Dear Home Ec 101,
I have a dresser that my mother gave me. She had a doily thing on it with a plastic backing. When I removed the doily, there where sticky spots in a lacy pattern from the doily. What can I use to remove this without damaging the stain on the dresser?
Thanks,
Doily Dummy in Woodstock GA
Ivy says:
Ugh, I know the plastic doillies that you speak of, and I hate them with the fire of a thousand, errr…fires. When we were going through my late grandmother’s stuff, we opened a box that had nothing but plastic doillies in it. Why would she have so many? No earthly idea, kids, but they were there.
Anyway, I digress. There are many ways you can fix this. The premise is to use something with an oily base to soften that funk and get it off. Murphy’s Oil Soap is formulated for finished wood and might be your best bet. However, if your dresser is particularly old, the finish may be worn, so test a spot before going whole hog.
If you don’t want to run out and buy Murphy’s Oil Soap, try a light coating of vegetable oil or even peanut butter. I use my handy dandy plastic scraper that you get with Pampered Chef stoneware to do any kind of scraping that needs to be gentle. Of course, a butter knife wrapped in a towel would do the trick too. You want a gentle edge that will take off the funk and not the dresser’s finish.
So, just lightly coat with what you’re using and then let it sit for 10-15 minutes to soak in and then gently scrape away. Good luck!
Submit your questions to helpme@home-ec101.com!
Dear “Ivy”,
You have a great web site. I looked it up after I talked with your mom. Keep up the good work. Your cousin, once removed.(?)
Thank you. I have announced this your post in philipphine forum,this is a nice forum.
goo-gone or goof-off might work as well, but they are smelly cleaners (warning for those who can’t deal with chemical smells) but you definitely have to try a hidden spot first or it can really damage the finish.
I just had to LAUGH (to the point that I made a scene at my workplace, thank you) at the hilarious title of this blog. Good stuff..
De-Solve it, it has orange oil in it, so it shouldn’t mess up the wood, try it on an inconspicuous spot first. I love it, but it is hard to find in my area.
A little mineral or lemon oil might work too. Let it set for ten minutes, then rub gently with a cloth point dipped in more oil.