How to Fix Water Damaged Swollen Wood Furniture: 4 Methods
Have you ever wondered how to fix water damaged and swollen wood furniture? Imagine saving up money to purchase new and expensive furniture if you only realize that it has shrunk after a few months because it bubbled up.
Or even worse, a heavy downpour of rain got into the wood, causing the wood to bubble up.
And while you might be tempted to throw it away and get a new one. But you still can get rid of those annoying bubbles. Also, it might not seem like it, but continuously renewing your furniture gets expensive over time.
So, weโll be going through different methods. Find out what works and find out what doesnโt work for you. Therefore, by the time youโre done reading this article, you will understand how to fix swollen wood furniture.
Why Does Wood Furniture Bubble Up?

Placing warm objects on the surface can cause the wood furniture to bubble up. Water is absorbed by the furniture, and it causes it to bubble up.
Swollen wood can easily ruin your furnitureโs appearance, as it makes it look old and scuffed up. Luckily for us, these bubbles can be removed.
And on top of that, realizing why your wood is swollen, can help you maintain your wood furniture and save up some money in the long run.
Now that we know why this happens, weโll walk you through a couple of methods that will help you fix swollen furniture.
How to Repair Water Damaged Wood Furniture in 4 Methods?
This goes without saying, but the easiest way to prevent swollen furniture is to avoid spilling water on your furniture. However, this sometimes is out of our hands, especially if it is your dinner table.
If you spill water on your wood furniture, wipe it off as soon as possible. Be quick before the water gets absorbed by the wood. But if itโs too late, thereโs still some hope for you.
Donโt worry, we wonโt have to go to a nearby store just to get a few products. For the most part, weโll be using products that you probably have at home to wipe and polish.
Method 1: Let the Furniture Dry
Before trying to fix your swollen wood table, let it dry. If you try to speed up this process, the wood could crack, and we donโt want that.
- Wipe off any residue.
- Do not leave the furniture outside, as moisture could make things worse.
- Place it in a warm and dry space.
- Keep an eye on it.
- This process could take up to 24 hours.
Method 2: Using an Iron

A simple way to handle swollen wood furniture is to use an iron to fix water damaged wood furniture. Most people know how to iron, so this should be relatively easy for anyone.
If you have never used an iron, you want to be as careful as possible. You could burn yourself or the wood furniture when doing so.
Things You Will Need
- An iron
- An ironing board
- A rag
Steps to Take
- Clean up all the water.
- Get a wet rag.
- Cover the swollen furniture.
- Preheat the iron to a low temperature.
- Once heated, hold the iron down for a couple of seconds on top of the rag.
- Donโt hold it in one place for long as it could damage your wood.
- Remove the rag and inspect the wood bubble.
- If the bubble is still there, you might want to keep ironing. Otherwise, try a different method.
Method 3: Get a Needle or a Printer
This method works well when your furniture has shrunk. It allows us to pierce the bubble using a needle or a printer from the side but not the top.
When you pierce the bubble straight down with a needle or a printer, you have made a cut that will try to overlap itself with the excess material of the bubble.
So, get a needle, wood glue, and some wax paper. Any kind of wood glue will do the job. Now, itโs up to you whether you want to use a needle or a printer.
- Printers have a bigger hole at the tip, but they are a little bit thicker.
- Needles, on the other hand, are thinner. Therefore, if you want to get to tighter cracks, you may want to get a thinner needle.
Things You Will Need
- A needle or a printer
- Wood glue
- A piece of wax paper
Getting Ready
- Try piercing a few tiny holes in the bubble.
- Suck the glue up.
- Gently push it underneath as far as you can.
- Squeeze the glue into the swollen wood furniture as far back as the water damage is.
- Push it down and see the glue popping up.
- If the wood has a softness when you push it down, and you can see the glue coming out between the cracks in the furniture, youโre doing good.
- This may cause the furniture to crack a little bit more because youโre getting underneath it.
- Wipe off the excess glue coming from the cracks.
- Cut a piece off of the plastic and then lay it over the crack.
- Place some books on it and let it dry.
- The books should push the veneer down and glue it down.
- Now the glue softens the veneer, and then the veneer will flatten.
Method 4: Sanding the Wood and Applying Furniture Oil

If your wood is in bad shape, sanding it will get rid of any inconsistency on the surface. Before sanding the surface, you need to wipe off any residue.
Things You Will Need
- Sandpaper
- A rag
- Furniture oil
Steps to Take
- Make sure to wear safety glasses and a protective mask before sanding.
- Fold the sandpaper.
- Rub the sandpaper to and fro with even pressure.
- Brush the accumulated dust.
- After youโre done sanding, the wood should be quite smooth to touch.
- Add furniture oil.
- Rub it back and forth for about 15 minutes.
- The warmth you generate will get the oil into the wood.
- Clean the surface with a rag.
- Make sure to clean any oil residue, there should be no oil by the time youโre done.
In any case if you want to repair the cracks in the precess, then you can read this article.
Final Words
As you can see, trying to repair water damaged wood furniture is relatively easy. It takes a little bit of time and effort, but you can finally repair that old wood furniture with these steps.
And the items that you will use are relatively affordable and easy to find. Iโm pretty sure most people would instead take a day off to fix their old wood furniture instead of buying a brand new one.
Once you've gotten rid of those bubbles, keep in mind that wood needs regular upkeep to stay looking brand new, such as wiping off dust and not spilling any bleach on it.
We hope that this article was somewhat helpful in how to fix water damaged swollen wood furniture.
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