Q: One visitor asked, "We removed carpeting to find that pet stains have penetrated our beautiful hardwood floors - some areas are very dark, other areas appear almost "bleached" out. We really don't want to have to replace the wood - do you have any suggestions on removing or lessening the stains. We plan on sanding and refinishing the floors."

A: How large an area is damaged? If it is only a couple of spots, the best thing to do is replace that damaged area and re-sand, finish the floors. If it is everywhere, the only possibility is using a commercial bleach. This is very powerful stuff. I haven't used it in years, and don't even know if it is still available to the public. Sometimes a spot might look bad, but sand off cleanly. The only way to know for sure is to sand the floor and see if this mark has penetrated the wood deeply.