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How to remove water stains / rings from wood furniture, p2
WOW! After delegating a beautiful drop leaf cherry side table to plant holding duty following the unfortunate setting of a hot cup of soup on it. I am pleased to report that the white ring is GONE after following the directions of this thread with an iron and t-shirt. The table has been returned to it's former duty in the living room and I feel like I have saved a thing of beauty. Thanks for the information.
Sherri McKenzie- Las Vegas, Nevada
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I had a white ring on a table at work (and didn't have an iron handy), but I had read that you could rub the broken edge of a walnut on a stain to remove the white ring. Not having a walnut handy either, I broke open a brazil nut and it worked! The white ring disappeared in a matter of seconds.
Mandy Rogers- Starkville, Mississippi
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The iron and cloth actually works! I thought I would have to refinish my coffee table, but this took out two white water stains with no problem. One of them disappeared right away, but the older stain took a good 15 minutes of going over until it blended back into the wood grain. It seems to help if you move the cloth around in broad circles. My guess would be that the wood oils are being distributed across the bleached area. Great tip...THANKS!
Holly Jay- Phoenix, Arizona
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WOW - I had three water rings left from a plant on a brand new pine box - less than a minute with a hair dryer and they disappeared......Thanks for the tips on this site.
Amy R [last name deleted for privacy by Editor]- Colorado, USA
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Trying to protect the dinning room table's surface, I also used a foam-backed pad under the table cloth. However, I may have left the pad on the table too long. When I removed the cloth and pad, the foam backing on the pad stuck to the finish of the Cherry table and has left not only marks but also rough areas were the foam seems to have embedded itself into the finish. - New Philadelphia , Ohio +++++++ Should I follow the advice for removing water marks from my G Plan table with an iron? I am very sad to see the water mark but would be even sadder to see a burn. Please help? Inga Salterhobbyist - London England |
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This is a scary decision to have to make, Inga; sorry you're in that position, but c'mon :-)
By my count, 37 people have recommended the method, and many have suggested particular settings for the iron, etc. If 37 recommendations isn't enough, 37 thousand wouldn't be. We're sorry for the damage to your very special table, but you have to decide for herself whether to risk it or call a refinishing expert.
Sorry, but no one can guarantee that you won't burn your table or otherwise make the problem worse. Best of luck whatever way you go -- Cousin Ted
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 Ted Mooney, P.E. RET finishing.com Brick, New Jersey |
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Before I make a fool of myself, will the Ironing Method work on removing a NAIL POLISH ring (it is white, if that matters) on a Cherry Wood Table? It is my mother-in-law's table (she made the stain), but before I try to look like a hero, I want to know I won't look like a fool.
Jeffrey Redelmanconsumer - Melville, New York
January 13, 2008
I have a beautiful wood dining room table. Stupidly I used the iron to iron the table cloth on the table and it left marks from the bottom of the iron. I have never used a polish on the table not wanting wax build up. I have always used old english or some type of oil.Please some one help me. I tried to use the iron technique but it didn't work.
Kellie on Long Island
buyer - East Meadow, New York
January 18, 2008
Had a 4 year old white cloud like stain from a pie that I thought was cooled enough wit a hot pad beneath it, to set on my beautiful Burl wood dinning table. I was very hesitant to try the iron method as I felt it may damage it further. So I tried many other methods suggested through the years to get it out without success. What a waste of time. Finally I put the iron on low, put a pillow sheet cover over the stain and rubbed lightly for about one minute and the old pie plate size stain is 100% gone.
Sherry
- San Diego, California
January 21, 2008
My boyfriend's grandmother gave us a beautiful antique coffee table for Christmas, and not one month later did we have 2 white rings (either from coffee cups, cold drinks, or both). I was armed with both toothpaste and mayonnaise, but before I went to it I decided to Google "remove rings from wood" and stumbled upon this page. 10 minutes later, thanks to all of you and my trusty hair dryer, both rings are gone and the table looks brand new.
Thank you so much!
- Murfreesboro, Tennessee
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February 1, 2008
Wow, all I have to say is the Iron and t-shirt method to get water stains out of wood is UNBELIEVABLE!
I have had my table for 5 years and tonight after dinner I somehow got a 3rd water stain on it. It was so awful, I wanted to toss my table out the window!
I thought I'd surf online to see if there is any solutions to this problem and THANK GOODNESS for this website!
The 5 year old stains came out and the most recent stain (after dinner tonight) is also out!
You have made my evening!
I would love to know who came up with this brilliant solution!
THANK YOU!
- Toronto, Ontario, Canada
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Ed. note: Heather G of San Antonio was the first to suggest it here, back in 2005. Where she first heard it she didn't say :-)
February 10, 2008
My partner put a bowl of hot vegetables on pine table, with a protective cloth underneath but when we cleared up we had a severe white heat stain 12" x 4". She was distraught. Checked on web for solutions and found this site. Followed numerous posters instructions on the medium hot iron through cotton tee shirt slowly moving back/forwards over stain and hey presto within a few minutes the mark had completely disappeared. Just wanted to record our heartfelt thanks to the many contributors to this site for the advice which cured our disaster.
John, England
- Peterborough, UK
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February 13, 2008
Well, I just tried the medium hot iron and napkin trick and it burned my table. Now not only do I have the white watermark but all around it is very dark so it is worse than ever. Tried the hair dryer on another area with a water mark and no luck there either but at least it did not burn the wood. Tried this for over 15 minutes with no results. Sherri Underwood- Greenville, South Carolina February 13, 2008 Sorry that it didn't work for you, Sherri, but thanks for letting us know. When 40 people in a row say that something is a miracle, it's nice to have it put back in perspective as an excellent tip in most cases, but not a foolproof miracle :-)
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February 26, 2008
Another success story for using an iron on lower heat with a clean cloth to remove white water marks on wood. Astounding. Fabulous. Thanks much.
I suspect that the furniture of the person who didn't have success might have had a lacquer finish rather than an oil or varnish. Just a thought.
A related question: some years back I put a container holding water and flowers on a soft maple bookshelf. The container, I believe, was a tin can. The finish on the bookshelf is
Tung Oil [linked by editor to product info at Amazon]. The ring left behind is black. I'm wondering if the iron trick might be worth trying?
What is it about the iron that removes the white water marks? Does it simply dry embedded dampness?
hobbyist - Silver Spring, Maryland
March 5, 2008
ONE DAY I PLACED A BOTTLE OF NAIL POLISH REMOVER ON MY CHERRY WOOD TABLE NOT KNOWING THE BOTTOM OF THE BOTTLE WAS WET WITH REMOVER. IT STARTED TO EAT THROUGH THE FINISH. I CLEANED IT UP QUICKLY, HOWEVER IT LEFT A MARK. HELP!
LISA MENAGOHOME OWNER - KING OF PRUSSIA, Pennsylvania
March 5, 2008
Nail polish remover is acetone [linked by editor to product info at Rockler], a very strong solvent. I'm afraid it has dissolved the lacquer/varnish and you'll have to re-do the table.
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 Ted Mooney, P.E. RET finishing.com Brick, New Jersey |
March 25, 2008
After moving into a new house- space was at a minimum- but I had to work on the draperies in order to have privacy. I covered an expensive cherry wood table with cardboard and two- three layers of sheets to steam iron the draperies as I installed them. 2-3 weeks later as the most of the furniture and books etc was now in place I uncovered the central table to my horror to find LARGE Large areas of white water stains from were I had ironed the draperies on the table. I thought I was going to have to get rid of the table. I am glad I did an internet search first. The Iron trick worked. It removed very large areas of white steamed in water marks that had sat for weeks on the dark finished cheery wood. 10 min is all it took. I used an old Egyptian cotton sheet.
Denise Woods- Florida, USA
April 7, 2008
I live with a HITLER roommate and I put a flower vase full of water on his antique cabinet, After at least a week after vase sitting up there I took it down flowers have died...OH MY GOD the vase leaked and left a huge black ring plus black inside ring size of a grapefruit. My roommate is tall and he looks at this spot every night because he goes for a walk and grabs his hat and walkman he sets right next to the stain. Tonight I put a pamphlet he had up there on cabinet on top of stain. He went for a walk I mixed ashes and mayonnaise rubbed it on and began hairdrying it. that failed but it looked a little better then I put a glob of mayonnaise on it and used the iron and by the way I had 1 hour to do this. The stain was kinda going away and Hitler walked in I told him I was ironing clothes for work, he took his shower and I grabbed more mayonnaise and MR. CLEAN SPONGE BOOM ITS GONE. rub the stain with mayonnaise and Mr Clean sponge it will go away.
Mary Aube- Orange, California
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For some reason, we don't see your relationship with your roommate flowering into romance, Mary :-) Regards,
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I spilled water on my black desk it left this horrible stain and I don't know what to do will the iron and cloth help ?
Sabrina Urquidi- Virginia, USA
May 21, 2008
Hi there
I had some carpet cleaner in a bottle and left it on the coffee table, when I removed it there was a white ring where the varnish has gone, if I use the iron technique that everyone is talking about would that get rid of it or make it worse and deepen the chemicals into the wood.?
TEACHER - New Zealand
July 16, 2008
My husband left a bottle of rubbing alcohol on the kitchen table and my son dumped it on the table, ruining the finish and leaving ugly white marks which were much worse than any water ring. I tried everything I could think of and nothing worked. I found two solutions on this site that worked. First I tried baking soda [linked by editor to product info at Amazon] and non-gel toothpaste and had marginal success. Then I tried the Iron and it worked best where I had done the toothpaste mix and only marginally where I hadn't. So I went back and did the whole section with the toothpaste and baking soda again, washed it off with water and dried it immediately and when it was dry I used the iron. I finished off with regular furniture polish. Wow!
It's not an expensive table, but I certainly didn't want to replace it yet. Plus we are having company and a birthday party so I didn't want it to look awful. Thanks to everyone who posted and to this site.
- Richmond, Virginia
September 5, 2008
I tried your iron on a tea towel to get out the white water mark on my dining room table, and, obviously used too high a heat (or too long). The varnish bubbled up. Now what do I do? Help!
Julia Woolleyconsumer - Watsonville, California
October 24, 2008
The iron and linen towel method was as miraculous a cure for my old, old water mark as everyone has said. If it doesn't work for you at first, don't give up - just turn up your iron in small increments and keep on ironing and checking. In one last pass, the stain completely disappeared - it wasn't a gradual fading. I thank everyone who wrote and convinced me to try it!
Rebecca Brazeal- Ft. Lauderdale, Florida
October 24, 2008
I just cried, you saved my job. I'm a caregiver for a man at night. He got a cramp in his foot really bad, so I made him a foot soak. The water wasn't hot enough so I got water from the instant hot faucet. I poured it in the basin and it leaked onto my foot. In pain and not thinking I put the measuring cup down on the end table. When I lift the cup to my horror a huge 5" white ring. Fearing losing my job, I went on Internet from my cell phone and found your web site. It worked; in less than 1 min my job was saved. The white ring was gone! I can't thank you enough, if his wife would have seen it she would have fired me!
[name & town deleted by editor]
- Oklahoma, USA
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November 1, 2008
I went on line after we put a hot lasagna pan on the table - even with cloth underneath, we got the water stain mark. It is a brand new dining room table. I took the advise of many and used an iron and white t-shirt - like magic I can barely see the mark now. I am so happy, since I found the thing that worked best. The day before my husband tried tooth paste which obviously didn't work. thanks again
Lisa Tomasino- Orange Park, Florida
November 3, 2008
I had bought a table, dark wood antique, and it has two water marks (white, dusty looking marks). I used the iron on wool setting with a white t-shirt and they disappeared. I was thrilled as could be. BUT...I went back an hour later and there were two white, dusty looking full size iron marks to replace them. What now?
Rachael Compton- Troy, New York
November 28, 2008
The iron/blow dryer trick works! In my case and I suspect many others who responded favorably, the "Finish" is actually polyurethane or a urethane based coating(plastic). These coatings are very common even the best of furniture these days. Antique furniture that has been refinished, many times has a urethane topcoat.
The cloudy "stain" is probably due to heat or chemical interaction with the plastic, softening it and then leaving a residue behind to dry. What's happening to the disappearing cloud in the iron trick is the heat from the iron is remelting the plastic. That's why it is important to go easy at first and let the lint-free (very important) cloth cool down before removing it. If it feels sticky as you pull the cloth back, stop and wait a few seconds for the coating to set/dry again. Medium heat, no pressure, and 5-10 seconds, cool down, lift, examine, try again if necessary. Feathering out the edges may be necessary, remember...your melting plastic...go easy! If the finish is wax, varnish, tung oil, or one of the myriad of other
"natural" finishes, this trick may have varying degrees of success or none at all. It has always amazed me at the amount of time and money that my wife sinks into polishing the urethane plastic finishes on our expensive Ethan Allen furniture. Plastic can look shinier with a wax coating, but a damp cloth will do the same thing if the urethane hasn't faded in the sun.
- New Berlin, Illinois
November 30, 2008
I had set a pizza box on my wood kitchen table and it left a white stain.I just tried the iron trick and it worked 100%,thanks ya'll
Matthew Parrish- Columbia, South Carolina
January 1, 2009
The hot iron with a cloth did the trick on my dining room table. It really works!
Marcella Flynn- Bolton Landing, New York
January 13, 2009
Hot Iron and Lint free Material worked a Treat .
Wife may stop nagging me now !
Thank you.
- Penkridge, UK
January 16, 2009
This was great information to find and it solved my problem. I have a great honey oak finished dining table we used for lunching one day using chili mugs. When we finished I noticed a significant white "heat" stain about 3" in dia. wherever a mug had been placed. I used a flour sack towel folded over once and a medium hot iron on each stain for about 10 minutes. This worked perfectly without any damage. Thanks so much!
Mark R [last name deleted for privacy by Editor]- Elk River, Minnesota
January 20, 2009
"I have a pickled oak dining table. I had a black fabric table runner and put three candle holders on it. The black runner transferred the outline of the candle holders onto my table. Now I have three huge black rings on the middle of my table. Please help!"
Leslie Gleasonconsumer - Coral Springs, Florida
January 26, 2009
I CANNOT BELIEVE THIS....my aunt had a cherry table and her grandson left watermarks on it. She was upset so I went online and googled the question as to how to get the stain out and just left her house with my iron and t-shirt in tow and alas no stain left whatsoever. Thank you all!
Cindy-Marie Smith- East Lyme, Connecticut
June 4, 2009
WOW! Guests left glass rings on a teak table and I fretted over what to do about it until I found this thread. IT WORKS, it really, really works. I used an iron and white tee shirt. Fabulous - thank you.
Heidi Douglas- Groton, Connecticut
July 11, 2009
Holy Wow!
My piano had a HUGE water stain from a plant that was leaking. I am not kidding, I have covered it for 3 years with books or anything to not show the hideous stain. I read about steam ironing it, tried it and it is all but disappeared! Took a good 15-20 minutes, but I just can't believe this worked so well. It is my husband's late Mother's piano, so you can imagine how awful I felt when we found the water mark. Thank you all soooo much for this tip!
- Valley Village, California
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Ed. note: And thank you, Vikki, for the before & after pictures which now lead off this topic!
July 28, 2009
I've just bought a Georgian/Regency flame mahogany night stand at auction. I knew it had a couple of very obvious watermarks,and so it was obviously cheaper than if it was perfect. Had a quick look on the internet - on the off-chance of finding a remedy - and found this site. I was in two minds about sticking an iron on a 200-year old piece of furniture, but I gave it a go with a cotton shirt. Set the heat about halfway and left it on for increasingly long periods. And it works! Amazing! Don't be put off by the steam which you'll start to see when you lift the iron & cloth - just wipe it off. That's simply the moisture escaping from the wood. Marvelous!
Neil Murray- Suffolk, UK
August 3, 2009
New babysitter tonight - apparently he didn't know *not* to put the hot pizza box directly on the kitchen table. HUGE white spot... I turned on the iron per these recommendations, held my breath and began ironing an old t-shirt over the stain. IT WORKED! The stain is completely gone! FYI: I started with a low setting (4) and slowly went up (6-ish)... Thanks so much!
Esse Kimball- Austin, Texas
August 2009
I had a beautiful Dark Red/Burgundy Color Wood Desk with a soft shine.... I left for vacation for a couple weeks and while I was out someone had used my office/desk. They left me a beautiful Water Ring-(Quite Large) as a present when I got back.
I tried letting it soak in Mayonnaise for the night as instructed by several sites on the internet...This just softened the look of the ring, Also, I tried hot iron on white cloth...No change,
Then I found a site that said to try a non-gel toothpaste, to gently scrub into wood water stain in a circular motion. This did the trick. You can barely see the circle...Its virtually gone.
- Caldwell, Idaho
August 13, 2009
I have been married for 42 years and looking at my mother in law's table stains for all of that time. The table is 66 years old and my wife has never seen the table without the stains. I tried the hot iron and cloth technique and it did eventually work. I had to be persistent and spend several hours on some of the stains, but it sure did work.
fj cas- York, Pennsylvania
August 13, 2009
FANtastic - great trick. my dad used it & has been suitably impressed. worked on our wood table where plant had been overwatered & 'leaked' over several weeks without us realizing - GREAT TIP. THANKS
Steven Smith- London, UK
September 3, 2009
i spilt some water on the wooden table so I decided to put polish on it and it left a big white mark, I went on the internet and saw on your website that it said use an hairdryer so I did and the stain
was gone in 10 mins. After I put wood polish on it and it was done!
- London, UK
November 8, 2009
WOW! I just tried using the t-shirt and Iron method and it completely removed the water rings on my wood table. Thank so much for the tip : )
C. Brown- Seattle,Washington
November 11, 2009
Ironing and an old white t-shirt did the trick. I just did it. Felt like an idiot when my wife came by and saw me doing it, but when we removed the t-shirt, the stain was gone. I'm a believer.
John Shanks- Bartlett, Illinois
December 8, 2009
The iron and cloth didn't work for me. Still have white heat/water rings on teak veneer table. I also noticed that after the treatment the grain in the stain seemed coarser and raised a bit. Now it looks like time to refinish.
Sam Reeves- Albuquerque, New Mexico
December 18, 2009
WOW! All I have to say is THANK YOU, EVERYONE! My fiance brought home an armful of magnificent roses. It was only when their time was up that I realized the damage wrought to my wonderful old oak dresser. You all saved the day.. and my peace of mind! I can not be more thankful ...
Cat Paredi- West Palm Beach, Florida,
December 29, 2009
After a festive Christmas celebration with a flaming Christmas pudding, I discovered a round white ring on my Bombay Co dining table. I tried many of the products recommended here: Restor-A-Finish, Mr Clean Magic Eraser, mayo, all to no avail.
I've had too many disasters with irons to try that, so I used the hair dryer. It was taking a long time to get any results (over 20 minutes) by holding it several inches away so I tried it right up close to the wood and it worked! The most effective was almost like using the hair dryer as an eraser - even touching the wood - and the ring which had been thick and very white disappeared! Miraculous. I rubbed it down with Restor-A-Finish [linked by editor to product info at Rockler] to minimize any damage I did, but am very grateful. Thank you!
Rebecca Chute- West Linn, Oregon
January 3, 2010
My husband left my brand new beautiful wooden salad bowl in the water overnight. To my outrage, the bowl was filled with white water marks. I took the advice of this website and used a hairdryer and white cloth and all the marks disappeared.
Thanks for the advice!
- Smiths Fall, Ontario, Canada
January 17, 2010
There was several white stains on our dining room table from hot food in heavy paper plates being placed on the table. I thought my table was destroyed but after finding this site and using the iron with a tee shirt it is like new again. I just could not believe that all of the stains were completely gone. It was magic!
Thank you for the great advice.
- St. Charles, Missouri USA
January 26, 2010
I can't tell from the responses if the iron method works on Dark water stains. Lots of success with white, cloudy and rings. Please let me know if it worked on dark water stains. ( I would greatly appreciate this information before my mother kills me or disowns me).
Pat Fabian- Coon Rapids, Minnesota
February 1, 2010
WIcked trick, works great thank you.
Nige c [last name deleted for privacy by Editor]- Macclesfield UK
February 6, 2010
Yes, I was wondering that too, about the dark stains I mean. We've got new beautiful cherry wood kitchen work tops which I lovingly oil however I seem to have acquired a horrible black water mark the size of a side plate and would love some advice about how to remove it.
Moyra Cumming- Edinburgh, Midlothian, UK
February 21, 2010
You are superstars! Hot iron worked on a huge water stain on a pine table - thank you so much! Took less than a minute too, brilliant!
Dawn Marsh- Bucks, England
February 23, 2010
I could not believe it - IT WORKS like magic. The white baseball size spot is gone.
Phyllis Wenzel- Midland, Michigan, USA
February 28, 2010
I bought a cherry table about a year ago from a friend that was moving. After I got it home I noticed several white water rings. I tried everything (or thought I did)short of having it refinished. Tried the iron and white cotton cloth today and I am thrilled w/the results. This REALLY works. No more unsightly white rings. Thanks for all the posts.
Sharon Nixdorf- Louisville Ohio
March 3, 2010
I tried all of the above and nothing worked so I got fine sandpaper and sanded out the white mark. THIS WORKED. I almost didn't even need the Old English scratch cover but I put it on anyway. Hey I even went over other flaws with the sand paper and the furniture looks like new. This did not cause any damage whatsoever. It was quick and easy.!
Gail Herrell- Royal Palm Beach Florida, USA
March 12, 2010
Wow Wow Wow the steam iron method really does work! My beautiful Ercol dining table had a hot place put on it and I was devastated to see the white mark left behind. Too afraid to use an iron I began using a hair dryer. This didn't do anything so I very slowly began to use a dry iron over a tee shirt. Nothing happened. I then plucked up the courage to use the steam. I couldn't believe my eyes. The mark disappeared. I am in a state of shock. I really didn't think this could possibly work. To anyone with a similar problem, I say go ahead and do it. IT WORKS.
Sandra Bolton- London England
March 27, 2010
Goodness me! I cannot believe that the ironing tip actually worked, I'm so pleased. Have sat looking at stains on nest of tables for months after having tried everything else I could think of. I would love to know where this idea first came from.
Lani Oakes- Nottinghamshire, England
April 3, 2010
My room mate left 2 large white stains on oak urethane covered sofa arms, and also left a damp and hot plate on the love seat, leaving another white stain.....
Worried about having either needing to refinish both arms, or finding some other way to do this, till I found this.
Worked perfectly, used a "COTTON" tee shirt and the iron on medium. No more stains. Wish I'd remembered this, used it years ago, to raise the wood grain and lightly sand out a
cup ring.
Thanks!
John
- Gresham, Oregon
April 6, 2010
So I must have got nail polish remover on my nice finished desk. I woke up and there was a small white cloud mark. I knew I would be annoyed by this for the rest of my life so first I tried Some rubbing alcohol because at first I didn't think the alcohol in the Remover made the stain even though now I'm sure of. When that made the stain worse I panicked and tried basic soap and water which did nothing. I immediately looked it up on google and was told to try toothpaste and that did nothing either. I found this site and used the Iron and Fabric combo but if anything in my situation it made it worse! So I kept thinking and by now this small mark became a huge stain. I then went to my cabinet and pulled out some Olive Oil. I put a little on a cloth and sprinkled salt over the oil. I then rubbed the cloth on the desk and wiped off the remains and voila! It's 90% gone. It actually made the entire desk smoother. I don't know what gave me that impulse but it worked and I'm so happy with the results!
Kelly Abel- New York, New York
April 10, 2010
Was nervous about the warm iron technique, so I tried the Magic Eraser [linked by editor to product info at Amazon] suggestion: worked perfectly! Just don't rub too hard.
Sigrid Groves- Baltimore, Maryland