How to remove white rings from tables and wood furniture

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!

I 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.

The 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,

Was 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.

Erase white wood stains with a hair dryer ⇦this on eBay or Amazon [affil links] 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!

Wow. 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.

I 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.

I 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!

Brilliant. 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!

We 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.

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?

I 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!

I 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!

I 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!

Hooray,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!

Awesome 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!

Thank 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!

My 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!

Fantastic 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.

It 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.

Wow! 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.

I 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 [affil links] and olive oil and rubbed in the grain and buffed out with a dry soft cloth. It looks gorgeous and 90% better.

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 ⇦this on eBay or Amazon [affil links] and salad oil wipe dry and wax or polish.

A. A lot of wood stains will come out with a product called Mr. Clean Magic Eraser pad ⇦this on eBay or Amazon [affil links] . 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.