Rental Real EstateSustainable Decor

Fantastic Dresser Face Lift

This free dresser gets a face lift in the name of REPAIR! I am a firm believer in repair, reuse, and recycle! Most things can’t be recycled, but I repair and reuse whenever possible. I think they are especially good options when it comes to home fixtures, furniture, and clothes.

The top and first drawer of a dresser with water rings, water stains, and scuff marks.
Free dresser in need of TLC

Finding the Dresser

A little over six months ago we thought we were going to turn our rental property into a furnished rental for traveling nurses. You can read more about my rental properties here. To prepare we bought and found free furniture on Facebook Marketplace and craigslist.

After storing this dresser in a garage for 6 months it was time to make some repairs. I watched several YouTube videos about how to repair water stains. The easiest seemed to be the iron method.

The top of the stained dresser with an iron sitting on top.
Time for a face lift!

Fantastic Face Lift

The free, iron method requires an iron (no water for steam) and a piece of cotton. First, I placed the cotton over the water marks. Then, with a fair amount of pressure I constantly moved the iron over the spots in circles checking every 20-30 seconds. After about 5 minutes of work the results speak for themselves!

Dresser top without water stains after using the ironing method.
Water marks are gone!

You can see, the water marks are gone! The elementary explanation for this is that the water sat on the dresser long enough to get under the polyurethane finish. After a while the water dried and left tiny air pockets under the finish. By using heat and pressure, I was able to press the air pockets down to the wood again and the water marks disappeared!

Inexpensive Dresser Repair

Later, I repaired the rest of the nicks, scratches, and marks with wood stain markers. I’m surprised how easy these repairs were, and how well the dresser face lift turned out. The total cost of the repairs was less than $10! Now, this beautiful dresser has an extended life!

The dresser repaired using an iron and wood stain markers.
The free dresser after her face lift!

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Lara is the owner and designer of UpcycledByLara on ETSY as well as this blog. She works with previously owned materials/fabrics to create!

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