saltwater stains on a wood stand

Question
I am looking to buy a wooden 75 gallon stand from someone and they say the stand has some saltwater stains on it. Can you tell me how to clean the saltwater stains off a wooden stand?

Answer
Hi Kimberly. Unfortunately there is no simple way to remove saltwater stains from any porous surface. Saltwater corrodes wood and the stains are most likely due to the breakdown of the wood fibers from the salt getting into the fibers of the wood. If they are actual stains then the best way to get rid of them is to sand the entire stand down and either paint it or restain and clear coat it. If the stains are white in color then it may be a simple matter of salt creep getting on the surface and it may have not penetrated the wood. In this case simply using a solution of vinegar and water lightly sprayed on the surface and left to sit for a few minutes will remove any hardened mineral deposits that might have built up on the surface of the wood. You may have to put a little elbow grease into scrubbing this build up of minerals but using vinegar each time in between layers of salt creep removed will help.