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Red Stain wicking into area rugs and cushion

Created: 7/23/2006 Updated: 7/24/2006

Red stain on Brazilian Cherry. Re-finished about one year ago. The red stain wicked into the cushion leaving a distinct pattern of the parquet on the cushion. The finish is dulled in the same pattern of the cushion. What causes the red stain to wick up through a polyurethane finish and into the cushion.. also wicked into the backing of the capret wherever the carpet touched the floor, but slightly. Thank you Ray Darrah

That's really unfortunate. So many things can cause this that time and space does not allow for me to touch on but a few. Probably the most common one is inadequate acclimation and dry time for the new stain and finish before placing area rugs on top of them.

If the "polyurethane" you spoke of is in reality oil-modified urethane, your finish is one that takes a considerable time to fully acclimate and harden. The more coats of finish (and the thicker the coats of finish), the longer (geometrically) it takes to dry. One can further exacerbate an already bad situation by utilizing a solid rubber-backed rug that does not allow for air circulation between it and the floor's surface.

What happen's is the floor attempts to "gas off" solvents from the stain and finish. When these solvents can't move through the rug, they accumulate at the floor's surface sofening and accumulating, softening and accumulating until they "melt" the finish film to nearly a liquid. All the while they're applying an imprint of the variations or patterns of the floor's boards or pieces (sometimes even the texture or grain patterning) to whatever is laying over them. When you remove the rug, you take part of the finish coat with it and usually some of the floor's color as well.

Another common issue with similar effects stems from the use of tropical woods (particularly of the rosewood variety) and especially when these have not been fully dried or dried properly. Most of these woods require substantial air dry times to be fully functional and stable. The days when the tenure between logging and cutting into lumber were gauged in at least months if not years are long gone. Oftimes helicopters rather than elephants and river rafts transport these hardwoods to the lumber yards. The past 5 to 10 years has seen Jatoba (Brazilian Cherry) go from an exciting and unusual tropical hardwood for floors to a commodity similarly priced to our domestic oaks. This has put a lot of pressure on the mills to produce more product and faster.

When tropical hardwoods such as Jatoba (Brazilian Cherry), Ipe (Brazilian Walnut), or Macaranduba (Brazilian Jarrah), etc. are made into flooring these days they are often rushed to market without proper drying and are frequently not fully acclimated to our environment before milling. Such products will then exhibit substantially more movement in service than stability charts of their species might suggest due to "stresses" built in during forced (kiln) drying. They can also "gas off" compounds during shifts in moisture content due to changes in relative humidity inside the home or structure. This off gassing can effect stain and finish coats in a variety of ways not observable in the same or similar species that have been dried and handled properly.

I know none of this is particularly helpful to you in remedying your current situation but sometimes it helps just knowing what went wrong and how to avoid the problem next go 'round.

Just remember the next time you refinish any wood floor to wait a minimum of 2 weeks (preferably 30 days) before covering it with area rugs. An oil-modified finish and other products that have especially long dry times can take 90 days or more to fully off gas especially with more than 2 coats.

And when buying an exotic or tropical wood, alwyas look for the most reputable dealer or manufacturer -- not the least expensive one.

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