Bleaching wooden staircase with carpet stains?

I have taken off a nasty carpet off my stairs - there is a beutiful wood underneath. But of course - the middle bit where the carpet was laid is darker (because it was not painted, and the space on the sides of it was painted over). I have stripped the paint off, sanded the stairs - but the bits that were under paint are much lighter then the bits that were under carpet.


I cannot really varnish it like that. The wood is pine (I think - it smells like it)


Any ideas what I can do before varnishing to even the difference in colour?


I thought about bleaching the dark path in the middle with some wood bleach, but I don't know which one to use and I don't know if it's possible to bleach only the dark bits, or do I have to apply it all over the steps.





Thanks for your help

Bleaching wooden staircase with carpet stains?
Try a local hardware or paint store for oxalic acid powder. Make a paste of it and spread it on the stained parts. This will also remove rust stains from around old nail holes.
Reply:clean the stains with denatured alcohol it will remove most stains! Good Luck!
Reply:try some TSP from the hardware store. that should work. I did that with my deck it worked great.

dress shoes