A vase tipped over at my place yesterday and now I have light spots on my oak parquet floor. I already tried wiping them away with a damp cloth, but that didn't help. Can I save them somehow or do I have to get the whole floor sanded?
The most important thing is that you don't treat the stains with too much moisture - that usually makes everything worse with parquet!
What hasn't been mentioned yet: try toothpaste (the white kind, not the gel version), just apply it thinly, rub it in gently and after an hour polish it with a soft, dry cloth. It sounds weird, but it often works surprisingly well on light water stains because the slightly abrasive effect removes the surface discoloration without damaging the floor.
If that doesn't help, I'd go to a parquet specialist before you have it sanded right away - that kind of radical step is usually overkill!
Try treating the stains with vinegar or lemon juice - just let it sit for a while and then polish it with a dry cloth.
With oak parquet, special parquet oils or waxes work pretty well too to cover up those light spots that show up when the wood swells.
If it's really soaked deep into the grain, I'd try a professional surface treatment before you go for sanding - that's way cheaper and way less hassle. You really only need full sanding if the stains are still there after you've tried everything else.
With water stains on oak parquet, it's usually worth trying heat treatment - you can run a cloth with an iron over the damp spot (on a low setting, not for too long!), because the heat can drive the water out of the wood. If that doesn't help, I'd reach for a polish made specifically for oak wood.
Only if the stains have really soaked in deep or have discolored would sanding be necessary - but that's the last resort. How long has the vase been sitting there anyway, did it just happen or was it a few days ago?
I've had good results with toothpaste at my place - just apply a white one (not the colored stuff!) to the stain, let it sit for a moment, and carefully polish it with a soft cloth in the direction of the wood grain. For lighter stains that only affect the surface, that's often enough.
If that doesn't work, I'd try the iron trick afterward, which someone mentioned - but really on a low setting and with a cloth in between. Only when the stains have soaked deeper into the wood does it get tricky; I actually had to have a small spot on my parquet sanded down once, but that was the exception. The less water you get on it overall, the better.
The good news: light water stains on oak are often not nearly as dramatic as they look. The wood is usually just swollen on the surface, not actually damaged. Sanding is really the last resort, and I wouldn't consider it unless nothing else works.
Start with the iron trick, but do it really carefully - too much heat can actually make the stains worse or even discolor the wood. Lay a damp (not wet!) cotton cloth on the spot, then run the iron over it on low heat. That often helps get the moisture back out and relax the wood. If that doesn't work, try one of the tips with vinegar or toothpaste - the important thing is to wipe everything dry with a towel immediately afterward and don't scrub like crazy. By the way, with oak flooring, aggressive rubbing can create light scratches that become a problem.
Maybe give it two or three days - sometimes the stains just disappear on their own once the moisture escapes from the wood. If something's still visible after that, you could also try working over it with a parquet oil (specifically for oak), which can sometimes visually even out small discolorations.
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