Make Tipnut.com My Home Page
Email
RSS
DIY – How To Remove White Heat Stains On Wood Table
We have an old wood table that has been used and abused for years. I brought it out over the holidays for card playing and commented how badly marked and stained it was–while quickly covering with a tablecloth. A relative gave me a tip: for the white scorch marks, just take an iron and apply heat to the cloudy stains, they’ll disappear!
This was my project last weekend, please forgive the poor picture quality.
Here are the stains I worked on:
|
|
|
These white cloudy stains are caused by placing hot dishes directly on the table. The table has been damaged for years, I can’t even say how long it’s been.
A few are from chinese food takeout containers and another was caused by pizza boxes. It seems the heat from the containers scorches or somehow steams the finish. There are also some white watermark rings caused by setting cups and glasses directly on the wood. You name it–this table was covered in it. Like I said–this table has been abused!
The first thing I did was wash the table top and dry it well.
I took a clean, white cotton towel that wasn’t too thick and placed it over the scorch marks.
Taking an old iron set to high dry heat, I placed it on top of the towel, directly over the stain. I let it sit for close to a minute, checked, and nothing happened. The stain was still there.
I kept reapplying the hot iron with no results, but once I turned the steam on–that’s when the magic happened. The white marks literally disappeared from the table. I couldn’t believe it and it defied logic to me–wouldn’t the steam cause more damage? All I know is that it worked. I was quick to wipe away any moisture and water on the table after each stain was removed.
A few days later and the table is still stain free. The white, cloudy discoloration marks haven’t returned. I keep running my hand across the top and I can’t feel any damage to the finish. I’m amazed at how easily this table cleaned up–it’s a totally different piece of furniture now.
Caution: I have no idea if this damages the finish or the wood, I’m not an expert. It’s something I tried on an old table and worked very well in this case.
Here is a snap of the finished table, all the stains are gone. The white spot at bottom center is just glare from the light. One of these days I’ll figure out the camera and learn how to take better pictures–the wood has a dark finish but you’d never know it from these pictures!
Added: Although many are finding this technique works on their tables and wood furniture pieces, some are reporting that this makes the stain worse (see the comments below). The reason for the discrepancy could be what type of finish the wood piece is in…varnish or shellac. I believe my table in this project is varnish, but I haven’t tested it to confirm.
Added: Glorious tips & suggestions have been contributed by many readers and those souls brave enough to test this on their problem stains…here’s the condensed version of the possible solutions if this technique fixes the original stain–but adds an outline of the iron or a bigger heat stain to the wood:
- Try a lower heat temperature and move the iron slowly around the area instead of letting the iron sit on the mark (thanks Matthew!).
- Others report success with hot temp & no steam (thanks Flora Monroe!)
- and another suggestion to fix this with just a hot iron hovering over the spots (not laying one down on cloth–but hovering–thanks mark harris, Tom, myf, Roxanne, Diana and Melanie!)–I believe they all used steam for the hover technique.
- Also scroll down for Dan’s helpful tip (posted 07 Apr 2008) using rubbing or polishing compound instead of the “OMG I’m Desperate” hot iron tip if it’s too scary or aggressive for you.
Read all the comments below for all the feedback on how this has worked out for others, I’m thrilled this tip is working for so many–believe me, I know the state of panic you’re in! Also continuing to try finding a method that works for those that aren’t experiencing success yet, please drop a note how this worked (or didn’t work) for you 
.
Don't Miss These Tips:
- How to Remove Permanent Marker
- More White Stain Removal Tips For Wood Furniture
- 21 Crayon Busters: How To Remove Crayon From Walls
Join Over 30052 Tipnut Subscribers and receive your daily fix of creative tips & ideas...
- Discover What's Neat On The Net With Featured Projects & How To's
- Get Crafty With The Latest Free Patterns & Tutorials
- Receive Tips For Homemaking, Cooking, Baking Plus Recipes Too!
Your privacy is respected (see No-Spam Policy)
You can unsubscribe at any time
You can also subscribe to TipNut by 
RSS
Thankyou very much for the tip on stain removal from wood table. My table was new and I didn’t know what to do. The iron worked like a charm. There is just a little mark left but I don’t want to push my luck. Thanks again.
Just like to also add that I got the white spots after ironing a shirt over a towel using steam to iron. So needless to say very skeptical about this approach. The steam iron took out the majority of the white spots, but left a light white tint still. Used the olive oil after and table looks 90% better. Thanks for all the comments on this!
It is in fact amazing. I tried it on my table today and it worked. Thanks for sharing this tip with everyone!
It works! And, it works fast. I kept the setting on the iron as low as possible but still able to get steam. I folded the terrycloth towel in half, figuring I’d be a little safer with two thicknesses of towel.
I also kept the iron moving slowly in a circular motion.
I am really, really pleased with the results. The marks are completely gone.
Wow, we had company and used paper plates which left white spots on our beautiful table. Tried the iron and within seconds they are gone. Thank you.
Thank you!!! Without thinking, I decided to iron a shirt on a towel on a gorgeous round chest I received from my mother that I use as a coffee table in the living room, using plenty of steam. After ironing, I left the towel there for a while, and after I pulled it up, it was full of horrid white stains. I almost cried. I tried your tip and it worked perfectly. You don’t even need the towel, just hold the iron close to the stains and steam like hell. I tried this on some other heat stains on other wood items, and it worked great – except on an old desk that doesn’t have much varnish left on it – it actually made it worse…! Thank you, though – your tip saved the day for me!
I put mayonnaise on a pop ring that was on an old dresser, left it on for 15 min…wiped it right off!!! So if you have older furniture try mayonnaise!!
Oh my goodness, thank you so much for the tip. My husband and I just bought a brand new very expensive cherry table and for thanksgiving this year I set a pan of something very hot on my new table (even though there were three layers of cloth below the pan) and got a huge white blotch on my table. I steamed it with the iron and It was gone in 2 minutes. Thanks again!!
My fiancee’s black coffee table was he victim of a hot tea pot on multiple layers of towel…I tried the iron and steam and like the tipster said it worked like “magic”!
Thanks!
I’m so glad this tip has saved a few precious tables (and prevented some heartache!). Thanks for letting me know this has helped you
.
Thank you so much for that tip! My husband and I hosted a post-Christmas party last night and we found two white stains on our antique dining room table after the guests went home. At first I panicked but thanks to your tip, the stains are now gone! Thanks again!!!
Help!!! I tried the tip for making white heat stains disappear from a wood table. It only made it worse. What am I doing wrong???? Please help. Jane
Jane, I had the same problem, so here’s what I did: I laid a clean white towel over the affected area, used a spray bottle with water instead of the steam function on my iron to moisten the towel, ironed the moistened towel with a high level of heat, lifted the towel, and then IMMEDIATELY rubbed vegetable oil over the area with a clean rag. If I didn’t rub in the oil within seconds after lifting the towel up, the spots would slowly reappear on the table. After using a combination of the steam iron and oil, my table looks great. This might have something to do with the specific finish on the wood (I’m hardly an expert!), but this tip might work for you and others who are having problems with the steam iron technique. Good luck!
Thanks Courtney
I used a wet towel and laid the iron on top for about 10 seconds. I lifted the towel and there was a slight white mark from the iron on the table (less opaque than the stains) I rubbed canola oil into the wood with the cloth and it seemed to disappear for the most part.
Hi Jane, can you provide more details on how it made it worse? What tip did you use, this one or from here: More White Stain Removal Tips For Wood Furniture?
Note: I moved your comment here since this is what your problem applies too.
Oh my God, I can’t believe that the hot iron removed the white heat stains from my dinning room table. I thought that nothing would remove them. But, I tried it and it worked, it was amazing watching the stains disappear. I recommend this to anyone who is experiencing the same problem that I did. Good Luck!!
me and my cousin decided to cook xmas dinner as all the family was on holiday over xmas. we decided to put the foil tray with gravy in the middle of the table on top of a table cloth and a tea towel.After waking up to a complete bomb shell of a mess the next morning, I lifted the tea towel to be horrified my a big white stain mark in my mums expensive table.”oh my god what the hell are we going to do”? thats it all chip in for a french polisher between all the cousins.it will only be a few quid each. “ouch” oh no (£450 quid). sod that we all said. looked on the internet and guess what “bobs your uncle Fannys your aunt” this tip worked wonders.Thanx
17/01/2008
I put a glass candle on a slate coaster on my teak table and it left nasty white mark.
I have just used a white towel and the steam iron , i went over it gently 3 times and wipeing the miosture away and rubbed in little teak oil and the stain has completely gone.
Thankyou so much for this tip.
Lesley.
I don’t think you need anymore affirmation but I can’t restrain myself. We had white stains from hot stuff on paper plates and my wife was sick about it. We cleaned up our prized cherry dining room table in ten minutes. This tip was a lifesaver.
My husband & I tried this on our coffee table that had a heat mark (from a crock bowl that was just removed from the microwave.)
We wee amazed at how it worked! We then decided to give it a try on my dining room hutch. We have no idea what spilled on it to cause that white mark. But, like magic the white marks disappeared!
I just tried this tip and it made the white mark worse than before.
You guys need to make it clear what kind of surface you have on your tables. What works on varnish may not work on shellac.
Thanks for pointing that out Ole, I couldn’t pinpoint the problem some were having vs. the great success others were having. Your comment may just be the answer.
I believe the table I worked on is varnish, but haven’t tested it. Sorry it’s not more specific.
I updated the info in the post.
incredible! worked for me like magic. thank you so much! i think my table is varnished but don’t know for sure…
wow! I can’t believe it worked! I was the victim of a hot tea pot on a white napkin, after I went to put the teapot away saw a huge white stain on my beautiful cherry table…..my husband was not a happy camper. I was terrified to try this seeing as this was how the stain came about in the first place. This morning I had mayonaise on it for a few hours after reading that on another website…..no help. I am so glad I found your tip and tried it! this worked like a charm, thank you very much!!!
We just bought a Bermex table with a birch top, arguably the nicest furniture we have in our home. Needless to say that I was horrified when a piece of microwaved pizza on a paper plate left a white scorch mark.
I immediately went to the net and after some searching found your site.
This is now the greatest site in the world…it totally worked. My wife was scared and so was I but not guts no glory. THANK YOU!!!
Well, I thought it was a crazy idea to put a hot iron on the new table we just got, but it worked. The pizza stain was gone and Mom was jumping up and down. No, just kidding, she wasnt that exited. I’m just glad we dont have that stupid looking stain anymore.
Can’t even begin to tell you how amazingly well it worked! Hot pizza boxes carelessly left on our cherry dining table created a huge 8-inch round white-mark. One application with high-temp and full steam, the stains were gone!!!!
A huge thanks to you and your site! And special thanks to Google for helping me find your truly fabulous site!!!
Wow! It works! My husband wanted to get rid of our beautiful dinning table because of the white heat marks. I tried your trick and it worked. The table stays. Thank you so much!
The heat spot was caused by my
ironing with steam on a towel on
the dining room table. I’m hesitatant to try the same to remove it!!! Does it REALLY work?
Judy it really does work, but for some it didn’t. It may have something to do with the type of wood finish/varnish.
Be careful – I tried this tip and it did not work for me, only made the white stain worse. I’m thinking that my table that is almost 20 years old has sort of a shiny finish which may mean it’s shellac which may explain why it only made it worse. I guess it’s time for a new kitchen table.
Well, feeling very nervous but desperate to get rid of the coffee cup rings, I tried the iron/heat method on a modern,oak dining room table. It really does work. Just waiting for the family to ask what magic I used on it!!!!
Worked for me too! Thanks so much!
I had an ugly white water stain on my table, due to the fact that water was spilt,and no one knew! I tried the HOT iron, dry no steam method with a white Tee shirt under. WOW it worked!
Our friends had given us this table.
They had taken wonderful care of
it for the last 20 years. Because of the water stain I made sure it was converd when they came over.
Now I don’t have to hide it!!
My father bought our dining room table as wedding present. I was cleaning the house b4 my mother-in-law was coming to stay & i made a BIG WHITE stain on the table, of course panick mode kick it, found your websit, try it, IT WORKS. now just waiting for her to arrive. THANKS so for save the day.
Add me to the list! Best tip ever!!
I left a wet cloth on a mahogany veneered table which caused a round white cloudy mark the size of a grapefruit. I tried mayonnaise and furniture polish but this did not do anything. I reluctantly tried the above using a hot iron on a cotton cloth and “hey presto” I watched the stain vanish like magic….how on earth does the stain lift from underneath the varnish without disturbing the lacquer ? I also removed a little mork that has been on the table for years !!! thanks a million
the iron trick works. but be warned, do NOT press the iron onto the cloth or else you will burn it! just release the steam onto the cloth and move around before lifting it off the stain.
I was sick to the back teeth of looking at the white stains on my coffee table, left by takeaway boxes. 30 seconds on google and a quick ironing session later and they’re all gone. Thank you for a great tip.
Thank You! Thank You! Thank You! The steam and the iron on the dish towel worked like magic. The white heat stain on my wood table disappeared before my eyes. It took about 4 minutes and there is no sign of the stain. My husband had checked with Home Depot yesterday and they told him we would have to strip the table and restain it. I wish I could hug you!
I am absolutely amazed. I have some fairly savvy friends who said that these “scorch” marks just can’t be removed without refinishing the table. So I figured if I was stuck with it, it couldn’t hurt to see what remedies were on the Internet. With my search terms, yours was the first one that popped up, and voila! I couldn’t believe that same thing that caused my scorch mark to begin with could remove it from my boyfriend’s table that was a gift from his mother, just days before her visit. You saved the day! Thanks so much.
We have a solid oak table, 27 years old, after two or three large gatherings white spots appeared . Checked this website and just finished with steam iron and towel,voila! all white spots gone. Thanks so much for the tip.
Didn’t work for me. It kinda got rid of the light white cloudy mark but left dark white marks from the edges of the iron.
Thanks for the feedback josh, you don’t happen to know what kind of finish your table is do you? Also, here are some more tips, the latest report is that olive oil & salt (or baking soda?) is removing stains: more white stain removal tips.
Thanks for the great tip. My parents are on holiday and I’m house-sitting for them. I noticed this morning that there were watermarks from my glass drinks on my mums lovely wooden coffee table … oops I completely forgot to use the coasters which were only an arm length away. The coffee table is vanish and the steam iron option worked a treat. Awesome! Trust me I won’t be making that mistake again.
IT’s a miracle… thank you for the tip.. marks gone in seconds!!!
Had several white spots on my antique cherry dining room table. The steam method worked on some of the white spots but not others (didn’t do any harm either) so I don’t know if it’s the finish OR how deep the white stain goes.
Brilliant! We had friends over for dinner and didn’t notice that the pan we were using was off the hotpad. When we were cleaning up we noticed the stain. Yikes. Freaking out, I checked online and found this page. Hesitantly I tried it and wala, the stain was gone. Thank you so much for saving our table.
maghany dining table, had party paper plate with hot food on them left white marks.french polisher want £100 to look at table never mind fixing it read your tip and tried with just the iron hovering over marks and within seconds they were gone. great result and wife is off my case many thanks life saver.
I have a birch veneer ikea table with a white mark. Will this trick work with that type of veneer?
Skeptical, but it worked like a charm. Thanks for putting this on the web.
Melanie I haven’t tried it on veneer so I can’t say for sure, sorry.
BRILLIANT IT WORKED FOR ME GOT RID OF ALL THE MARKS THANKS FOR THE TIP
FANTASTIC – great tip really impressed!
Thank you for your tip. We just bought a table made from 150 year old pine planks. Paper plate with hot food= cloudy white spots. Tried your tip. Worked great. Just held the steam iron 1/16″ above spots and wiped down with oil. Can’t believe it. I was absolutely scared to try it. Amazing. Thank you , thank you.
Can’t believe it worked for the white stains on my dining table…hardly took 2-3 minutes…true…it works like magic!! wonder what could be the scientific reason behind it
Thanks so much for the beautiful tip!!
Thanks for your fabulous tip.We are house sitting for friends and a hot tea cup marked through a folded serviette onto their lovely timber table. Tried all the other tips eg. toothpaste and mayonnaise but nothing worked.Having read your tip, I just held the iron about 6cms above the mark and steamed and it was gone. Polished up with a soft cloth and furniture polish perfectly!!
I googled “hot stain wood table” this morning and found your tip. I few moments later, the white stain on my new teak dining table is gone! Thanks for taking the time to share your helpful advice!
I’ve removed similar small stains from fine furniture without refinishing. Use rubbing or polishing compound (it is polish with very, very fine abrasives) and rub rub rub. If you have a buffing machine, so much the better. It takes time and elbow grease, but they will come out and you won’t risk making the problem worse.
After polishing out the stains, then apply a fresh coat of wax. By the way, my theory is that it is the old furniture wax that is discoloring, not the finish itself. The older and bigger the wax buildup, the bigger the problem.
Rubbing/polishing compound is normally used to remove oxidation buildup from car paint before waxing. It is usually found in the store alongside car wax.
Dan you’ve provided some good tips and info, thank you! Your theory of the wax discoloring rather than the finish could be right in some cases. The table I used for the project (above pictures) wasn’t waxed at all, as far as I know. At least for as long as I’ve had it (I think about 10 years or so?).
Thank you for sharing this wonderfull tip as it has just prevented a serious argument!!!! New Dining table with a abstract art feature of a plate mark was not what we wanted, after only a short while in the dining room. Thank you again for a wonderful tip. A very greatfull husband, thinking he was doing great job with organising the evenings dinner, until, as he now knows, NOT to put the extreamly hot plate of spuds in the middle of the table without having a plate mat underneeth!
The BETTER HALF has just found out that I got the tip of the internet! She’s just happy the table is sorted. Who’s a lucky fellow! Could have been a very silent forthcoming few days ahead.
this is AMAZING!! i was at my girlfriends house eating hot chinese food and unknowingly burning their veneer oak table and only the enxt day did white marks appear and I was in the doghouse! In desperation I came across this website, put the iron on it and I got out of jail- you saved me haha!
AWESOME!!! Water mark on antique dining room table from plant. Used hot dry iron over white T-Shirt and it didn’t even take 30 seconds and the white water stain is gone! THANKS SO MUCH.
After reading all the positive responses on this page, I could hardly wait to try it on my oak dining room table which had 4 large white spots due to hot items. I used a white pillowcase and within 1 min, the first spot “disappeared”. Five minutes later, my table looked like new!! Thank-you so much for the valuable tip!!
THHHHAAAANNNKK YOUUU!!!
YOU SAVE MEEEE!!
I HAD A TACO TODAY AND I LEFT THE HOT BAG ON THE TABLE.. NEXT TO THE PLACE MAT!
AND WHEN I TOOK IT UP THERE WAS THIS HUGE HEAT STAIN.. MY MOM CAME HOME AND SHE WAS FURIOUS..
UP UNTIL NOW =]
I JUST GOOGLED THIS– YOU SAVED MY BUTT! THANNNXXX SO MUCH!
This worked unbelievably fast and easy. We thought we were going to have to give up, we had tried many other methods with no luck.
We used our steamer instead of an iron. Worked great. Many thanks!
tried it this morning the wife was nervous,worked straight away she was so pleased we went back to bed.!!! …. enough said.!thankyou
Wow.. I can’t believe this worked.
But it did!
I was dubious, but I’m going to tell all of my friends about this.
Thanks a bunch! No need to buy a new table now!
We had a coffee table and a dinner table with white stains from spilt champagne and water, left overnight. Both are mahogany, one recent and one 12 months ago. I did the simple web search and found you. Steamed it and jet of steamed also on spots. We have 100% results. We are wrapt, thank you from South Australia. Cliff
I was absolutely sick about a big white mark on my beautiful pine dining room table. I tried the steam iron and it worked on the first try. I’m shocked and thrilled!
Thanks!
Dolores
Thanks so much for sharing this tip! I had a beautiful old welsh dresser given to me by a friend. He was going to burn it as it was marred by loads of white rings from putting coffee cups down on it over the years. I used a teatowl and my iron with loads of steam and they dissapeared in seconds! I have no idea how many years those rings were there but he told me it’s been a long time, so this works on very old stains aswell! Great tip, thanks so much! I now have a lovely stain free piece of furniture! If it helps others, I’m pretty sure it’s varnished but I’m not sure.
I tried this on a cherry veneer dining room table and now have the mark of the iron showing. Do you have any idea what I can do to make this better?
Barbara you can try these tips or some have mentioned here that they just hover the iron (on steam) over the heat stain, not actually pressing the iron on a towel.
I purchased an awesome pub table set second hand for Mothers Day. Keep in mind the reason I purchase my furniture used is because the miscreant grown children in my home DESTROY every piece I own and I figure… less investment nice stuff for a while. I was devastated when only 2 weeks later my son ironed his shirt on my table and left a white heat mark where he set down the iron. I googled and found this magical place and within minutes the stain was gone!! I too had a minor outline of the iron on the first spot, but rubbed it with the towel immediately after lifting it and voila! it vanished. Thanks so much for the great tip!!!!
And I thought my table was ruined! I can’t thank you enough. It didn’t even take twenty seconds for my white spots to vanish like magic! Judy
Thank you so much for your tip!!..My boyfriends mother had given my a beautiful coffee table set a few months ago..My roommate ordered pizza 3 nights ago and set the hot box on top of the coffee table…Nothing underneath it…In the morning we discovered a huge, cloudy white mark on top of it! as big as a medium pizza box! I was so pissed!!..I Googled “steam mark on table” and found this..Before I tried it, read every post on this wall and was a little reluctant on trying it myself..but figured, what the hell?…I got out my Iron and tipped the table up on its side…put the Iron on “Steam”, no towel under it. Held the Iron about half an inch away from the table and steamed the spot every 3 seconds or so for about 3 minutes…At first it didn’t seem as if it was working, but as I noticed the bottom corner disappearing, I kept on. Before I knew it the stain was diminishing before my eyes! Completely gone!!
Thank you so much!!
Just a comment on how some say this technique hasn’t worked for them – Having read many of the comments here, and having a white cup ring on my table, I used the iron technique. I was shocked to see the ring dissappear but a worse, larger white cloudy mark appear where the iron had been (in the outline of an iron no less). As you can imagine it was panic stations.
HOWEVER, I used the iron again, and rather than leaving it in one place I moved it slowly round the area on a lower heat. That drew out all the stains and my table is good as new!
So, I think some here may be having trouble, as I did, by using too much heat and not moving the iron enough – I don’t think it’s a varnish vs Shellec issue.
Just a thought.
Thank you so much for sharing this tip. I screamed at my husband for putting something hot on our cherry table and leaving the white mark.
Now I feel like a real jerk because it was so easy to remove.
I had to steam a couple of times, but it all came out.
I even got out an old white stain from last year! ! !
Thanks again! ! ! !
With much trepidation I tried this trick – I have a table we are selling as we have bought a replacement. I had three large ring stains again caused by hot items being put on the table. They have been there for a couple of years and were really unsightly – I CAN’T BELIEVE how simple this solution is. It worked immediately and now my table looks like new. It is the BEST thing I have seen – absolutely amazing just like magic. Thank you so much !!
OMG! With 3 ironing boards in the house, one would think I could use one. NOPE- I used our coffee table that was a gift from my husband. The steam from ironing left white marks that I could not remove. I tried mineral oil, and professional cleaners, ashes etc. Your tip saved my table! I cant wait to show my husband! I used a white t-shirt, no steam and held the iron on the table for approx 15 seconds making sure to wipe the moisture each time. I cant thank you enough!
Thank you so much. I gave $500.00 for this coffee table and it worked. My husband felt bad and I do not think he will set a hot plate on the coffee table again.
WOW!!!! I was so happy when your iron idea worked on my table! My Mother is going to be sick when she learns this. She spent good money on having her table redone because she could not get the white stain out from her table a few years back. Thanks Again!
OMG!!!! thankyou!thankyou!thankyou!the iron/cloth method worked instanlly…..on my woodtop bathroom vanity….someone had left the hair straightners on but we always have a towel to protect the wood…but this time it had left a big white stain on the dark mahogany wood…. “I FREAKED OUT!” when i saw it…and thought it was ruined forever…in my desperation I GOOGLED IT….and you came up..so thankyou again…your a life saver….x
Holy Hanna! Unbelievable! Those white heat marks have been on my beautiful coffee table for 10 years, covered with a stupid doily type thing! It took less than 5 minutes for me to remove them with the steam from an iron! Unreal! Thank you so much! I’m stunned!!!
Wow, worked for me! I was sceptical that this would work and not make it worse, but all the marks are gone. We have a mahogany dinner table – I don’t know what the finish is but it’s probably varnish – very very smooth and the marks almost seemed to be underneath the finish. I put the iron on mid-high heat and held it with the steam on full about 1 inch above the table, over a dishtowel. The first mark came out in about 5 seconds – none of the marks took more than two, 5 second steams to remove. Brilliant tip, thanks.
I tried the steam iron with a towel trick and it made things 100 times worse than before I started. I resorted to using a scrourer pad and some olive oil and gently rubbing into the wood going with the grain and this has improved things dramatically. Might be time for me to just strip back the whole table and reseal it from scratch I think….
Worked like magic…I was quite discouraged with those withe stains on our beautiful dining table… thanks!
Thank you so much for posting this tip. It got rid of the stain that had been on my table for the last 8 years. I don’t know what prompted me to Google for a solution this morning but I’m glad I did.
This tip is amazing, thank you! I (pretty stupidly) left a mug of tea on our dining room table, creating a really obvious white ring, but a quick steam and wipe with a tea towel got rid of it completely! I’m incredibly happy.
A true skeptic here….but no more. Used the iron (with steam) and a white dish towel on a 20+ yr old table and the white stains disappeared after only a few seconds. I’m pretty sure the finish is varnish if that helps anyone out. Cheers – J
Today we decided to dust and polish our dining table and discovered a large white mark under a table runner. No idea from what or when; we assume it’s a heat mark. Tried briwax but little or no change. Arms aching, we dug out the home DIY books, called parents for advice etc – special removers, stripping varnish etc. Eek! Did an online search and found this page and frankly we didn’t believe it: feared it might even be a spoof, but found similar reports elsewhere (thiftyfun.com and tipking.com) and even a youtube video demonstrating.
So, with white towel and steam iron, rubbed the mark through the doubled towel for a few seconds so that the towel got damp and hot. Lifted the towel to check progress, ie it wasn’t getting any worse, and quickly flipped it over while it was still hot. After 3 flips the middle of the mark had obviously faded and after 3 more the mark had completely gone. Whole process took about 1 minute. Amazed.
Thanks!
I have a new dining table made from Recycled timber and placed a cake from the oven on a cooling rack over a folded teatowel on the table. Once the cake was cooled I was horrified to find a white mark left where it had been. I have just followed your instructions and placed a white towel over the mark and put the steaming iron on it for just a few seconds and the mark is almost completely gone. THANK YOU SO MUCH!!!!
please let me know how to remove white heat spots off a oak wood table
thank you,
Barbara
Wow! I just bought a second-hand coffee table made from NZ rimu timber off ebay which to my disappointment had several white marks which were not visible on the internet photos. At first I used a towel with the iron on steam and had some success, but it also created some white blotcy patches. I then used the “hover” technique and pressed the steam button a few times over the marks and it all disappeared! Thank you!
Holy Cow, does this work! I suggest reading MATTHEW’S comments above, as I had much the same issue. I could see the original “heat blush” gone but could see marks from the towel. Another suggestion would be to try a white pillowcase instead of a terrycloth towel. That seemed to work better for me!
It’s all been said before but absolutely incredible!! Thank you so much
Thank you – I thought we had permanently ruined my grandmother’s dining room table. Now it looks just as good as it did when I was a little girl. I used the steam/hover technique.
Many thanks!
Thank you so much its worked!!!
I have a wood veneer table, which had a burn stain from a hot plate, and I just used the iron with the steam, hovering over stain and it just vanished, so thank you so much
ok… it just happened. I got alone in my place and left carelessly the pizza box too much time over the table while my ultraconservative parents that love old forniture left me were way.
I started with water, then alcohol (gave some result) and then a spray that my mom uses to clean hovens and other kitchen machines from grease stains (little result). Until now, I never considered the cause for that would be heat but stain.
Anyway, If the cause is heat howcome is a steam going to help? in fact, i never used one and that idea is making me afraid.
This is a dead or alive situation. In few days there will be a tragedy If i can’t do nothing about it. . .
Thanks
ok… the despair got too high after failing with other liquids and combinations (I even tried salt, recommend in another forum) so I tried to manage the iron with no steam.
At first, it was getting better. I think it spreads the stain more than removing it, but it’s actually acceptable.
When i was about to give my work as finished I found it “not perfect” so I thought that using steam would make it the last step. It was a HUGE mistake. it got extremely bad. It provoked a stain with the shape of the iron in plain white color as this website background.
I was sweating…. so i changed the cotton towel (to make sure no humidity was left) and I tried with the first method (no steam). After battling a lot it got ok.
It just lost some of the glossy effect it had on those areas.
Thanks a lot. I will recommend this website a lot….
Before learning of the iron technique, I tried rubbing the spot with a damp cloth. It reduced the size of the spot but left the rubbed area dull. I’m thinking I partly rubbed off the finish? Afterwards, I used the iron technique and it further reduced the spot but there is still discoloration deeper down? Also, residue has a yellowish hue. No idea what the original finish is but as it is an antique, I doubt its polyurethane. Is ability to rub off finish with damp cloth and the yellowish hue a clue as to the original finish?
Okay, I give up! Beautiful mahogany dining tabel(it does not appear to have any type of varnish or coating on it – just stained wood with maybe a waxed finish and not glossy at all) with six big rings from hot plates. I have tried the steam iron method (medium heat and hight heat – ironing directly on the towel with steam and hovering above with steam and now I have a large cloudy area in addition to the rings. I have tried it with no steam, on the towel, not on the towel, I have rubbed off any condensation from the steam, etc., etc. and I am having no luck! I have not tried any of the other options with baking soda, salt, etc., as these are my next to the last resort before I call the furniture refinisher. Any help or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
BEWARE, PLEASE. I tried this on a very old antique table (family heirloom) that recently started showing these spots. I’ve tried a lot of other things, and the marks wouldn’t budge. This worked, but at a price. I now have a “halo” effect of white cloud marks around the perimeter of where I’ve used the iron (I used steam and a towel, and the hover method didn’t work for me). Also, and more distressing, is the heat seems to have stripped the shine off the finish. The area that’s been heated is now a dull island. I don’t know if the wood is unprotected, but I think I’ll be bringing it to a professional for restoration rather than trying to fix it on my own.
Try to use a finish restorer after the iron to get the sheen back. A good one made by Howard is ‘Feed n Wax Wood Restorer’. That’s what I used and it’s perfect.
Seriously – this works!The table is the mango wood table from Crate and Barrel. Don’t know exact finish but I guess you could look it up. Comes with either chairs or picnic benches. Thank you so much for this AMAZING tip. I use a 100% cotton white undershirt and placed it over the stain. I “hovered” a very HOT iron on steam setting. I did this for a minute and then “peeked” to see any change. You could see the steam coming off the table – but you could also see the white heat stain leaving… I put the t shirt back and continued for 2 -3 more minutes trying to hover and not touch the table – but getting really close. It is GONE. The stain is GONE. I am so incredibly grateful.
Thank you so much. Works like a charm.
Thank you for the tip on how to remove a heat stain from my expensive table ! It worked a treat. Fantastic – thank you again !!
Tried on Laura Ashley coffee table. Birch wood stained dark chestnut, lacquer finish. Had several large white “blush” patches and two ring marks from cups. I used a face flannel with Iron on hot. Warmed flannel in direct contact, then several burst of steam and then a few seconds of dry heat, removed flannel and wiped any moisture off with a soft cloth. WORKED PERFECTLY. Even the ring marks have gone. Didn’t get a dull finish. Perfect results, as good as new. Many Thanks.
Iam so glad I tried this stam iron methed.I was in tears this morning when I came down stairs and saw my oak table with 3 white spots.well there are no more tears and no moer spots.THANK YOU SO MUCH.
I used the steam iron to remove a white ring on my desk and it works! I applied the steam directly and then wiped the moisture off with a cotton towel. Thank you.
Yay! Me too. I have lived with those stains for ages. It melts the varnish and mine streaked a bit when i wiped it but sprayed on some furniture polish and it is now perfect!
thanks
I used the white cloth method with some steam and gently went across the spot. It came off!
I can’t believe that worked!!
IT WORKS!!! Thank you for sharing your experience which made me couragous enough to give it a go! I had a bowl-size heat mark on my varnish wooden table recently.
I placed a not-to-thick white cotton towel over the stain, hovered my steam iron over it…sometimes applying a little pressure and it completely came off after 3 rounds!
My flatmate is relieved and we’re all happy the table is restored back to original.
Thank You All.
So we tried it all and it didnt work and we were like reeallllyy? We tried lemon juice, olive oil with salt, the steam from the iron, peanut butter, pledge, pam, clorox, soy sauce, food coloring, mint extract, vinalla extract and the magic eraser. NOTHING WORKED. We are pretty much screwed. Caseys mom is going to kill us. Thanks. Kbye.
Thank You Sooooo Much!
I was googling heat spots on wood tables this morning, and I was getting worried because everything I kept finding were long lengthy processes–including sanding and refinishing!
Until I found this WONDERFUL page. I figured I’d give it a try, my table was damaged already if it didn’t work what harm would it be. Well it work like a miracle! It took about 2 minutes and my table is like new!
Thanks again
Well, I was hesitant to try anything on my dark stained table, but the white mark was driving me crazy! All of these great responses are what convinced me to take the chance. It worked! I followed the directions to a tee and in less than a minute the mark was gone and has not come back! I am a believer and hope it works for everyone else who tries it.
Another Labor Day weekend and another white spot on my dining room table. Last year, we were blessed with the first one…
After trying the mayo solution last year, I pretty much accepted the stain since it was a small cup sized stain on the corner. But, alas, more hot food on a paper plate (with 12 relatives staying over for the weekend…) and a large 10″ diameter ring was near the center of the table…
Gave the steam a whirl with my kitchen towel and it worked amazingly well. Last year’s stain is still there, but it is much less visible (barely there) and I didn’t want to make things worse after three sessions with the steam iron.
I’ll try that one again tomorrrow, but now my table looks great!!!! I can’t even see the ring anymore! Thanks for such a wonderful tip! I can only guess that it works because the white stain is really is trapped water that the steam evaporates…. just my humble thoughts…
Thanks again!
okay, i tried the universty of florida’s idea on how to deal with white stains on furniture, found at disaster.ifas.ufl.edu it is a PDF file. they said to use ammonia. please don’t, it removes the finish and the white stain was still there.
so i went on line and found you. i also used the iron and the stain was gone in mins.!!!!! thank you thank you.
i finished up with a DIY product for finish repair and the table looks really good.
thanks again for your help.
Lynn
hi
i had managed to put some disgusting white marks on my parent’s priceless mahogany pool-come-dining table (mainly because while i was playing pool i put the top surface leant against a radiator!) i wwas in such a stress! then i tried pretty much everything else, mayonaise, mustard, lemon juice (not ammonia thankfully!) but the white heat stain remained! then i fianlly plucked up the courage to use the steam irom, after reading the rest of these posts incredibly nervously. they gave me the courage to do the ironing thing! the stains were gone in a matter of seconds! whoever had the courage to try this process- i have not enough words to thank you!
YOU ARE A LIFESAVER!
Thanks!xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
The first time we dined at our brand new Balinese mahoganny table , big nasty white marks appeared, despite using cork mats on which to place hot dishes. In desperation a google search came up with this web site – and today I have ironed the stains right out! It only took a couple of minutes. I placed a thin white towel over each stain, and didn’t directly place the iron on the table, but gently hovered the iron over each mark, with bursts of steam. Then wiped the area after each burst. The results were fantastic! Thank you for such a stunning tip – a real table -saver! I am going to let the Bali shop know this, in case others call in with complaints about similar stains. Just excellent!
I had several white stains on my oak table, I was getting ready to take it to the garage and sand it down. I just had to try googling how to remove white stains on oak table. Your site came up with the iron method. At first I used the hoovering method with steam, it was amazing, they were disappearing. And with my excitement I called my husband to look, he was amazed, and then they started to reapper. I waited for 30 minutes and tried wetting down a handtowel and wringing it out and directly putting that on the stain and the iron on top moving it all around the stain. It seemed to do alot better but it left a few white spots around the towel, I continued with all the spots. And then I used Johnson and Johnson Paste for wood. Rubbed that into the wood let it dry and rubbed very hard with a dry towel and my table looks pretty good, not perfect, but it doesn’t have to be sanded, I can live with it now, thanks for the tip.
Fantastic! Like others, I had a white ring on a teak table caused by a hot coffee cup through a tablecloth. I heated an iron to the highest setting and used the steam setting, hovering about 1 inch above the white ring. Within a few seconds, the ring disappeared. I did it again a couple of times to make sure I got everything, and wiped off the steam moisture. After cooling, I used furniture oil to do the entire table top–and the table looks FANTASTIC. THANK YOU!
Contemplated throwing away the black veneer coffee table that had a massive white mark from a champagne spill at Christmas, plus a few others that have added to its not so chic shabby! Have just finished with the iron and towel and some wax polish and the result is fantastic. Had tried all other methods but this was the one that worked! Many Thanks.
Used the thin white towel with iron method. My only (travel) iron doesn’t “steam” so I just “sprayed” with spritzer thing that it does have, right on to the towel then rubbed the iron around on the towel (no hovering) lifting and wiping periodically and voila! White cloudy stain from pizza box vanished! Rubbed a little olive oil on for good measure (and shine) and it looks as good as new!
Thanks for this great tip! – Sheila
oh my goddess!! last night i ate my bowl of soup on my mother’s $2000 wood coffee table and i woke up to a nasty note pointing out the white mark i left on it. after trying the toothpaste and hair dryer to no avail, i said a little prayer and very hesitantly brought the iron over. i set it on wool with steam, used a dish cloth, and ran the iron over the mark to the count of 10. presto!!! it was gone! thank you a million times over for now i won’t have to face the guilt of ruining mom’s table for the rest of my life!!! have faith all!
It works so well – hover with iron and steam away and within a minute my horrible stain was gone! Yippee!
Wow! Hovering iron + Old English oil (dark color to cover scratches) worked pretty well on antique table where I’d used an electric hot plate over a cloth-backed vinyl protector pad. Afterward I had some dull places where I may have rubbed the still warm finish too hard with the oil.
Another MIRACLE product came to the rescue: Minwax’s “Wood-Sheen” – which is rubbing oil, stain & finish all in one wipe-on gel. (Minwax makes many stain products, but only this one works so easily and beautifully; make sure it is their “Wood-Sheen” product you buy with the 3 combined finish items!)
I used a soft T-shirt to spread it over the whole table top, working in small panel areas at a time, letting each area sit for 5 – 10 min. (more time will allow more color to penetrate) and gently wiping it off with another clean T-shirt using strokes all in one direction. Not only did it put shine on the dull areas, it covered a multitude of tiny cat scratches, and dings accumulaed over the years – it looks like a brand new finish!! It had to air dry for several hours, but worth it. The product comes in several colors to work with most wood finishes dark to light. Looked so good I even decided to wipe the stuff on the table and chair legs too – fun to see such dramatic improvement with so little effort!
This may be the trick for those of you who are not 100% recovered by using the steam method.
Thank you for the recommendation. It worked beautifully. When we first saw this, we thought “This is too good to be true.” Unfortunately we did not take before and after pictures. We had three rectangular white spots on our brand new dining room table and the steam removed them all – looks as good as new.
The steam on the table worked like a charm. After I placed a paperplat with hot hashbrowns on my wife’s new table, a large white mark was left behind…I found this tip on your site, and the stain was gone in less than 5 minuts. I used the white towel over the mark with the iron and that did not work at first, but then once I used the steam…the mark disapeared like magic! Thanks for the tip!
The key is to hover over it… we just did it like a minute ago… after endless attempts to remove it with stain thinner and stain brush, this was the most successful way. Oh, I’m talking about using the steamer over the towel. IT’S MAGIC! I LOVE IT and would highly recommend this to others out there who are having the same white stains issue on your finished furniture!
i felt terrible when i put hot chips in a wrapper on my mum and dads timber table
several years ago
and i frantically went looking on how
to fix this ..
thankyou so much i passed this on to my dad and he just emailed me saying it was like magic
thanks so much
this worked like a charm. I used a hot iron and a dish cloth. thanks for the great tip!
Hi
I tried the ironing technique and it did diminish the actual ring from the teapot that I caused my damage with. However I did cause a whitish smudge mark. I can live with the smudge better than the ring, so it was a positive result. I think my finish may be shellac as the table comes from India. So the million dollar question is how do you resolve heat damage to shellac finishes?
WORKED GREAT. I put a hot pan on a cloth at lunch today. When I removed it I just knew my husband was going to kill me. He warns me about this all the time. The Large white mark came right off. I used a few damp papertowels and a iron just warming the paper towels up. I was very worried it was going to make it worse, so I was VERY cautious. Maybe 30 sec and it was gone. Left the finish a bit rough, but You can’t see it, only feel it. I am thinking a few coats of polish and that will be history too!
This really works! I just tried on my polished cherry table. I had put slices of pizza on paper towels on my table, and it left 2 lovely white triangles!
I used a thin pillowcase. And I did not press the iron against the table, I only let the steam hit it as close as I could without it touching.
I can’t believe the stains are gone!
Thanks!
Natters from Murcia Spain.
Lovely Lovely Site – Thank you so much to Every One – Have a Lovely Healthy Day.
My friend who is a Wood Turner told me about using an Iron and brown paper. But not having brown paper I used kitchen paper and on the marks and ironed as if ironing a shirt. I also showed the idea to the ladies who come to the coffee mornings we have and they were amazed as well. I knocked a flower vase over and the water splashed on the table and left the water mark. Vic did say dry iron. You would be putting more moisture back in when you use steam! It also worked on the sides of my mexican pine coffee table. Vic explained that the table had taken in the moisture and that ironing draws out the moisture. He had some old wood that was nearly crumbling with age but when he put it outside for some reason it attracted moisure and stopped being dryed out.
WOW. I tried all the other stuff, oil, mayonaise, toothpaste – only the steam ironing thing worked. Amazing!!!
I’m so happy this post hasn’t been archived. My wife and I had friends over and left pizza boxes on our gorgeous cherry dining table. At the end of the meal the boxes left a very large clouded ring. I was worried when I read the posts of the iron making it worse, but was able to remove the cloud with high heat and medium heat for only a few seconds. Then I immediately wiped the area clean to remove the water. The finish is a little bumpy now because I used a towel. I would recommend what someone said earlier and try using smooth cloth like a pillowcase. THANK YOU for the tip; my wife won’t kill me now.
Absolutely Amazing. Had company over the weekend and we used paper plates for hot beans and burgers. Even with placemats the heat went right through and made six very distinct round circles on my oak table. Now I think the finish is some type of polyurethane so I wasn’t real confident this would work. But it took only a few seconds on each spot and they are all gone. I am so very grateful. Thanks so much for sharing this tip.
This worked on my table without any changes to the original directions. I used a white towel and put the iron on high (dry) heat. I didn’t leave the iron in place for more than 20 seconds at a time. After doing this about 8 times, the stain completely disappeared!
Yes, it works!
We had two milky white stains from paper plates being set directly on an espresso stained table. It was infuriating, because the plates did not seem that hot! We had a similar table from the same manufacturer for over 8 years and never had a problem.
The manufacturer and the sales outlet were unhelpful, and recommended refinishing our 3 day old table! it took 3 months for our special order table to come from denmark to the usa, leading to infuriation!
This tip was amazing!
If anyone has tips on doing something to the table/finish (sealing?) to prevent this, I would be interested in investigating them.
Thanks again!
This tip has just changed my life. I will be forever in your debt.
Andrew
Thank you, thank you, thank you. We bought a very expensive cherry table about five years ago. After having it less than two years, I placed a pizza box on it not even considering the damage it would have on the finish. I have looked at that cloudy spot for three years, making myself sick every time. Gave your trick a try. At first nothing happened when I hovered over the spot. I placed directly on the spot (white rag in between) and presto, the spots started disappearing. I tried all the other tricks previously. My husband who works with wood all the time sat back in amazement. Thank you!
Ok. 100+yr old solid wood round dining table made from one big fat tree, no join, family heirloom.
decided to study on it against mum’s wishes and put a great big dirty tea heat mark on it.
the steam made it worse, leaving an iron shaped heat mark. awesome!
spotless book: rub warmed beeswax into stain with lemon peel.
seems to have worked although i think the whole table needs to be polished.
for those who didnt have success with the iron, perhaps try the above?
Thanks for your advice, marks went in seconds
GREAT ADVICE! Cloudy white stain on varnished coffee table…two short blast with a fairly hot steam iron (steam on) over a cotton handtowel and the stain disappeared!
We have table with a heat caused white mark, however I believe the table has an arborite
(fake)wood top. Would the heated steam iron
or oil and baking soda work on this type of table. Thank you.
I tried it anyway, and it worked fine.
Thanks for the tip.
Bill
THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!!!
This worked. It was like an optical illusion before my eyes. I really didnt think heat would remove a heat spot, but it did! WOW!
It certainly worked for the white heat marks on our Halo dinning table. Thanks for sharing this excellent tip, I was worried we’d have to get the table re-polished.
If you have a clotes steamer it works best. You can steam the table directly and watch the stain disappear!!!
OMG. I had a white cloud the size of my laptop on a $10,000 table. I was a little worried about using an iron on it but I figured that I needed to have it redone anyway so I ran the iron on dry over a white towel for a minute or so and then put on the steam. UNBELIEVABLE!!! the stain is gone. I can’t believe I didn’t do a before and after pic.
THANK YOU VERY MUCH!!
Wow I was affraid to use the iron so I used my Shark steam mop works great! Thank You for the tip
CAREFUL!! Great tip, it removed the white ring stain on the wood but it did roughen the wood underneath where I removed the stain. I was very quick over the white towel with the steam iron and the stain was removed (SO very happy) but if I run my hand over the area it is rough over where I applied the technique.
Have just tried this tip and it is amazing – we’ve had a pine coffee table that has looked very scruffy with loads of white stains which thanks to you, are now gone and the table restored back to its former glory.
Thank you.
Frances
I tried toothpaste, olive oil and salt, mayonnaise, you name it adn nothing worked. I finally tried the iron with steam and a cotten towel and in less than 5 minutes the huge white mark was gone. Seems odd that it works but glad I tried it!
I was extremely skeptical to try the iron method. I had purchased multiple waxes and cleaners recommended on other websites. I was in the process of trying to find a local wood refinisher on line when I found tip. I went from searching on line to having a beautiful table in literally less than 15 minutes. I found the best results by putting the iron on “steam” and hovering about an inch above the spot. You can acutally watch them disappear.
Awesome!!! Table that’s been in my family at least 40 years. It’s oak and was refinished a deep cherry woodstain about 15 years ago. I think it was varnished. Some friends used my kitchen for canning foods while I was on vacation. Hot pots on multiple kitchen towels left white patches. Worried they’d ruined the table,looked for fix ideas and found peppermint oil. The spent some time polishing the marks away it worked pretty well. I just made 4 ugly white squares on the table! Bread from the oven on cooling racks on a towel and it still marked up the table! I knew about the peppermint and wanted to know if I should dilute it and while reading up found this tip! I thought the ease and quickness to good to pass up! It worked for me! Used a kitchen towel folded over and hovered just barely over that with the steam! I’m going to polish a bit of peppermint oil on it tomorrow just to bring a fresh shine to the whole table! Thanks!
My sister-in-law placed a hot ceramic pan of pasta on top of towels on our wooden kitchen table last night and it left a 13 x 9 inch rectangular white stain. We all kept our cool and crossed our fingers that there’d be a “cure” on the Internet — and there was thanks to you! The steam iron method worked!
Not only did it remove the white stain, it also removed a blue marker stain that my kids left on the table years ago (they were preschoolers then and are in high school and college now)! I didn’t realize it would take the marker stain off, too, until I, much to my surprise, saw blue ink on my white cotton towel!
Thanks so much!
Four months of worrying. Ten seconds of ironing. Thank you so much!
I have an expensive mahogony table and got heat mark on it. I tried everything including mayonnaise, toothpaste, butter, baking soda and olive oil – no result – eventually braved iron on folded over t shirt and it took the heat stain totally away – would recommend iron technique as long as over strong piece of cotton cloth
As I was a bit worried about trying it I tested this method (of ironing a thin white towel or pillow case on the mark) on a leg of the table so if it didn’t work at least I wouldn’t have a worse spot. Glad I did as our table has a lacquer finish and I ironed a nice pattern onto the leg. But then I attempted a second trial. I got out our clothes steamer (as our iron wasn’t steaming for some reason) and I hovered the steamer about 1” above the wood. Nothing happened to the “test” area so I moved on to the top of the table. I held the steamer about 1” above the table, constantly moving it in the air in a circle pattern for about 1 minute (without the towel). And I watched the white heat mark disappear off of the table then wiped off the excess water vapors.
SO glad this worked
OMG – THANK YOU SOOOOO MUCH – MY ROOMATES LEFT SOMETHING WET OR HOT ON MY DINING ROOM TABLE I WAS ABOUT TO GO CRAZY AND MY FRIEND FOUND THIS SITE AND PRINTED OUT THE TIP ON THE IRON WITH STEAM – I WAS LIKE YEA RIGHT- OMG IT WORKED – AGAIN THANK YOU SOOO MUCH AND I’M SURE MY ROOMATES THANK YOU FOR SAVING THEIR LIFE.
TLEWIS
WINNIE, TX
Let me be one of the many who can verify this completely worked for me!!!! I have a big wood circle table that is finished (dark wood, and not sure what the finish is? But the table is an Ethan Allen and probably made in the late 80’s?).
I’ve always carelessly sat pizza boxes or wings boxes on this table before (I’m from the States, btw) and many times small white stains would appear afterwards, BUT in the past I could always get rid of those small stains with some Pledge, no problem!!
However, last night I sat a pizza and wings box on the table from a new place, and I should have known after discovering the wings were hot as Hades to the touch!! After eating I watched the Oklahoma-Missouri Big 12 title game and a few hours later I removed both boxes to find MANY white stains (as I mentioned, previously only like one small one would pop up), but this time multiple white stains (close to 10!) occurred and they were a lot bigger!! I tried some Pledge, which only helped a very little bit!
I went to bed pretty mad at myself, and this morning found this web page, and an hour later the stains are gone and I am the happiest I’ve been since the Colts won last week! (I’m from Indianapolis) However, at first, this method did NOT work, so let me describe what made it work for me!
First off, I think when it comes to these white stains, the earlier you can treat them the more effectively you can get rid of the them as usually my previous pizza box stains get treated right after I’m finished eating!
But anyway, for me using the iron with NO towel did NOT work!! In addition, my first attempt with my iron (a Shark, btw) with a towel also did not work. At first I was at a 1 steam setting (out of 4) with only 25% water in my iron. However, after filling the water reservoir to about 80% full and changing the steam setting to 4 it did start to work!!
I used the corner of a white small towel that I accidentally brought home one day from Lifetime Fitness gym, so the towel used was thinner in nature as compared to my hand towels which are thicker. I used a corner because I treated each spot stain individually. As other have suggested I held the iron about 1/16th of an inch above the towel and pressed down the steam button about 6-7 times for each stain spot for a total of about 10-15 seconds for each stain. Then I rubbed the dampened towel over the spot, and presto the stain was gone!!
I should also mention at first I had the heat dial all the way turned up, but my first attempt with the towel actually did leave a slight steam mark outside of the towel, so I turned the heat down a smidge and was fine after that! Also, 2 or 3 stains where whiter than others and I had to treat those stains two times before it would fully go away. Finally, I should point out that the stains did not completely disappear 100%, BUT I’d say about 95% and if no one knew a stain was there they’d never know, but upon a very close examination you can tell the area is a little less-finished/dull as compared to other areas, but I’d challenge anyone to pick out where the stain spots were on this table…I could be a rich man!! Also, my girlfriend (who’s table this is!!) sat at the table this morning and did not notice anything!! (she didn’t know about the stains last night!)
So hopefully everyone else will be successful, and thanks for reading my long post and thanks to this website for saving the day for me!! A legitimate life saver!
Justin 12/7/08
You have just saved me!! We have a beautiful coffee that my parents gave us adn our babysitter put hot Chinese boxes on it. Despite having mats down it still left a huge white T shape.
Disaster as my parents are coming for dinner on Wednesday so tomorrow was going to be “sanding and varnishing” the table day.
Not any more. One minute with the iron and it was done.
You are all geniuses.
Thanks so much
Cheers for the tip folks.
Time spent being angry about heat mark 3 weeks.
Time spent contemplating trying tip 2 weeks.
Time spent fixing heat mark 30 seconds.
Quick polish and done,THANKS AGAIN
JASON 9/12/08
I just bought a teak dining table (veneer) off of Craigslist for a steal. It was being sold because of many water marks from cups and pizza boxes.
Well I just got it home, tried the iron tip and can’t believe it worked! I used a steam iron on medium heat over an old pillow case. I kept the iron moving, careful to wipe away the moisture right away. Some spots took 8-10 tries, but eventually they were all gone.
I am so proud of myself for solving this for free and saving about $1000 over what a new teak table would cost!!
Crikey Mia, you made out awesome! Congrats!
Thanks for the feedback & tips everyone, glad this is working out for so many
.
I used the hot iron hovering over heat stains and it worked perfectly on a pine table, and alder table. I built both of them and the alder table was my pride & joy with many many hours into the construction. So THANKS! Still going to be careful from here forward
It worked perfectly for me on my heat stained 20 year old oak kitchen table. I don’t know what type of finish it has. Thanks for the help. I would never have thought it would work.
OMG this is amazing. My wife thought her antique side board was ruined. In 10 seconds it was fixed and she was happy. Never in a million years would I have thought of a fix like this.
worked like a charm!
thanks!
Saved my Christmas. Ironed the tablecloth thinking the padding would save my table. Heirloom from my step-Dad
Put Vaseline on all night. worked a little.
Toothpaste on today worked some more.
Toothpaste and Baking Soda…..Woolaaah!!!!
Beautifull table again.
I have an old DuncanFyfe table given to me as it was used for ironing. I am going to try and ge tthe stains out of that.
Wish me luck??
I have a dining table about 20 yrs old with many white stains which we kept covered with seasonal table clothes. In-laws are coming over next week with a glass table cover. I tried the steam iron trick and removed all the stains. I did notice if I sat too long on a spot I would get a new stain the shape of the iron. Just keep the iron moving in a circular patern on the towel an it comes up just fine. My table is ready for the glass. Also did my night stand and romoved hot coffee cup rings. Using a coaster from now on. Thanks for the help…☺
My girlfriend put a hot cafetier on our cherry coffee table causing a large white ring apparently below the surface of the veneer. I tried the steam iron technique with a tea towel and the white mark completely disappeared in 3 seconds! I’d suggest a very brief amount of steam initially and see what happens. Thanks for a fantastic tip. Gary
For those of you that tried this and had it got worse, READ ON!!!we had a few white heat stains(who knows how they got there) on a dark espresso stained table that was only a year old. We tried the hover method with high steam on high heat and no towel. It started to take the bright white circular stain away which was awesome but then it left a cloudy iron shaped stain. We were upset and scared to go any further. After reading more responses on this site about similar things happening, we decided to try again.
So then I turned the heat to med. and used a thin dish towel, folded it in half, and used a med steam. I pressed the iron in a circular motion for about 10 full seconds and then rubbed the warm cloth fast and hard for a few seconds. I repeated this process two or three more times and the horrilbe “iron” stain and the original stain disappeared!!! we got all of the stains out except for the water ring which isn’t too bad.
Awesome tip! Thanks!
steam worked – but the spot where stain was has a sort-of roughened texture now – not as smooth as the rest of the table
DORA, I did exactly what you said about removing white water spots from
my oak table, the results was awesome. Thank you so very much, my husband, is a very happy person,thanks to you. He thought are table was ruined.
Left a hot cup of tea on my finished table, it left a white ring. Tried this out and it worked perfect! Thanks
I didn’t think this would actually work but i knew nothing else would work, so i decided to give it a try. the stain was gone in under a minute. thanks for the advice
Tried the dry iron first – it didn’t work, so was skeptical of the whole idea, but the steam setting did the trick. It just took a few seconds for the small glass ring and a bit longer for the dish outline…but both are gone! thanks for posting.
I can’t believe this worked! I had a pizza party last night, sat the pizzas on the table, and totally thought we had ruined our wood table! THANK YOU!
I used a thin towel and did not set the towel down, but hovered very close to the surface and moved it around for about 10 second increments. I moved around til gone, and it’s amazing!!!
just used the iron and white t-shirt on my dark table magic the marks are gone
I can’t believe how well this worked, especially considering my iron caused one of the white spots
Our lovely farmhouse table, had white marks all over it – as a result of a new years party, and a dinner party when a pan was accidently put directly onto the cloth rather than the mat… Thanks to this tip, all the white marks are now gone. The table is victorian, old varnish, and very thick – I used a steam iron with a white cotton cloth, then also tried holidng the iron above the table method – both worked – a touch of non silicon – bee’s wax polish – and it is looking wonderful – in fact better than it has done in ages… thanks for the tip and good luck…
Wow! We plucked up the courage and have just taken the iron to two pieces with the dreaded white ring of fire and like magic…gone! Thank you so much as we were about to get the polisher in and suspect he would have done exactly the same while we weren’t looking and polished us off with his bill….great tip!
This tip saved my marriage. I had a girl’s night at my house and we ate on paper plates and left white marks all over our brand new black table. It took 10 seconds of ironing over a white pillow case with steam and the marks were gone. How easy!!!
Thank you so much for the iron tip. We too put paper plates on the table with hot food on and ended up with little white circles all over the centre of our oak table. For 3 months we have kept it covered with a lazy susan not knowing what to do. Then we saw your marvellous tip with the iron – it worked – it is now as good as new. My husband still can’t believe it. Thank you.
Thank You, Thank You, Thank You. I sat a hot casserole dish on a dry folded dish towel this weekend and was sick when I removed the towel and saw the white stain on my taable. I just now found this tip about the iron on your website and tried it. There is no stain there now. I used the hottest setting with steam and a clean white hand towel. Thank you so much for this tip.
Thank you so much! We purchased a new dining room table last week and tonight my husband put hot dishes on it and turned the wood white in several places! I can’t believe how well this worked!!
Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!!!
A simple, yet effective method to remove the effects of moisture in varnish is to use a blow dryer (high heat and high air flow)on the spot. Be patient and you will see the cloudiness dissappear before your eyes.
Unbelievable! I was skeptical, but didn’t have much to lose so tried it with my steamer, which I held very close to the table for about 15 seconds. I had one big heat stain and 2 small ones, and they’re almost gone now. I’d say it’s 90%.
One warning, though: move the iron constantly while steaming the stain, or you’ll leave the impression of the iron on the furniture.
Thanks very much for this great hint.
Thank you sooooo much. I just bought a used table that is very high quality and in perfect condition and I laid a pizza box on it without thinking. When I removed it voila ! white spots, I was devestated. I used the iron with steam above a cotton cloth and has some success but had to put the iron on the cloth, moving it continuously for several seconds at a time and the spots went away. Table is now as perfect as when I bought it !
Thanks for this great tip !
I tried this without steam at first, but had no results. I then folded the white tee shirt in half and placed it over the stain. I set my iron to wool setting with steam. Within 5 minutes the stain disappeared right before my eyes Like magic. I just bought this table last week, and you have saved me so much time and stress. Thanks so much for this wonderful idea. I will share it with everyone I know that has problem with heat stains on their table!
My Mom is soooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo so so so Pleased with the Terific results. Thank You Dearly.
After using this method a few times, I found that a single layer tea towel works the best as well as having your iron on steam vs no steam. I set the heat setting to silk. I had a few white spots – some old (years old) and some fairly recent. They are all gone. Now I just need some help as to what to do with the cat claw scratches on my diningroom table!!
WOW, I WAS NERVOUS TO TRY THE IRON TRICK BUT AFTER TRYING THE TOOTHPASTE AND NO LUCK. SO I WENT THE SAFEST WAY POSSIBLE, JUST HOLDING THE IRON OVER THE TOWEL AND PRESSING THE STEAM BUTTON, AND THERE IN SECONDS THE MARK WAS GONE. THANKS..
My wife felt sick about a large white steam stain on our walnut dining table, with what appears to be a laquered finish. She is out of town at the moment. I was laying here in bed…1 a.m. and for some reason googled ‘water stain wood table’ and clicked on this site first. Got out of bed and went downstairs to the dining room with the iron. Iron with steam in a circular motion with no towel worked like a charm. I really can’t believe it and my wife will be thrilled when she gets home. Thanks so much.
Thankyou so much, i’m house sitting for some friends [an extravagant couple from South Africa], they’re holidaying now. I had a few friends over for dinner [with the tenants permission of course] and the baking pan on the tea-towel left a huge white stain on their imported dinner table which they shippped in from S-A. I was really frantic about the whole thing, i even spent a good half hour talking to my chemistry tutor about it, he mentioned something about heat ‘caking’ the stain on, so steam-heat should rehydrate the stain and then take it off. I checked this site and thank God it worked. I can now breathe easy. Thanks from Sydney
OMG It works,I did the iron on the heat stain on my dinning room table and it’s gone,My husband will be so proud of me,
Thank you very much for the wonderful and very helpful hint.
Retta
Hot Iron, on top of a cotton towel, lifted the white stains right off. Thank you. Oil did minimal work. Hot water and just steam did nearly nothing.
It works! My beautiful Heywood-Wakefield antique table which I use everyday had developed numerous spots! I used 2 tee shirts folded (to make 4 thickness), used no pressure, checked spot after 30 seconds and repeated process if necessar. Results a beautifully restored table. I’m so excited.
I wish I could post the pictures before & after.
OMG this actually works!!!!! no joke!! thank you so much Tip Net!!
I have the white cloudy mark from an iron. My brother got up early this morning and ironed he shirt on the table with a thin towel below it. Of course he didn’t clean up after himself so when I picked up the towel I found a huge white cloudy mark. I have heard before to use vineger so that is what I am doing now. I hope it works. I am a little scared to try an iron since an iron is what caused it. This is our main family table and we paid a lot for it just two years ago.
This is amazing. I was prepared to pay big bucks to have my table refinished. It completely too the white stains away. I justed the dry iron approach with a thin cloth under it. Thank you so much!!!
This totally worked. I had to rub oil (Old English) on it immediately after steaming and it got the stain out! AMAZING!
WOW!!! I must say even after reading a few of the “wow it worked” comments, I was still skeptical. I have a brand new set of very expenxsive “formal living” coffee and end tables. A mishevious 3 year old thought it would be funny to pure milk on mommy’s new table, by the time I caught the spill the damage was done. A friend suggested a mix of oil and vinergar, I tried with no results . Horrified by the stain and feeling defeted I moved the table to the game room out of companys site.
Today I came across the site by accident or was it devine intervention, I don’t but IT WORKED and the table is back in its rightful place!!!
Thank you so much to whomever it was brave enough to put an iron on a table!!!
OH MY GOD!!! Who would have thought that steam would have fixed a problem that steam caused!!! I just came down for breakfast this morning and my fiance said “i just ruined the coffee table”. I said “what are you talking about”? He explained he heated up a breakfast sandwich and left if on the wood part of the table while he was making his coffee. There was a circular smudge of white left where the sandwich sat. I didn’t think there was anything I could do. In my head I was wondering if they still sold this brand new coffee table and perhaps I would get another one. Then I just went online and saw your post…I told my fiance I was going to try it and he was very skeptical. Well I did it and laughed…he said “what are you laughing at?” I said it’s gone!!!! He was like “no way!!!”. Thank you so much for this amazing trick! You have saved me a couple hundred dollars to have to buy another one!
AWESOME!!!!!!
Not that you need another vote, but YEA! I LOVE my birch with a cherry finish kitchen table, and absolutely sick over the white heat stain. I tried the steam iron a few inches above the table, no luck, but the first time I ironed a towel with steam it was GONE! A few seconds took away all my heartache! Works, works, works! Why would hot steam remove what caused the stain in the first place? But had to try- how much worse could it get? YEA! I am doing the happy dance!
THANK YOU!!!
Well, I know this is CAMP to write on here… but yes, it worked! I texted my beloved flatmate to tell him that I had marked his table – with a tea pot full of stewed earl grey tea – because I couldn’t bare telling him to his face.
Today, having read the advice on this website, I have successfully removed the stain from the table. I know you’ll be as happy as I am to know that I can now face him. I will not, however, tell him how I did it as it may reverse the good that I have just done.
Thanks again for the frightening yet beneficial advice.
It worked for us too. We had a Louis XV dark oak dining table with three white marks. Used the tip on 14 June 2009 and it worked immediately!
A BIG THANK YOU!
Oh my gosh, I have my mothers 50 year old cherry table. Now, this table is in bad shape to begin with, my fault, but you would not believe the heavy, thick white marks, I caused. So, I tried it and it worked. My tip, do not use a cheap terry cloth towel. trust me. I switched to a flour sack towel and even though it will never look like new again, it is a 100 times better. Thank you for posting this technique.
Thank you sooooo much for this information. I ironed over 50 napkins on my table and flattened my irnoning board so that I could sit down and watch TV while ironing. When I finished this I lifted the board to find a huge (size of my ironing board) on my table completely ruining it! I felt devestated not even a placemat would cover it. I was looking for new tables as I know that refinishing is very costly.
I was very skeptical to try your recommendation as I thought the iron and steam was what caused the marks in the first place. I was amazed!!!!! Thank you so much!!!!!! I now have my nice table back without the huge eyesore.
you are awesome! Thanks soooo very much for sharing this info! I was ready to trash my table due to these horrid hot spots! you saved me a couple hundred bucks! thank you thanks you, and i used towel and iron with olive oil asap after the mark was gone. thanks again!
Sweet!!!! That hot bowl of greenbeans left a doozie of a spot. There were some other spots too from hot bowls of oatmeal and a hot pocket. This took them all away!!! I used a dry iron at high heat—–DO NOT USE A PAPER TOWEL> the bonding agents made the towel stick to the finish (only a little spot thankfully). I used a thick dish towel. I do woodwork and have some experience with finishing and I would say that using heat without steam is better because the cause of the white circles is water trapped under or within the finish and the heat from an iron releases that water out of the surface. I guess using steam might work but it probably just makes the towel a better conductor and speeds the process but could cause “white rings” again. Just the hot iron is my recommendation. I dunno for sure but that’s my 2 cents worth. Thanks for the Tip though… saved our table!!!!!!!!!!!!!
~Corey
I had the white faded spot from a coffee pot put on the table on a placemat
I spread the area all around the spot with olive oil and rubbed it in. Thought this would help protect the non-damaged areas. Then I steamed it (no towel, just held the iron about a half inch away from the table surface) for about two minutes, then rubbed the olive oil in the spot, let sit and then wiped olive oil off. I repeated all these steps 3 times, and the spot got progressively less and less. After the last time it was completely gone. Thanks for everyone’s tips.
What bizarre ways to get rid of heat spots…but they work!
OMG! Amazing! We have a very expensive dining room table and I tonight I placed a hot dish on it and a HUGE white stain appeared! I wanted to cry! I was prepared to have to buy a NEW table, when I stumbled on your solution. IT WORKED!!! The table looks just like new. You would never know that the stain had been there!!! THANK YOU SO MUCH!!! Steam heat with an iron is the trick! MAGIC!
IT”S A MIRACLE !!!!!!!!!!!!!
I LOVE the INTERNET !!!!
Two white heat stains gone in SECONDS after being on my furniture for years !!!
Thank you everyone keep the good tips flowing !!!!!!!!!!!
Judi ~~
Worked great! A bit of dampness in the towel will do the same as the steam.
If I hadn’t seen it with my own 2 eyes I wouldn’t have believed it worked!!!
I had a beautiful blond wood coffee table with with marks from a paper plate. I had considered sanding and re-staining it but matching would be nearly impossible. I figured, what the heck give it a try. So, I plugged in my iron and held the iron over the white mark…steamed…I wiped up the dampness from the steam with a dry dish towel and Voila!!! The mark is gone!!!
My only regret now is that I didn’t take a before picture.
Thanks so much for this tip
Thias saved my friend Sonia’s table when we was watching UFC 100 and had hot pizzas on her table and lifted them when cleaning up and we was scared it wouldn’t come out so we tried steam alone and it made it worst, but a towel down go over with a iron and steam it.Thanks so much guys.
OMG OMG!!! It worked!! I tried toothpaste as someone told me to and it didn’t work..so off to the web I went!! I just held the iron over the wood and as the steam hit it you could see it disappear!!! The best part was the table was a great find on CL and now it it is a spectacular find with a little steam!!! OH yeah and the iron was a cheap 6.00 one from Walmart, it gives off a lot of steam!!!! P.S this was done at 4:30am!!!! Off to find more genius ideas!!!!!
SO SCARY BUT WORKED LIKE A CHARM! I had just bought an antique cherry table and served warm food on a paper plate it made a terrible white stain. I found your tip and put a terry towel doubled over stain then placed Iron over and steamed quickly worked great THANKS!!
I have an oak table and used a paste made from white vinegar and baking soda, rubbing gently and the white marks came right off. These were fresh marks, but I don’t see any real reason why this would’nt work on older stains.
I all most wanted to cry when my son left a hot cup of coffee on my hutch.
Thanks a whole lot! The iron really does work. I was total amazed that in
fact it does work. Thanks for the great tip. My hutch is back to looking beautiful!:)
OMG, BEST TIP EVER! Our steamy-pizza-box-damaged coffee table is perfect again – thank you so much, all the way from New Zealand!!!
It works! My husband was so angry with me for using the iron on the dining table but it’s like new again. Can someone explain scientifically what happened in the first place and what the steam is doing to get the white stain out? Thanks again!!!
Great Tip! I found this from doing some google search and it worked like a charm. I used the steam and constant move method. Now all I need to do is figure out how to get the ring out.
I was able to remove the existing stains with the iron, but I accidentally created a new one. I must have used too much heat, or I went over a part of the table that wasn’t previously stained. It isn’t a bad stain. It looks a little like the texture of the white towel that I was using (terry cloth) made marks on the table. I can’t get this new stain out. I tried vinegar, salt, olive oil, vegetable oil, baking powder, etc… along with the iron again, but nothing seems to work. Any suggestions?
Used an iron over a white t-shirt folded in half (4x thickness). Did not use steam. Worked great. All stains are gone and table looks brand new.
My husband and I own a furniture repair business, but don’t do a lot of wood repairs. We have a customer’s table in our shop and the only thing left to do was remove the white stains from the top.
We also have a table in our home with the same problem. I tried your tip on our table first using a steamer we use for furniture, and viola! the stain was gone. Next I tried it on our customer’s table (pretty scary since it is not ours). Most of the stain came off leaving a slight cloudy appearance. I then used a little oil over the stain and the rest of the white has disappeared. I’m so glad to get this piece out of our shop and it makes us look genius to our customer. Thanks so much for the tip. I’m sure we will use it again!
Thank you sooo much. Oh man, you saved me from big frustration time.
It worked like a charm….
I just tried this now. I have a dark varnished table and I used the steam hovering method. It disappeared like magic! Thanks.
We are a young couple ‘inherited’ an nice dining table from the previous owner of our flat – but with lots and lots of white stains.
It was just about to be thrown out and replaced with a new one until we found this tip.
It worked like a miracle.
The dining table will stay!
Yes! Thank you so much. I put a hot baked sweet potato on my roommate’s new cherry table while he was gone on vacation! The steam mark went away after a few swipes of a medium heat iron with steam over a folded white t-shirt. A rubbed a little olive oil over it afterwords. Looks great! NO STAIN! Thank you thank you!
THIS WORKS! I had 3 terrible hot plate stains. I didn’t use steam because my iron doesn’t have a steam mode. I put vegetable oil on them first, then I put a hand towel down, then the iron on top for about 15 seconds. After releasing the iron, I immediatly sprayed more oil and/or pledge on top of the warm surface. AWESOME!!! They are gone. Thank you, thank you, thank you!!!
It worked like magic !!!!! I didn’t lay the iron on it, just held it over and pressed the steam button a few times. Thanks
Thank you soooo much!!! I hovered the iron and pressed steam and it worked beautifully!!!!
It looks much better…Thanks for the tip.
Our son had put a hot pizza box on our coffee table creating to our horror a large milky white mark. We took your advise and held a hot steam iron over the mark and wiped away the moisture. Ta-da, good as new. Thank you so much for the great tip. I can’t wait to pass it on
Thanks, it worked .. amazing
I finished my front doors with a valspar spray clear coat. I accidently created an overspray or cloud/mist of valspar high gloss finish/clear in my dining room which covered my dining table. This is a nice table! It’s clear finish is smooth as glass. The mist landed on it and created a rough feel to the touch. How do I remove this residual overspray and bring it back to the original smooth finish?
I left a big white mark from a bag of fast food on my roommate’s table a couple of months ago, and it’s been bugging me. So I tried the iron technique described above. I laid down a dampened white dish towel, heated my iron up, and steamed the area, hovering the iron a half inch above the table. The stains disappeared, and I quickly tried to wipe the moisture away. But soon a larger hazy white area appeared. I tried again, this time wiping with olive oil, but the results were the same. I gave up for the night.
Then a couple of nights later I read further down the page where somebody mentioned using a hair dryer. Next there were a couple of posts with hypotheses that moisture was causing the marks and that it’s the heat that helps, not the moisture. I think this is true, just that the moisture is a more efficient conductor of heat to the table surface. So I spent about a half hour carefully applying heat to the tabletop with a hairdryer. The process was gradual- which in my estimation is a good thing, but I was able to remove the marks completely and not feel scared about the process as I could see exactly what I was doing (no towel in the way).
Just tried the iron-approach to removing a heat mark on our breakfast table, and not only did it not work, but it made the existing stain worst and created an even bigger white mark where I had applied the iron over the cloth. Put mayonaise on the spot afterward also but no improvement. Not sure what happened, but this technique must only work with certain finishes and woods. Any suggestions or comments?
OMG it worked, I had a few old marks on the kitchen table, but yesterday I mistakingly laid a hot cup on the table, then did a search on the internet to find out how to remove the stain, came across this advise, followed it this morning and it worked……….Thank you
i have tried all the tips but my table looks worse can anybody help
Hot laptop computer battery left mark on 7 year old oak finish dining table. Hovered the steam iron over a white terry towel for about 2-3 minutes and then immediately rubbed olive oil in and wiped whole area. Seems to be gone.
As everyone else said, tried it and it worked. Gobsmacked!! Was thinking Id have to buy a new coffee table! Thanks!
This worked brilliantly!! Thanks for the tip
The iron for white spots worked like magic on my kitchen table! Thank you!
Cheers 4 this dude. Worked in 30 seconds
I just did this on a beautiful mission style table(dark wood). It took the white stain off almost immediately. Thanks so much for the tip.
Felicia
I did what you said and put a white towel on the table and rubbed over it with a steam iron and the stain automatically disappeared! Thanks!!
Nathalie
Wow – it’s the hair of the dog! It really works. We had a party last night and we were supposed to eat out on the patio. It started pouring rain, and everyone (can’t blame them) instead gathered around the dining room table. It’s a gorgeous table and only a year old. We were devastated to see white clouds on its surface after dinner. I looked online for chemicals I might be able to use to remove the stains and ran across this tip instead. Unbelievably, it worked like magic. THANK YOU!
this totally worked (even after the furniture store “repair guy” said he could do nothing about it) and I can’t stop telling people about it….thanks so much…my table is beautiful again…thank you thank you thank you…Frankie
Mixed results for me. From a birds eye view the marks went completely and very quickly. However, from looking into the dining room at an angle where light from the window reflects off the table, the mark remains visible and its surface area has increased from where we used the iron.
Thankfully, we can just turn the table round and it should look fine. So all in all pleased! Thankyou!
I tried the steam iron tip on my teak dining room table. I had 3 white spots caused by hot dishes. It works!!!! I was a doubter when I was reading the how to do it but figured what the heck, it already needs to be refinished how can it hurt. Well, it works on teak. I can’t thank you enough. Donna Jenkins
My idiot brother pulled a classic dude move and put a hot pizza box on my roommates black wood coffee table. Tried the steam and it worked miraculously! Thanks
I WAS SCARD TO USE AN IRON/ STEAM. BUT IT WORKED.
WOW!!!! THANKS SO MUCH!!! Our first dinner on our brand new cherry wood table created four white steam stains. I wanted to cry, so I found this very useful tip. It worked so well! I can’t even see where the stains were! Thanks again!!!!
Fantastic tip! I tried hovering the iron turned on high + steam, about an inch and a half over the white heat-stain on the table, no cloth underneath and it worked. I had to lift the iron and wipe away the water few times to see where else to go. Small, slow circular motions worked just right, and when done, I wiped the surface with olive oil on a paper towel. The table is like new again. I also found the olive oil helpful with the little pesky scratches on other parts of the table, just be sure to be consistent with the direction of the strokes and work with the wood-grain. Polish with soft cloth.
Thank you so much for sharing your tips.
UN-FREAKIN-BELIEVABLE!!! I can’t count how many times I’ve tried do-it-yourself fixes for things around the house that didn’t work. Not only did this work right away, but I had to call my aunt. She has an antique table given to her by a famous actress. At our family gathering last year, someone left the coffee urn slightly open and hot coffee dripped all over it. My aunt was delaying refinishing in case she found a solution. She is thrilled to find that this actually does work and she can save the table!!
BTW, I found that even a thin towel didn’t work. I used a T-shirt wrapped around the iron, using the balled up shirt as the handle, and just moved the entire thing across the surface. Thanks, thanks, thanks!!
I set a Chinet paper plate with hot food on it on my dark coffee table and thought it was the type of plate that was at fault, I had no idea heat/steam would do this to wood. I followed your instructions with the iron, towel and steam and it worked like a charm! At some angles you can still see some very slight cloudiness, but NOTHING like it was before. You saved my table, and I’m so grateful, THANK YOU!!
My aunt just emailed me….. “I can’t believe what happened when I tried your trick on removing the white stain on my little table. It miraculously disappeared and I am so happy I could shout for joy, but there’s no one around to hear me!! I think it also removed the laquer finish so I’ll have to put a coat of poly on it. Thank you so much.”
PRAISE THE LORD!!! My family and I have had a white spot from a hot dish on my “beloved” dining room table for 6 years and tonight my husband accidenatally laid a hot pizza cardboard circle on the other side of the table that was not scorched and it left a dinner plate size white spot. I was so sick and devastated. I love my dining room table and I thought it was ruined forever. I was praying and found this site and what made me really believe that it worked was all of the positive feedback. We just got through doing this (no steam but white towel, sprayed water on the towel with spray bottle, put the iron to work for several seconds, lifted towel and my husband was right there to rub vegetable oil on it which he saturated onto a cloth. GONE!!! We did this on the other burn mark from several years back and GONE!!! I GIVE THANKS TO MY LORD JESUS FOR LEADING ME TO THIS WONDERFUL SITE! AND THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU! You saved my marriage (ha!ha!)
Sincerely,
Becky
I’ve just tried this tip for removing white marks from my mahogany table; they’ve been in place for years! I thought, one last effort on my part! Well, it worked! I cannot believe the amount of products and ‘other tips’ I’ve tried over the years; only to find something so simple that actually works and the wood has been left with a lovely sheen! You must try this! I used a thick terry towelling tea cloth and used circular motions! Probably the removal of all the products and of course those dreadful white marks! Whoever found out the amazing secret! THANK YOU SO MUCH!
Thank you so much! We bought our dining set off of Kijiji about 8 months ago. It is a beautiful Winslow table and buffet/hutch set by Ashley furniture. We got a great deal on it but only one week after we had it my husband set a hot Corelle plate of steak right off of the bbq on the table and left a nasty white ring. He was so disappointed but we didn’t think we could do anything about it. Tonight, 8 months later, I tried your tip. I used a wet cotton terry cloth tea towel folded in half and just moved the iron in a circular motion over the stain for about half a minute. It was like magic. My husband is going to be thrilled when he gets home. This has just put the value back into our beautiful dining set and has also rescued my husband from his respite in the doghouse.
DONT DO IT MY TABLE IS EVEN MORE RUNINED NOW!
Hi sue, can you give more details about what you did and what exactly the results were? What type of table/finish?
I am trying to address a black stained, probably veneer wood table with a not so lovely white cloud heat stain. Most of the posts talk about more natural wood finished tables. Will the iron tip work in my case? Feedback greatly appreciated.
I put a heat stain on my employers mahogany bistro table and thought he was going to deduct the damage out of my paycheck from the look on his face! Found your website and saved myself $500! Thank you!! You saved me like 2 weeks pay, lol; no seriously.
Hi everyone a varnish or shellac finish is much hard then a lacquer finish so the lacquer finish would have better results ,its a more pouris finish.
Add me to the list – your tip saved the day. I had my heated humidifyer CPAP machine on the coffee table last night and when I was filling the water I must have spilled some under the machine. I didn’t notice because I was riding a 103.5 swine flu feaver. Well when I woke up today the heat and the water on the table created a big white mark which almost caused me to throw up. I used your tip on a white T-Shirt and the stain is gone – thanks for sharing this.
The iron trick really works! We were sceptical at first wondering how heat could remove a heat stain as we’d ruined an antique table (our landlord’s not ours) – but after tentatively trying out an iron over a doubled pillow case the stain was gone in seconds – as if by magic! You would never have known the difference!