budget diffuser is going to cost a bundle. I am just sick!

[ajwomic]

I bought 2 reed diffusers at kohls last night on Clearance for 4.99, Regularly 24.99. I had see one at mo mom's house and it smelled so nice. So I got home, read the directions and carefully filled it up. Sometime this morning, my dh and ds decided to check to see if oil was in it and dripped 3 large drops on the new buffet/sideboard top. We have had it 1 month. But they did not notice/clean up/etc. So several hours later, I see these drips and get a paper towel and wipe the off, taking the varnish, stain,etc. down to the bare wood. So now the new buffet has 3 1 inch round circles and a couple of dull smears where I cleaned the oil. I am so disappointed, especially since it was carelessness. Any ideas other than refinishing the whole thing? 2 are close to the front so you cannot really put something over them. Maybe those markers for wood. I just hate to further mess up a $700 piece of furniture. My dh called a furniture "medic". I cannot imagine what that will cost. I think I will take the other difusser back!
A

 

[eyes4eeyore]

Ugh....nothing to add...don't have any experience here. I sure feel for ya though..that's crummy.

 

[happily single]

How new is the table? It should be covered under some sort of warranty-even if you "were at fault" I would not expect an expensive piece of furniture to be damaged that easily.

 

[Kellydelly]

That stinks . Yesterday I found a Wallflower air freshner on its side on a lap desk that belongs to one of my daughters in their bedroom, right near where it had been plugged in. The oil in it had leaked out, of course (and must have been like that for a few hrs), and when I wiped it up the finish on the table came off. Of course this is an item that I bought for around $15 at Lillian Vernon and they no longer sell them. Pottery Barn sells them for $50 . My solution will be to spend $8 on custom contact paper to recover the whole top. I don't have any solutions to your problem, though . Such a dumb way to ruin furniture.

 

[luvmarypoppins]

So sorry that happened. If it is too cost prohibitive to fix it maybe you can cover it up with some nice lace or a table runner etc?

 

[Stitch76]

Sorry to hear that, good luck getting it fixed.
Thanks for posting this though. I have been thinking about getting one of these, now I think I'll pass.

 

[ajwomic]

The table was 1 month old. I will check on warranty, but I am doubting it since we did it. It is made by American drew. It is called Fulton lane buffet.

 

[crjack]

OP I am sorry. We had something similar happen years ago to a new bedroom set. The damage was right in the front and our friends who helped us move into our first house felt terrible.

We also called a furniture "medic" and they did a great job repairing it and I know since we were broke back then it had to be pretty reasonable. We only replaced the piece last year so it lasted for a long time.

Hopefully you will get good news on a repair. I also use a glass candle holder (from Michaels, etc) as a base and put any reed diffusers on those in case of leaks, etc.

Best of luck and if needed get a second opinion on the repair.

 

[DawnM]

So sorry.

Last month I was burning one of those Wick candles in the kitchen. Well, it got down to just liquid wax and the glass BROKE and it burned a circle about 7" in long on the countertop.

To be honest, I am thankful it didn't start a fire. I have heard since of this same problem starting a fire in the house.

Dawn

 

[rcraw45425]

Had the same thing happen with a cheap reed diffuser and a new buffet last week. Buffet is now two weeks old, luckily I caught it right after dd sat it on the top so it didn't really damage the finish much, she sat it there and the liquid evidently had ran down the side or the bottom was porous (this is my thought, it looked like unglazed porcelain on the bottom).

 

[beaucoup]

Guess I won't be buying any of those things. I can totally see the cat knocking them over. Thanks for posting. Sorry about your furniture. Hope they do a wonderful job fixing it up so you can never notice it.

 

[3boymthr]

Unless you are experienced in furniture refinishing I'd say your best bet would be the furniture medic.

The markers will work to an extent but you will be able to see the diffference.

If you have some experience with refinishing You could go to home depot or your local paint store and get some stain to match the stain on the buffet and very carefully apply. make sure to wipe thoroughly with a rag better to start out too light and gradually add layers until you are ready to add your top coat. Be very careful to match the type of poly (flat, semi gloss, gloss, high gloss) and remember that if using poly you do want the color to be one shade lighter than the finished color as the clear top coat will darken when it dries. Given that it came off with oil the finish is probably poly but there is a possibility that it may not be finished with a poly top coat though so ask the maker. After adding the stain then add a light coat of poly or whatever the finish is that is on top.

 

[LilyWDW]

I used to work in a store that sold the diffusers. All of ours came with warnings to not set them directly on furniture. Instead it was suggested to use a coaster of some type or a decorative diffuser box. As the OP found out, the oil will strip the finish off of wood if allowed to sit.

We once had to sell a floor model table for like $20 because some customer spilled it and didn't tell us. Needless to say, most of the finish was stripped by the time we came across it.

 

[Pumpkinmuffin]

A little after the fact, but never put a reed diffuser on a piece of furniture without something under it, just like never burn a candle on furniture when it gets low because the jar will get hot and can burn. When I use a reed diffuser I always put it in a spot that's out of the way and have a little tray under it...just in case.

Sorry this happened to you but if your only recourse is to refinish it I would probably buy some of the markers that are made specifically for wood furniture and try that first. YOU will always notice it but most other people probably won't

 

[HsvTeacher]

DH put one of the Bath & Body Works wallflowers on our coffee table, and it leaked out of the side. When he wiped it up, it also took up the finish. Now we had a big light-colored blob on the table. Fortunately, we can put books/magazines on top of it when we have company.

Oh, and that wallflower and the rest we have around the house went right into the garbage. I didn't want to risk ruining our wood flooring if another one were to leak.

 

[ajwomic]

I am frustrated that the directions did not say not to put it on wood or furniture. It said the oils could harm wood or plastic, but I never dreamed it would ruin something. I guess you live and learn, but despight reading all directions, I did not hesitate placing it on a table. Oh wee. The packaging does need stronger or clearer warnings.

 

[sherry7]

Did you happen to buy it with a credit card? Many credit cards have an automatic 30-90 day warranty for accidental damage. A few years ago, my son dropped his new MP3 player in the toilet, and the credit card company refunded the purchase after I filled out a claim form.

I'm glad you posted about this, because a co-worker gave me one of these as a Christmas gift. I'll definitely be super careful when I use it.

 

[thebeesknees]

I'll bet the furniture medic can do something for you. We had a really nice oak high-backed bench that we used in our dining room. When we moved, the movers spilled something on it, didn't notice and then it sat in storage for a month. When they delivered it, the finish on the end of the bench was totally ruined in an 8x16 inch spot. We had a furniture restoration place take care of it and you can't even tell it ever happened. The movers also gouged a chunk out of the top of the dining room table and you can hardly see where that was repaired, either. (As a side note, we will never use Allied Movers again!)

 

[luv2mickey]

You can fix this and its not that hard, especially if your husband is handy. I had a drop of water sit on my Bernhardt coffee table and leave a milky spot my husband lightly and I emphasize lightly sanded the top, dusted it well and then used a spray polyurethane from lowes and it looks like new. Make sure you match the gloss of the unit when you choose your poly. and he taped a drop cloth around the sides so it wouldn't get over spray, and do this somewhere where it can dry without getting dust in the finish.

But if this makes you uncomfortable I bet the furniture medic can do it fairly inexpensive.

 

[QVCshopper]

The same thing happened to me on my entertainment center with a B&BW wallflower. I put it down as a live and learn type of thing and never bought them again... My spot is bigger than yours, but higher up so we never fixed it. Harsh chemicals.