Looking for chiar leg remedy

[Casper]

I have 6 chairs that go with a beautiful Danish teak table that sat in my dinning room for the last 15 years. Recently we ripped up the carpet and put down faux tiles and they look great. What we didn't know is that our prior pets, who got sick and died, used the area under the table as a litter box. We now have chair legs that sucked the contaminated moisture out of the carpet.

Two of the chairs are barely affected but the others have a considerable amount of moisture stuck in them. For the past couple of weeks I have been using paper towels and weight to draw out what I can but it is slow and, on a few legs, I'm not certain it will do enough. So I am looking for suggestions on the best way to get the moisture back out as much as possible to repair the chairs.

Once the moisture is out, I plan to put something on the legs to protect the tiles, but I don't want to do that until the moisture is gone. One leg has a small split starting, which I can repair, but again not till the moisture is out. At worst, if the moisture has permanently stained the legs, I may paint/stain them later to completely eradicate any remaining damaged appearance. Any recommendation? Suggestions??

`Casper

[HeyBub]

Hmm. Just a hair-ball idea:

Put each of the chair legs in a glass filled with kitty litter. For a LONG time (couple of months?).

If you're going to refinish the chairs, remove the finish on the legs before you stick them in the dessicant..

[Dave Balderstone]

Use a dessicant to remove the moisture. Something like

[Matt]

I'd imagine you could find something like that at a craft supply store, such as Michaels. Sounds like a good suggestion!

[J. Clarke]

Kitty Litter should work fine for this particular application.

I'm wondering though, if the wrong culprit is getting blamed. That much pet urine under the table I would expect someone to have noticed. I'd be looking for a source.

[whit3rd]

DO NOT USE DESSICANT.

Drying the wood as quickly as possible is a recipe for disaster. You want moisture uptake and release over many months if possible, or internal stresses will split the wood.

First, wash the chair legs (it sounds bad, but this water exposure will only last a few minutes). Then wipe, give it a day to dry a bit, and apply a neutralizing enzyme (pet stores will have it, "Nature's Miracle" is one brand I'm familiar with). Again, only a few minutes of damp, you'll wipe it off. It might take two or three repeats.

If it's dry this season, you might benefit from wrapping the affected wood with waxed paper; it'll dry fine in a few more months, THEN you can address any repairs. The end grain (bottom of the legs) is especially important, I'd brush on a bit of melted wax to keep that part from fast moisture changes.

[Dave Balderstone]

Many months?

Nonsense.

[Casper]

Kitty litter? I didn't think of that but would it really work? I assume you mean the clumping stuff and not the regular. `Casper

[Casper]

We had two cats. One we treated for kidney failure for 6+ months until he was too weak. About a year and a half later our second cat became ill. Similar symptoms only kidney issues. He grew more ill rapidly. Both had urinary issues. We figure the first one snuck underneath the tight spaces between the table legs (central legs) and the carpet soaked it up unnoticed. We suspect our dog (7 lb. Chihuahua) may have also used the area once it all started.

There was sheet vinyl under all the carpet so no damage to anything but carpet. Even the padding was fairly clean. Once we found out, we attempted to clean it a few times using good cleaning machines but we wonder if that did more damage than good.

So we decided to include the dining room in our refloor project along with the kitchen (already planned). Now it will be easier to do more projects in the dining room and not worry about damaging carpet. It's a room we hardly used but now that will change.

`Casper

[Casper]

I hadn't thought of it.

One leg is split about 1-1.5 inches. Most of the other legs only have maybe a half inch worth of moisture showing. Seems the chair in the back of the room got the brunt of it.

Already washed. Is neutralizing enzyme safe on the wood and finish? I would think only the worst legs would need that done.

It's been very wet here thus far. I'm not sure I want to wrap the legs or wax them. I use Anchorseal for my turning wood but that is for fresh logs. I would think in this case it's better to get that moisture out and not lock it in. Most of the affected legs are maybe up to and inch. Two legs are a bit more. Only one is split and no others show signs of splitting.

I was thinking of taking paper towels, diapers or other similar item and wrapping it around the leg bottoms, taping them on and letting them stand with weight on it until the moisture is drawn out. The finish on the legs seems to be slowing the process except on the very ends of the legs, but even there I see no cracking, except one leg.

`Casper

[J. Clarke]

Either one is highly absorbent.

[HeyBub]

Try it. Most kitty litter is dried clay* (kaolins, bentonite, etc.) and has a HIGH (as in "astronomical") affinity for water.

"Clay is a good basic desiccant that works satisfactorily below 120°F (approximately 50°C). ... The upside to clay is that it is normally the least expensive desiccant per pound."

know many folks who put a tray of kitty-litter in their gun safes (and check for the cat before closing the door).

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• Except for the "environmentally friendly" shit made out of cedar chips, shredded newspaper, ground up herbs, and the like.