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   The HomePod May Damage Your Wooden Furniture

   Josh Centers

   If you have nice wooden furniture that you want to preserve, you know
   to use a coaster when you set a cold drink down on it. Otherwise, the
   condensation from the glass seeps into the wood, creating unsightly
   rings. Some unsuspecting HomePod owners quickly discovered that
   [1]Apple's new speaker can also leave rings on wooden furniture. After
   an online outcry, Apple published a [2]support article explaining the
   situation and the remedies:

     It is not unusual for any speaker with a vibration-damping silicone
     base to leave mild marks when placed on some wooden surfaces. The
     marks can be caused by oils diffusing between the silicone base and
     the table surface, and will often go away after several days when
     the speaker is removed from the wooden surface. If not, wiping the
     surface gently with a soft damp or dry cloth may remove the marks.
     If marks persist, clean the surface with the furniture
     manufacturer's recommended cleaning process. If you're concerned
     about this, we recommend placing your HomePod on a different
     surface.

   In essence, the rings are caused by a chemical reaction between the
   silicone and wood oil, and so should affect only wooden furniture with
   oiled finishes (as opposed to polyurethane, varnish, shellac, paint, or
   other nonporous finishes). The rings may disappear on their own, but if
   not, you may be able to reduce or eliminate them with a bit of wiping.
   If that doesn't work, [3]This Old House has some advice for fixing
   furniture finishes, but in my experience, a little Murphy's Oil Soap on
   an oil finish can do wonders. Oil finishes are easy to touch up, since
   you just need to fill the pores of the wood. I've heard some people
   suggest mayonnaise as a fix for this issue, but that's a bad idea,
   since it will eventually break down and probably smell terrible.

   If your wooden table or desk hasn't yet suffered any HomePod-based
   damage, you'd be smart to place something between the speaker and the
   surface: a coaster, trivet, plate, tax return, lace doily, or HomePod
   Sock. What? Apple's not selling HomePod Socks yet?

   To be fair, the HomePod isn't the only speaker to suffer this issue '
   the [4]Sonos One can do the same thing. And Google already works around
   this problem with the Google Home in the form of the $20 [5]Google Home
   Base.

   Nonetheless, Apple shouldn't get a bye on this given how much the
   company brags about its materials expertise and expensive testing, the
   HomePod's delay in hitting the market, and the high price the HomePod
   commands. Fine wooden furniture, especially if it's an heirloom,
   usually means a lot to the owner. At the very least, Apple should have
   warned people up front in the HomePod's included documentation, which
   sets new standards for minimalism and tiny type, even for Apple (USB
   power adapter included in the photo below for scale).

   [6]Image

   Not everyone lives in a Jony Ive clean room where everything is white
   on white.

References

   1. https://thewirecutter.com/reviews/apple-homepod/#homepods-flaws-but-not-dealbreakers-homepod-vs-echo-vs-google-home-max-vs-sonos-one
   2. https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT208435
   3. https://www.thisoldhouse.com/how-to/how-to-fix-furniture-finish
   4. https://www.tomsguide.com/us/sonos-one-damages-wood,news-26628.html
   5. https://store.google.com/us/product/google_home_base
   6. http://tidbits.com/resources/2018-02/HomePod-documentation.jpg

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