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How to remove white rings from tables and wood furniture

White water rings on wood furniture
before & after photos courtesy of Vikki K., Valley Village, California

Q. Oops! Our kid left a cold drink on our dining room table overnight and now there's a nice, new water ring. What's the best of the ten million ways to fix it? Need a little help.

Gary M [last name deleted for privacy by Editor]
- Marietta, Georgia
2004


Tutorial / Explanation:
Maybe you are familiar with "emulsions", the milky white color you get when you shake water and vegetable oil together and get them thoroughly mixed.

The evidence seems to demonstrate that "water stains" on wood furniture are similar emulsions from water mixing into the oils/lacquers of the finish -- and that by heating the wood to evaporate the water from the emulsion, you can restore the original color of those oils and lacquers.

steam iron

Read on: Hundreds of readers followed Heather G's suggestion and reported great success, even total success, at removing water rings even when many years old!

A. One way to remove white water stains from wood is to use a hot iron on a smoothly-textured, lint-free cloth placed over the stain, iron very briefly (seconds), lift the cloth, and repeat until stain is gone. It really works!

Heather G [last name deleted for privacy by Editor]
2005
- San Antonio, Texas


thumbs up signI was considering refinishing a desk I had bought from Bombay Co. when I put a hot TV diner down on the surface. Ironing out the water rings and heat stains works! I tried all of the other tips, such as Armor-all, salt and olive oil, peanut butter and mayonnaise. I tried for a week and finally got it out with just my iron on medium heat and a dry cloth.

Jenay R [last name deleted for privacy by Editor]
- West Monroe, Louisiana


thumbs up signThe ironing worked... used an old t'shirt... low setting on my iron and voila... the fresh water mark created this morning is now gone... an old water stain didn't come completely off... but is greatly diminished.
Thanks so much,

Gil C [last name deleted for privacy by Editor]
- Washington DC


thumbs up signWas horrified to discover very large stain from coffee pot on dining room table after Christmas dinner. Used warm iron and table napkin on stain. Hey, presto, stain totally removed. Had another small stain that had been on table for two years, guess what, warm iron and napkin removed that also.

Frances H [last name deleted for privacy by Editor]
- Perth, Scotland
2006


10275-4

Erase white wood stains with a hair dryer [on eBay or Amazon] in about five minutes. I put a paper plate down on the table it was too hot and made the stain. I didn't find it until the next day. I couldn't find the iron so I improvised, and grabbed the Hair dryer instead. I held the dryer about 4 inches from the stain for about 5 minutes and at the same time buffed it with a dry cloth. It came right out!

Shellie B [last name deleted for privacy by Editor]
- Medina, Ohio


thumbs up signWow. Unbelievable. After FIVE YEARS of living with two cloudy white heat stains on my good dining table, and covering them up with a tablecloth....I finally found this website and used the heat/iron method. It works brilliantly, and the table is as new. Thank you to who ever posted this tip.

Lesley Coull
- Aberdeen, Scotland


thumbs up signI just tried the method that uses a cotton piece of fabric (no lint!) and an iron to get out cloudy white water stains.
It worked beautifully on a 12 by 15 inch solid water stain.
Simply amazing! You simply iron the piece of cotton on top of the stain. I started with a warm iron and then used a higher setting as I felt comfortable.

Janis Ireland
- Appleton, Wisconsin


thumbs up signI have a wooden table finished with black paint, I had put a cold bowl on the table and to my horror it left a white cloud.... I tried the iron method that was suggested on your website...and it worked actually worked-- Thanks for the advise!

Abi Jacob
- Toronto, Ontario, Canada


thumbs up signBrilliant. A KFC bucket had created a few damp heat stains on a table in my parents' house. Using a medium-heat iron on a small cloth I discovered it all disappeared. Thank you to whoever first mentioned this! I'm saved from a lot of trouble from my parents!

Tim Caines
- Torquay, United Kingdom


Furniture Touch-up Kit
on
Amazon

(affil links)

thumbs up signWe used the t-shirt and medium heat iron on our fresh water ring (left from a hot cup of tea). The ring is gone! But, I do caution about the heat of the iron. The temperature got a bit too hot and it ended up permanently leaving some lint from the t-shirt behind. The lint looks much better than the ring, so we're happy. Make sure you're patient and take your time with a cooler iron.

Julie Dandliker
- Oakland, California


thumbs down sign I too got material stuck to where I was trying to remove an old water stain. Now I have two awful areas on my wood surface. Any suggestions for getting rid of the new disaster?

Judy MacAulay
- Mission, BC, Canada


thumbs up signI am absolutely amazed at the brilliant person who suggested using heat on water marks. I bought mahogany furniture (expensive) I loved and was being so careful. I put a cloth on the table to protect it. The heat from a hot tea went thought he cloth and left a mark mark the size of a Loonie. I have asked and asked and no one could help until I finally found this site. I used a blowdryer and wiped as I heated. It took about 10 min. but it worked, amazing the spot is totally gone. I am thrilled. Thank you so much. I can't wait to tell everyone who had no answers for me except to refinish the whole table. Thank you again!

Diane Cantin
Administration - Windsor, Ontario, Canada


? All that is great, but now I am left with the nagging question, "What the heck is a Loonie?"
Gonqulin Redder
- Alberta, Canada
May 5, 2013


? Hi Gonqulin. We Americans surely wouldn't know, but I have heard that it is an item about the diameter of the base of a tea cup. Does that help at all?
Regards,
Ted Mooney, finishing.com
Ted Mooney, P.E.
Striving to live Aloha
finishing.com - Pine Beach, New Jersey


thumbs up signI tried the iron and cloth on a white heat stain on my teak dining room table - it worked! That stain had been there for 2 years! Then I used the toothpaste solution on a more recent dye stain from a colored piece of paper (paper stained the wood) and it took it out. Thanks!

Russell Cooper
- Norwalk, Connecticut


thumbs up signI am one happy girl right now! Whoever said about using an iron on a water mark left on wood is a superstar! I tried a few things already that I found on the internet AND they didn't work! I was about to give up ~~ thanks so much!

Heather K [last name deleted for privacy by Editor]
- Lancaster, Pennsylvania
2007


thumbs up signHooray,UNBELIEVABLE!

My friend found this website and emailed it to me after I ruined my friend's table with a hot coffee cup. We thought we were gonna have to have the whole thing sanded and refinished but in 2 minutes the table was like new again!

It's really hard to believe! Where would we be without google!

Just a few additional remarks:

I think it's a good idea to make sure the steam is off.

Also, I think the cloth doesn't necessarily have to be white, especially if the furniture is not white. (for example, I used a brown t-shirt on my brown table, that way if you leave it on for too long, you'd get the same color lint at least :))

Also, make sure the surface is clean so that you don't iron the dirt in.
Good luck!

Deniz [last name deleted for privacy by Editor]
- Brooklyn, New York


thumbs up signAwesome tip with the iron! My wife and I just got a beautiful antique table from her boss and I thought I had ruined it when I forgot and sat a box of hot chicken wings on it, leaving nasty white heat marks. A white lint free cloth, a hot iron and 5 minutes of ironing fixed it! AWESOME TIP!
Thanks!

Josh Richardson
- Centreville, Virginia


thumbs up signThank you so much for the advice on removing white heat marks from wood. We used my Mom's dining room table for Easter Dinner and when I removed the tablecloth discovered a hot dish had made white marks. I used the linen table napkin with an iron and the marks are gone! I'm sure my Mom is looking down from heaven and is pleased too!

Judy DeCaire
- Clio, Michigan


thumbs up signMy nephew and a friend put a hot pizza on our antique cherry wood table and left 9 or 10 circular 2" marks on it. I thought it was ruined permanently but I tried the soft flannel cloth and a medium iron (steam off!) and after 10 minutes only one nickel sized stain remains and that is where the wooden nail is on that end of the table and I'm guessing it sunk in deeper there because of the opening.

In any case, it's much better and I wanted to let folks know and say thank you for the wonderful tips!

Vandra Morgan
- Searcy, Arkansas


thumbs up signFantastic tip about the iron and white cloth! It really works, I have just literally removed the damage that I did to my teak dining table 2 days ago when trying to steam iron linen curtains that were far too big for my ironing board. Who would have thought that I could fix the damage with the culprit! Thanks very much for the tip.

Shirley Phillips
- Lydney, Glos, UK




Q. I had company & placed hot plates on my brand new mahogany dining table, for the coffee & tea pots. When I was cleaning up, they left rings through the protection. Remembering my grandmother using polish to repair a similar problem, I tried it. Have been applying many applications of polish and buffing. Most of the problem is gone, but I still have an obvious shadow. Am I headed in the right direction and just have to keep at it or should I start crying?

Michelle Sherwood
consumer - Spring Hill, Florida
2007


thumbs up signIt worked! I was skeptical, since heat made the mark in the first place. I used a hair dryer first. Didn't work for me. Then I used the iron. No more white marks :-)
Make sure you use the iron on medium heat with NO STEAM! I used a t-shirt cloth. Worked great. My husband swore it wouldn't work, but it did. I used lemon oil to polish and the table looks like new. Thanks for the advice.

Steph Pribula
- York, Pennsylvania


thumbs up signWow! I had a white cloudy water stain from a flower pot on my solid birch table, I thought my table was ruined. The stain had been there for several months. Today I tried the medium heat iron and a t-shirt and the stain is gone. I then rubbed it with lemon oil and unless you knew there had been a spot there you really can't see it. Thank you so much! My husband & I are very impressed.

Debra Martens
- Smyrna, Tennessee


thumbs up signI had great results today with the iron method on my 60 year old cherry dining table which recently had received three water marks. Two disappeared and the 3rd is much fainter. I followed the iron (no steam and only about 6 seconds)up with another home remedy of equal parts apple cider vinegar [in bulk on eBay or Amazon] and olive oil and rubbed in the grain and buffed out with a dry soft cloth. It looks gorgeous and 90% better.

Rose Anderson
- Helena, Montana




Multiple threads were merged; please forgive chronology errors or perceived disrespect of other responses (they weren't there) :-)
Some of these posters probably would have benefited from seeing Heather G's suggestion.



Q. How do I remove a white heat mark from a mahogany coffee table. The table was protected by a coaster but obviously something has gone wrong. The coffee cup was not particularly hot and it could be some other type of stain but it is the same shape as the coaster. Will I need to have the table stripped professionally.

Shirley Mason
- Wakefield, Yorkshire, England, GB
2002



A. Rub area with cloth dipped in mixture of cigarette ashes lemon juice or salad oil, Or rub with a cloth dipped in lighter fluid followed by a mixture of rottenstone [affil links] and salad oil wipe dry and wax or polish.

Jenna Marie
- Elgin, Illinois
2003




Q. Bought brand new sideboard, had baby, got lovely flowers, sat flowers on new sideboard, now got nasty dark brown ring mark. Please help.

VICTORIA MORRISON
JERSEY - UK
2006




Q. I am in the process of completely redoing an old dresser that I think is cherry or mahogany. I took all the old finish off with a sander and had lined the drawers up on a table in my garage. One of the kids put the cat's water dish on one of the drawers and of course it was spilled. Now there is a dark stain on it. Is there any way of getting it out? Please be very specific. I read something about using oxalic acid [affil links] but am not sure how to go about it. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Laura Velasquez
consumer - Reading, Kansas
2006




Q. Going to kill husband! Hi, we just bought a fairly polished dining table and had to transport it 3 hours. Apparently my husband did not know the blanket he used was damp and therefore we got it home and it has several water stains all over it. Will the iron method work for this please help me!

ELICIA RADIN
CONSUMER - STANTHORPE QUEENSLAND AUSTRALIA
2007


A. A lot of wood stains will come out with a product called Mr. Clean Magic Eraser pad [on eBay or Amazon] . It has taken out white heat stains on a coffee table of mine, and dark spots on a end table.
Also those white rings will come out the old way with any kind of ashes, mayo, and a lot of rubbing.

Jennifer Beety
- Washington DC
2007




Q. Had a vase of white lilies on my new highly polished mahogany dining table and the pollen has fallen onto my table. I immediately wiped with water and cloth but this has caused an unsightly stain. I beg for your help to my dilemma.

Jacqueline Mcdonald
- England
2007



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