I was doing a little research today. I was told to research some keywords on Google, to find out what all of you readers might like to learn from us, the custom furniture people. It was an interesting exersize.
Under “how to check for quality wood furniture,” I found the advice that joints using staples are not good joints. Really? You don’t say. And that furniture that tips, or twists or wobbles isn’t good either. Oh.
And did you know that “distressed” furniture goes through a process where it is banged and scratched and dented on purpose? Ouch. I always wondered why those pieces were in distress.
But here’s my favorite. The tip of the day:
Use mayonaise to remove water marks from your furniture.
Let me just say this. Ewww. Please don’t call me and tell me that you put three tablespoons of your favorite brand of mayo on your Huston dining table. While I have complete faith that our finish would survive it, let me repeat…ewww. It is not a sandwich.
I’ve never heard this advice before. Bill says he’s heard it, “an old wives tale”, but he’s not sure if it works or not. I hope not. I just prefer to think people will stop trying it. Besides, we have a better solution to the water/heat ring problem. And it doesn’t involve condiments.
What we’re talking about here are the whitish, grayish, foggy marks left in the finish of a furniture piece after exposure to something hot or wet. Different finishes react differently to heat and liquid. The finish we use at Huston & Company is highly liquid resistant, so these white “rings” can easily be avoided by removing liquid within a reasonable amount of time – even a couple of hours. However, our finish is a little heat sensitive, so while a hot cup of coffee gets you going in the morning, it might also leave its mark when you get up and get going in the morning.
Here’s our solution. It sometimes sounds a little scary to people at first. But it really isn’t, and it has never failed us.
You will need two things:
a warm iron (yes, your regular clothing iron, on say, medium heat)
a smooth dishtowel or dusting cloth, just slightly damp with water
Directions:
place the slightly damp cloth over the spot on the furniture
move the warm iron, slowly, back and forth over the cloth, above the spot
be sure to keep the iron moving
periodically check the spot and continue this process until the spot is gone
if the cloth becomes dry, you can dampen it again and continue
I’ve never found this to take longer than a few minutes.
I hope this is helpful to some of you. I hope you will call us if your are beginning this process and feeling a little nervous. We are always happy to give you a pep-talk, and walk you through it, even if you aren’t working with a piece of Huston furniture. And, I hope above all, it causes you to leave the mayo in the fridge where it belongs.