It's shocking that we keep glasses of liquid anywhere near our computers. It's an expensive computer-ruining disaster waiting to happen. A recent glass spillage on our desktop fortunately didn't reach the big guy but it did spread nicely across much of the desk surface, including under a bright pink post-it pad...

The strange timing and circumstances of the spill were such that we didn't get to the water under the post-its ASAP. The result is the aggressive stain you see in the photos above. So, we turn to your collective reservoir of knowledge in hopes that you have some miracle suggestion, short of stripping and restaining the pine desktop. Thanks!

Comments (32)
a magic eraser?
does anyone know how to get stains off laminate? I left my Piet Hien table after an outdoor dinner party one day after the party and the hawthorn berries from the tree made horrible stains, yes I know stupid of me. Now the table is being help in storage but would like to give a good home.
being held in storage ^^
A non-abrasive cleaner and some elbow grease...
Try a Mr. Clean Magic Eraser.
Yikes. Not sure, but good luck.
Emily
First I would try some rubbing alcohol. Next I would try some oil - even olive oil. Then a magic eraser. Good luck!
(Oh, and after ruining 2 Mac keyboards myself, I highly recommend KBcovers.com for those of us who like to drink at our desks.)
scrubbing bubbles works like a charm! i had this happen the other day and just gave it a shot and it worked.
I might even add hydrogen peroxide to my list, after the rubbing alcohol.
Some random things that work at removing stains are toothpaste and nail polish remover. I'm not sure if either of these would harm the desk surface though...
don't use a magic eraser! this will likely strip the away the wood stain (i.e. not the stain you want to get rid of), and at the very least dull the sheen.
I don't think that's coming off... how about making it the permenant home for a pretty coaster? Good luck -- hope something works.
Mmm, I don't know if you're going to get that off without removing the stain itself. Of course you could just try sticking post-its all over the desk and spraying it with water. :/
In any case, good luck.
I did something similar with a teak coffee table. Where I am though, apparently the humidity is so high that any paper can get stuck...
One suggestion was to leave baby oil on it over night. Should wipe away the next day.
Maybe you can just embrace it. Cut out a stencil of a cool, repetitive pattern and paint it on, placing one of the parts right over the post-it stain.
http://www.modernests.com
I'm a firm believer in OxyClean! (RIP Billy Mayes...) Maybe try making a paste of OxyClean and water and letting it sit on there for a few minutes?
oxylean and peroxide wont work. They only work on organic pigments... not post-it pink. Alcohol MIGHT work. I would try that first. I give it a 30% chance.
If the ethanol doesn't work, I'm an advocate of *carefully managed* nail polish remover. It definitely WILL remove the finish, but if you're lucky, you might end up with just the mildest texture haze and a complete loss of pink.
Put a tiny bit of nail polish remover on a cotton ball... just so it's very slightly damp. Rub a lot. Pink should come off. Repeat with new cotton ball. It's all about using very little solvent to get off the pink with minimal finish removal.
oh, as for the other poster's berry stain.... go to town with oxyclean!
You are probably going to have to refinish at least the top of the table. Acetone (in nail polish remover) will likely remove the stain, but also the finish that holds the stain. The dye from the paper has penetrated the shellac or whatever the surface is, and I don't think you are going to get one off without the other. Sorry!
rubbing alcohol
DO THIS: white toothpaste! Rub it on stain with your finger! My sister did this to a dresser while staying at our parents house. We freaked when we saw the bright blue post-it square, but googled it, and tried. Stain gone!
Some dish soap and water might even work.
It's clearly water soluble, so:
A damp paper towel.
just leave it on the mark. hopefully it will soak up some of the stain.
Then dry it off, and repeat...
Please let us all know what worked!!!
i bought a vintage hutch that had a heavy brown stain on it (paint i think!) & i thought for sure i'd have to refinish it. i cleaned it with murphys soap & lightly scoured the stain with fine steel wool. then i rubbed and polished it with old english orange oil (old english doesn't sell it anymore but does have lemon & almond oil) and while it didn't remove the stain entirely, it removed a good deal of it. you now have to get up close to notice the stain. not only did the orange oil make the wood look exceedingly beautiful, i didn't have to refinish the hutch! i now regularly use orange oil on all my furniture and wood floors.
I did the same thing the other day (the pink as well) and the magic eraser worked for me. Took a bit of elbow grease and a couple of days.....
bleach kitchen spray, something like Clorox Clean Up?
A friend of mine had an "Sharpie accident" similar to the pink stain... She used OFF spray, worked wonders!!!!! So maybe, just maybe, you can give this pink stain a try
Not sure it this will work with the coloring, but I found a trick using a dry iron and cloth to absorb water stains. It worked great. I think I might have used paper towel instead of the cloth though. Try googling for it.
Sandpaper?
Ask a wood worker in your neighbourhood. He/she can undoubtedly tell you what (not) to do.
Goo Gone?
Baking soda should do the trick--take some baking soda and sprinkle it on dry, then add a tiny bit of water until it turns into a paste. Scrub *lightly* and then it should disappear. I've never tried it on finished wood, but i have tried it on kitchen counters with sharpie and unfinished wood. Good luck! This works well on white stovetops also.