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Removing mold stains from hard maple?

Toni Ciuraneta

Toni Ciuraneta

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Catalunya
Hi guys.
Some months ago my shop was flooded due to an extremely strong storm and a badly designed gutter. Luckily no tools or machines were damaged because they are all on casters and the water level was only 1.5 inches but most of the wood and wood parts that I had standing on the floor were wet and developed mold very quickly. I wanted to salvage these pieces which are the doors of a hard maple cabinet that I was making and I have been using peroxide to remove the mold and the stains it left, specially on the bottom edge. The panel on the left was the on which took the worst part as you can see.
I have been partially succesful with the peroxide and sanding but on the worst areas there is still a shade of grey visible. Is there another way of getting rid of them, that any of you can suggest?

I am tempted to use stronger peroxide (110º vols) as the one I have been using is the diluted one they sell on pharmacies to disinfect wounds, but is is very caustic and I'd rather stay away from it .
The pic that I am showing is before applying any treatment. Maybe Dave can chime in.

Any suggestion will be appreciated.
IMG_6726.JPG
 
Peroxide will strip some of the color out of the wood as well. I'd probably go with oxalic and hopefully that removes it (it does pretty well with a lot of stains including iron and many kinds of mold.

Two tablespoons of oxalic acid per quart of water, saturate the stained areas by painting with a brush. Allow to dry and repeat until the stain is gone. If you have mixed coloration/uneven coloration once done wipe the whole piece down with a saturated rag and allow to dry.

Once you're happy (enough) with the coloration neutralized the acid. Mix up two tablespoons of borax in a quart of hot water. Saturate a rag with the borax solution and wipe the piece then allow to dry.
 
Back in 1999 Hurricane Floyd flooded 40% of my city. Because of the extensive flooding there was lots of furniture damaged by water. Damage was much more severe than what your items show. In some instances the furniture was completely submerged even when it floated as it was trapped against the ceiling so high were the flood waters. One friend had a china cabinet that floated to the ceiling and when the waters receded it came to rest on the floor on its back. When we tried to upright the hutch the whole thing came apart at the glue joints. The water destroyed everything. Cabinet doors split when they swelled against each other.

I saw and heard of numerous remedies to get rid of the water stains but when the water seeps in through the end grain the stains cannot be removed. In other words, nothing seemed to work. I had several friends who came to me for help with their damaged furniture. I could not find a way to get rid of the water stains. In most instances the only solution was to strip the entire piece and apply a darker stain to mask the damage.

If anyone knows of a solution I would love to learn about it.
 
Ryan Mooney said:
Peroxide will strip some of the color out of the wood as well. I'd probably go with oxalic and hopefully that removes it (it does pretty well with a lot of stains including iron and many kinds of mold.

Two tablespoons of oxalic acid per quart of water, saturate the stained areas by painting with a brush. Allow to dry and repeat until the stain is gone. If you have mixed coloration/uneven coloration once done wipe the whole piece down with a saturated rag and allow to dry.

Once you're happy (enough) with the coloration neutralized the acid. Mix up two tablespoons of borax in a quart of hot water. Saturate a rag with the borax solution and wipe the piece then allow to dry.
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Thanks a lot Ryan. I’ll proceed as you suggest.
 
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