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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 aslo rough areas were the foam seems to have
embeded itself into the finish. Harry Wilson
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 Salter |
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Everyone is trying to help, Inga, 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, be honest with yourself that 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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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 Redelman
consumer - Melville, New York
January 13, 2008
I have a beauitful 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
didnt work.
Kellie on Long Island
Kellie
buyer - East Meadow, New York, USA
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
Sherry
- San Diego, California
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 mayonaise, 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!
Mary Beth Hurst
- Murfreesboro, Tennessee
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!
Marisa P
- Toronto, Ontario
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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 :-)
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
John B
- Peterborough, UK
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 :-)
Ted Mooney
finishing.com
Brick, New Jersey
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 [link is 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?
Helen Glenn Court
hobbyist - Silver Spring, MD, USA
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 THROUGHT THE FINISH. I CLEANED IT UP QUICKLY, HOWEVER IT LEFT A MARK. HELP!!!
LISA MENAGO
HOME OWNER - KING OF PRUSSIA, PA USA
March 5, 2008
Nail polish remover is Acetone [link is 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 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 unconvered 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 egyption cotton sheet.
Denise Woods
- Florida
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 everynight 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
aube and lyn - Orange, CA, USA
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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 dont know what to do will the iron and cloth help ?
Sabrina Urquidi
- VA
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.?
Koren Taylor
TEACHER - New Zealand
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 [link is 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 aweful. Thanks to everyone who posted and to this
site.
Lynne Tighe-Boland
- Richmond, VA - USA
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 Woolley
consumer - Watsonville, Ca, USA
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
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 instata 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]
- OK USA
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 avise 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, USA
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.
Kevin Sharpe
- New Berlin, IL, USA
November 30, 2008
I had set a pizza box on my wood kithen 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
The hot iron with a cloth did the trick on my dining room table. It really works!!!
Marcella Flynn
- Bolton Landing, NY
January 13, 2009
Hot Iron and Lint free Material worked a Treat .
Wife may stop nagging me now !!
Thank you.
Michael Woodall
- 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.
- Elk River, MN
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 mdidle of my table. Please
help!!!"
Leslie gleason
consumer - Coral Springs, Florida
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, CT USA
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, CT, USA
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!
Vikki Kelleher
- Valley Village, California
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Ed. note: And thank you, Vikki, for the before & after pictures
which now lead off this topic!
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. Marvellous!!
Neil Murray
- Suffolk, UK
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 tshirt over the stain. IT WORKED! The stain is completely gone! FYI: I started with a low setting (4) and slowly went up (6ish)... Thanks so much!!!
Esse Kimball
- Austin, TX, USA
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 Wate
Ring-(Quite Large) as a present when I got back.
I tried letting it soak in Mayonaise 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.
Catalina Thompson
- Caldwell, Idaho
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 persistant and spend several hours on some of the stains, but it sure did work.
fj cas
- york, pennsylvania
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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
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
airdryer so i did and the stain Nick Jones
November 11, 2009 Ironing and an old white tshirt 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 tshirt, the stain was gone. I'm a believer. John Shanks
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