sanded patch and spread the poly in one direction only.

6. Allow this first coat of poly to dry thoroughly (overnight is best) and lightly touch up the finish by hand with the 220-grit sandpaper.

7. Wipe up any dust and apply a second coat of poly, then allow it to dry thoroughly before walking on the floor.

Tips & Warnings

• A random orbital sander moves in very small circles and eliminates the potential problem of "sanding swirl" marks you could get on your floors with a regular orbital sander. You can obviously use a regular orbital sander for this job, but you need to move it in the random pattern yourself.
• If your hardwood floors have a colored stain, you may have to match the color by mixing small quantities of two or three stains that are close in color.
• Avoid getting water stains on your hardwood floors by putting plant saucers underneath pots and not leaving wet clothes or towels on the floor.
• Wear a dust mask and safety glasses when using your orbital sander.
• If anything gets into the poly finish while it is still wet (e.g. a paint brush bristle) get it out before the poly dries or you’ll need to start the repair all over.