Wood and water don’t mix, ask any North Carolina resident. As you likely know, the recent hurricane brought down tons of majestic, healthy trees. Trees of all kinds: pines, oaks and even some magnolia’s. The fierce wind and copious amounts of rain played nasty tricks on our landscape. Evidence of damage prevails. But that’s not the damage I’m writing about today.

It’s tidbit Tuesday and I have a tidbit for you that is hot off the press, compliments of my fellow blogger: Nanci Rice of pursuinghealthandhappiness.com. For those of you who follow Nanci’s blog, you know how much she loves to drink tea. It’s a part of her daily routine. It helps her get going as she starts her day, keeps her going during the day, and helps her slow down as night fall approaches. As for me, I tend to be a coffee drinker but when Nanci comes over, it’s all about tea-time.

I was having tea with Nanci (and our spouse’s) when I carelessly left a few tea bags on a paper napkin directly on my dining room table. When I lifted up the napkins there was a rather large watermark on the wood. Perhaps you too have been the cause or victim of such an occurrence. This was rather frustrating because there was no excuse for this mishap. I was just careless and I know better.

The good news is a solution was on hand. Nanci said the water mark will come out with a damp cloth and an iron. Now Nanci’s husband said a dry cloth would work fine so the experiment was about to be put to the test.

After they left I got out a clean cloth and my iron and decided to apply a dry cloth first. I figured if the dry one didn’t work, I would just wet it and try again. To my amazement, the water spot disappeared! I was super excited. If only I knew this sooner, I could have preserved other pieces of furniture. One word of caution: double up the cloth and only apply the iron for a brief moment. Check the area right away to see if the heat from the iron pulled the water stain out. You can always apply more heat if necessary. If you keep the iron on too long you risk losing the finish. You don’t want to fix one problem and create another.

So the next time you are careless or you have an irresponsible friend over, remember this tidbit. It may save you from ruining a piece of wood furniture and preserve something you value. Thanks Nanci! @ pursuinghealthandhappiness.com. Check out her blog. I’m sure you’ll enjoy reading how an unforeseen health issue caused her to redirect her life as she navigates the waters of Parkinson’s Disease. She is an inspiration to all!

I’d love to hear your thoughts and comments. Let me know what you think!!