Pet stains on hardwood floors

[Sparky Paessler]

I need help. I am refinishing some oak floors and there is a stain from a dog in one of the bedrooms that soaked thru the carpet and discolored the floor I think most of it will sand out but one area over by the door is bad. Is there a product that I can use that will take the blackness out of the stain? I didn't know if wood bleach would help or not. I do plan to lightly stain and refinish the floors after sanding. Thanks

[Jim Becker]

I believe you'll need to use the wood bleach to help remove the stains from the acid in the urine.

'Hope all is well with you, Sparky...'been awhile since I've seen you post I think! :)

[George Octon]

Oxalic acid is "made" for this. It removes the dark stains in oak uaually caused by iron or steel mixing with the tannins in the oak. But it will help with the pet stains too. It can be a little tricky though.

Are you going to refinish (sand) the whole floor? Otherwise , you will be trying to blend. basically, you have to remove the finish, then bleach, rinse, recoat.

When you mix up the oxalic acid: mix in as much crystal as it will take, in very hot water. Reapply the bleach solution, multiple times; it works over the course of time, not really instantly. Let sit overnight, follow directions and rinse,, let dry and go from there. Your bleached area should be stain free now, but it may be lighter now than the surrounding area, which is a whole other step.

[Sparky Paessler]

Thanks Jim and George. I have been looking at other sites on the web and they talk about using peroxide and then bleach on the stain. I might give this a try since I have both of those. Otherwise I may give the Oxalic acid a try. Jim it has been an interesting last 2 year for me. Big changes in my work and personal life so I have not been on here as much and have not done much woodworking. Things have work out Great though and I am getting back into turning and woodworking again. Life is Good!

[Jim Becker]

The Oxalic acid is pretty easy to source and what you want to bleach.

'Glad things are going smoothly.

[Buddy Clark]

I used hydrogen peroxide on a couple of dark pet stains. Soaked paper towels (couple of layers thick) with hydrogen peroxide and folded the paper towels to roughly match the stain area. Let it dry over night. You can repeat as needed to lighten the stain. If you use a thick layer of soaked towels, it will leave a noticeable outline. So you may want to go slow with a couple of repititions with fewer layers. It will take off the finish and you'll need to touch up as needed.