Water (?) stain on cloth, suggestions?

[Linwood]

New-ish home table, Simonis 760 tan cloth over slate, lightly used at home.

I had a small stain, maybe grease or ink or something. Tiny, like 3mm by 0.5mm, and read a bit including here, and tried taking it out with warm water and a bit of woolite. I vacuumed thoroughly first.

Yes, I read Simonis' recommendation, which was damp cloth (not wet, and mine was probably more wet). But that didn't take out the stain, I thought I needed something to dissolve it, and threads here recommended a bit of woolite.

The good news is the stain is mostly gone. The bad news is I have a growing spot that looks like some kind of water damage. I thought at first it was residue from the cleaner, so kept applying a bit more water and dabbing it up with paper towels.

The stain is subtle, and is almost like a nap difference, but it is very specific to where the water was, not where I vacuumed (with a brush I use regularly on the rest of the table so I do not think that is related). Brushing does not reduce the appearance.

Below are some photos to hopefully clarify, apologies as they are a bit large but I wanted them to show the texture clearly.

The first is from an angle that shows it clearly. Note this is after about 13 hours of drying, so it is not still wet.

This is of the same area, a bit closer, but from 90 degrees to one side, and it is barely visible.

This is the most interesting shot, in that it shows nothing. This is a very tight closeup of the edge of the stain. The stain is in a half moon shape coming down from the top of the image, taking up about half of it, and the edge of the stain touches the edge of the black piece of plastic. So the left and right bottom is not stained, the top half of the image is. If you can see the difference your eyes are good, I can't.

Any suggestions?

I'm thinking of some distilled water (mostly because it might take any residue into solution more quickly), add and dab off but I expect it might just spread the stain.

My fear is that what I'm actually seeing is more-clean cloth. That there was something on the original cloth from the beginning, that cleaning took it off, and now to make it match I have to clean the whole thing. Not a desirable option.

Another choice is see if there's a dry cleaner that will make a house call.

I've read threads here about brake cleaner, but that's rather scary especially since the original stain is gone -- this is more like a shade/texture difference.

Suggestions? I hate to do a re-cover in less than a year of use.

Thanks in advance,

Linwood

 

[Killer Miller]

Tonic water works well when the spill is still wet, don't know about after it has dried.

 

[ChrisinNC]

May sound strange, but if you brush and vacuum the table, then wet the entire table cloth down, in sections, with a very wet wrung out folded up towel, then once it dries, looks like new. Careful not to get the rail cloths too damp, as the back half and underside of them are the subrails made of wood. I do this on our tables in our poolroom every couple of months, and the cloth always looks great after they dry.

 

[o.g. (old guy)]

My guess is that when you tried to clean it the stain bled out to a larger area, not as noticable as before but bigger and fainter. Unfortunately once you try to remove a stain and it doesn't come out it sets the stain and is not likely to get much better. Wish you the best of luck. If you find something that works please post it, I'm sure you're not alone.

 

[Linwood]

Tonic water works well when the spill is still wet, don't know about after it has dried.

Well, what's there now is from the water.

May sound strange, but if you brush and vacuum the table, then wet the entire table cloth down, in sections, with a very wet wrung out folded up towel, then once it dries, looks like new. Careful not to get the rail cloths too damp, as the back half and underside of them are the subrails made of wood. I do this on our tables in our poolroom every couple of months, and the cloth always looks great after they dry.

I'm actually thinking that might be the best bet.... the area in question does not look stained really, it is just different. Something about the water made it different. If the whole table is different it's then all the same. :smile:

My guess is that when you tried to clean it the stain bled out to a larger area, not as noticable as before but bigger and fainter. Unfortunately once you try to remove a stain and it doesn't come out it sets the stain and is not likely to get much better. Wish you the best of luck. If you find something that works please post it, I'm sure you're not alone.

I don't think so. The original stain was very tiny. VERY tiny, compared to this. Just crossed a few threads.

Though that begs another question: The slate underneath -- could it have something on it, dust, or dirt or something that wasn't cleaned on install, that when I added water soaked up into the cloth?

I remember the installer dusting it off very carefully, but not anything like washing.

 

[MitchAlsup]

May sound strange, but if you brush and vacuum the table, then wet the entire table cloth down, in sections, with a very wet wrung out folded up towel, then once it dries, looks like new. Careful not to get the rail cloths too damp, as the back half and underside of them are the subrails made of wood. I do this on our tables in our poolroom every couple of months, and the cloth always looks great after they dry.

This is what I do--once the stain is thinned out, you damp wash the whole table, and let it dry.

 

[Celophanewrap]

New cloth, tournament green.

Some Simonis 860 should fix that spot right up in a jif.

 

[MrSharp]

I’d try a can of quick clean, do the spot and then do the entire table a few times.

 

[ChrisinNC]

I’d try a can of quick clean, do the spot and then do the entire table a few times.

Nope, not a good idea in my opinion. The quick clean foam has a problem, regardless of how well you shake the can, of coming out in globs, and will add additional spots to your table unless you use the micro fiber wiper cloth literally within a few seconds of spraying it on.

 

[MrSharp]

Nope, not a good idea in my opinion. The quick clean foam has a problem, regardless of how well you shake the can, of coming out in globs, and will add additional spots to your table unless you use the micro fiber wiper cloth literally within a few seconds of spraying it on.

I find that the globs happen when you don’t commit to spraying, you have to press it all the way and as fast as you can don’t baby the trigger, I also don’t do my whole table at once like they suggest, I do it in four sections and wipe off as fast as I can. You can also spray some on a micro fiber cloth let it settle then wipe, I do that for the rails.

If I’m just doing a few small spots of chalk I use Chalk Out instead, the nozzle is way more spray friendly, but for large areas the foam breaks down faster than the Quick Clean.

Now that all being said one thing I didn’t think of is I have different cloth, mine has Teflon treatment and the gobs don’t leave any marks at all on it if I get some, but nice to know it can be a problem on other cloth for future reference if I ever go with some Simonis.

 

[Runner]

I'll chip in... the regular water you used has mineral deposits in it ( all tap water does)
so maybe a little distilled water, or club soda?

One thing's for sure.. if you keep rubbing or wiping it, it won't match the rest of the cloth.

 

[jrctherake]

Nope, not a good idea in my opinion. The quick clean foam has a problem, regardless of how well you shake the can, of coming out in globs, and will add additional spots to your table unless you use the micro fiber wiper cloth literally within a few seconds of spraying it on.

I would never use that crap. It is probably the worst idea know to mankind when it comes to pool tables.

 

[Linwood]

I'll chip in... the regular water you used has mineral deposits in it ( all tap water does)
so maybe a little distilled water, or club soda?

One thing's for sure.. if you keep rubbing or wiping it, it won't match the rest of the cloth.

This seems more on track. Last evening I did try some distilled water. I soaked that area.

I noticed an interesting effect as I did so -- the spot absorbed the water instantly, the area around it (yes, each time I do this it gets a bit bigger) did not, it beaded up initially and took a bit to soak in, as though it had some treatment or oil residue or something. Makes me wonder if these come treated with a scotchgard like product? Or maybe just natural oils from the wool? (I would think the dying process would remove any such?).

Anyway... I wet it pretty thoroughly an inch or so beyond where it had been, blotted it to absorb what I could, vacuumed with a brush, and let it dry.

It is MOSTLY gone. In fact if you don't know where to look you cannot see it. I may stop here, or try one more time.

My main theory is the woolite either itself left a residue, or stirred up one from the slate, and basically needed more rinsing.

It may be that the water itself left one, so I get your comment, but I just doubt the amount of water I left to evaporate could have that much residue in it. In either case distilled is a good idea as it tends to dissolve things faster than water already containing a lot of dissolved minerals. Tonic or club soda is useful as a cleaner due to carbolic acid, but also has mineral residue, so did not think that would be helpful if the problem was evaporation leaving minerals behind.

I'm going to look at it in with some different lighting angles through the day and decide whether to pronounce it "done" or not, but I think this is the right track -- basically "rinse better".

If that fails, I'm going with the "wet the whole table and dry" to make it match, since the real issue is that spot in question is different, not really "stained".

I'll save the harsh cleaners for some future accident with a piece of pizza landing on it, or similar (I get that such cleaners may be needed, just not this time)

 

[realkingcobra]

May sound strange, but if you brush and vacuum the table, then wet the entire table cloth down, in sections, with a very wet wrung out folded up towel, then once it dries, looks like new. Careful not to get the rail cloths too damp, as the back half and underside of them are the subrails made of wood. I do this on our tables in our poolroom every couple of months, and the cloth always looks great after they dry.

What happens if plaster was used on the seams? Wet cloth also drys loose afterwards.

 

[Runner]

This seems more on track. Last evening I did try some distilled water. I soaked that area.

I noticed an interesting effect as I did so -- the spot absorbed the water instantly, the area around it (yes, each time I do this it gets a bit bigger) did not, it beaded up initially and took a bit to soak in, as though it had some treatment or oil residue or something. Makes me wonder if these come treated with a scotchgard like product? Or maybe just natural oils from the wool? (I would think the dying process would remove any such?).

Anyway... I wet it pretty thoroughly an inch or so beyond where it had been, blotted it to absorb what I could, vacuumed with a brush, and let it dry.

It is MOSTLY gone. In fact if you don't know where to look you cannot see it. I may stop here, or try one more time.

My main theory is the woolite either itself left a residue, or stirred up one from the slate, and basically needed more rinsing.

It may be that the water itself left one, so I get your comment, but I just doubt the amount of water I left to evaporate could have that much residue in it. In either case distilled is a good idea as it tends to dissolve things faster than water already containing a lot of dissolved minerals. Tonic or club soda is useful as a cleaner due to carbolic acid, but also has mineral residue, so did not think that would be helpful if the problem was evaporation leaving minerals behind.

I'm going to look at it in with some different lighting angles through the day and decide whether to pronounce it "done" or not, but I think this is the right track -- basically "rinse better".

If that fails, I'm going with the "wet the whole table and dry" to make it match, since the real issue is that spot in question is different, not really "stained".

I'll save the harsh cleaners for some future accident with a piece of pizza landing on it, or similar (I get that such cleaners may be needed, just not this time)

My bet is that there's still a little Woolite there, that may be why the water went to it...
maybe one more time with the distilled water, then leave it. I don't think Simonis puts Scotchgard on their cloths, IMO. Play on the cloth for awhile, you may not even notice it after a while!.. cheers.

 

[ChrisinNC]

What happens if plaster was used on the seams? Wet cloth also drys loose afterwards.

I don't believe moisture should have any affect on bondo, if that is what is used on the seams.

 

[Linwood]

A third rinse and it's invisible, so there was some residue from something - the woolite itself, some crap the woolite loosened from the slate, possibly the water originally used (doubt that). Drenching it two more times after the initial regular water rinse with distilled water, and blotting up, and it is now gone completely (after a small amount of brushing to fluff things up a bit).

I think my lesson was - too much woolite and/or not nearly enough rinsing. Whether distilled was needed I do not really know (kind of doubt it) but it's $1 a gallon so it is a very cheap additional tool.

 

[Runner]

A third rinse and it's invisible, so there was some residue from something - the woolite itself, some crap the woolite loosened from the slate, possibly the water originally used (doubt that). Drenching it two more times after the initial regular water rinse with distilled water, and blotting up, and it is now gone completely (after a small amount of brushing to fluff things up a bit).

I think my lesson was - too much woolite and/or not nearly enough rinsing. Whether distilled was needed I do not really know (kind of doubt it) but it's $1 a gallon so it is a very cheap additional tool.

Well done, sir.. I think it might have been the Woolite.. all good!...
No more pitchers of beer near the table!::smile:

 

[Linwood]

Well done, sir.. I think it might have been the Woolite.. all good!...
No more pitchers of beer near the table!::smile:

Well, the original stain looked like food, so now you want us not to eat OR drink while playing? I have a hard enough time beating my neighbors at 8-ball, if they are sober and paying attention, my odds go WAY down.

 

[Runner]

Well, the original stain looked like food, so now you want us not to eat OR drink while playing? I have a hard enough time beating my neighbors at 8-ball, if they are sober and paying attention, my odds go WAY down.

Ahhh, pizza roll snuck on there, eh? Yeah, you gotta employ the "liquid spot" whenever
possible.. it's worth a ball or two! (Unless they know how to drink!)

All I want to know is what kind of plane that is in your avatar... I'll guess an old
Grumman trainer? Looks like a blast