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 :).
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( 127 )
02 Nov 2007 at 8:48 am
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.
03 Nov 2007 at 7:13 pm
It is in fact amazing. I tried it on my table today and it worked. Thanks for sharing this tip with everyone!
11 Nov 2007 at 8:25 pm
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.
16 Nov 2007 at 11:30 pm
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!
25 Nov 2007 at 12:07 pm
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!!
04 Dec 2007 at 2:28 pm
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!
05 Dec 2007 at 10:00 pm
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 :).
27 Dec 2007 at 4:33 pm
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!!!
29 Dec 2007 at 10:14 am
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
29 Dec 2007 at 4:49 pm
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.
29 Dec 2007 at 7:44 pm
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!!
08 Jan 2008 at 3:59 pm
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 Jan 2008 at 6:46 am
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.
20 Jan 2008 at 11:52 am
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.
23 Jan 2008 at 1:18 pm
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!
28 Jan 2008 at 2:25 pm
I just tried this tip and it made the white mark worse than before.
30 Jan 2008 at 4:56 am
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.
30 Jan 2008 at 7:16 am
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.
02 Feb 2008 at 2:48 pm
incredible! worked for me like magic. thank you so much! i think my table is varnished but don’t know for sure…
04 Feb 2008 at 1:37 pm
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!!!
05 Feb 2008 at 7:39 pm
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!!!
05 Feb 2008 at 7:48 pm
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.
09 Feb 2008 at 11:42 am
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!!!
09 Feb 2008 at 4:50 pm
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!
13 Feb 2008 at 5:20 pm
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?
13 Feb 2008 at 5:25 pm
Judy it really does work, but for some it didn’t. It may have something to do with the type of wood finish/varnish.
14 Feb 2008 at 12:19 pm
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.
22 Feb 2008 at 6:05 am
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!!!!
24 Feb 2008 at 9:26 pm
Worked for me too! Thanks so much!
25 Feb 2008 at 8:14 pm
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!!
29 Feb 2008 at 11:07 pm
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.
02 Mar 2008 at 2:30 pm
Add me to the list! Best tip ever!!
03 Mar 2008 at 4:23 pm
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
05 Mar 2008 at 3:50 am
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.
07 Mar 2008 at 12:42 pm
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.
07 Mar 2008 at 4:28 pm
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!
14 Mar 2008 at 10:10 pm
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.
17 Mar 2008 at 2:53 pm
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.
19 Mar 2008 at 2:50 pm
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.
19 Mar 2008 at 2:53 pm
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.
19 Mar 2008 at 8:31 pm
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.
21 Mar 2008 at 4:26 pm
IT’s a miracle… thank you for the tip.. marks gone in seconds!!!
23 Mar 2008 at 6:55 pm
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.
24 Mar 2008 at 10:04 pm
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.
26 Mar 2008 at 11:21 am
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.
28 Mar 2008 at 12:57 pm
I have a birch veneer ikea table with a white mark. Will this trick work with that type of veneer?
28 Mar 2008 at 1:34 pm
Skeptical, but it worked like a charm. Thanks for putting this on the web.
29 Mar 2008 at 4:52 am
Melanie I haven’t tried it on veneer so I can’t say for sure, sorry.
30 Mar 2008 at 10:48 am
BRILLIANT IT WORKED FOR ME GOT RID OF ALL THE MARKS THANKS FOR THE TIP
31 Mar 2008 at 2:01 pm
FANTASTIC - great tip really impressed!
31 Mar 2008 at 10:25 pm
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.
04 Apr 2008 at 12:01 pm
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!!
04 Apr 2008 at 5:44 pm
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!!
07 Apr 2008 at 9:23 am
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!
07 Apr 2008 at 2:20 pm
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.
08 Apr 2008 at 9:59 pm
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?).
11 Apr 2008 at 1:34 pm
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.
12 Apr 2008 at 4:34 am
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!
17 Apr 2008 at 10:35 am
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.
21 Apr 2008 at 12:52 pm
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!!
22 Apr 2008 at 8:18 pm
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!
28 Apr 2008 at 4:46 pm
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!
03 May 2008 at 1:33 am
tried it this morning the wife was nervous,worked straight away she was so pleased we went back to bed.!!! …. enough said.!thankyou
03 May 2008 at 10:06 pm
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!
05 May 2008 at 5:31 am
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
05 May 2008 at 9:46 am
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
14 May 2008 at 2:43 am
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.
16 May 2008 at 12:40 pm
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?
17 May 2008 at 4:05 am
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.
26 May 2008 at 1:04 pm
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!!!!
06 Jun 2008 at 10:25 pm
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
09 Jun 2008 at 10:54 pm
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!!
14 Jun 2008 at 9:10 am
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.
17 Jun 2008 at 6:00 pm
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! ! ! !
21 Jun 2008 at 1:28 pm
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 !!
23 Jun 2008 at 9:38 am
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!
23 Jun 2008 at 11:45 am
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.
23 Jun 2008 at 4:25 pm
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!
27 Jun 2008 at 11:37 pm
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
01 Jul 2008 at 11:41 pm
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!!!
04 Jul 2008 at 11:34 am
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.
09 Jul 2008 at 6:21 am
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….
11 Jul 2008 at 2:41 pm
Worked like magic…I was quite discouraged with those withe stains on our beautiful dining table… thanks!
12 Jul 2008 at 9:09 am
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.
14 Jul 2008 at 4:12 am
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.
19 Jul 2008 at 9:12 am
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
20 Jul 2008 at 8:20 am
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!
20 Jul 2008 at 6:46 pm
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!!!!
22 Jul 2008 at 2:47 pm
please let me know how to remove white heat spots off a oak wood table
thank you,
Barbara
26 Jul 2008 at 10:21 pm
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!
27 Jul 2008 at 8:25 pm
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!
27 Jul 2008 at 9:18 pm
It’s all been said before but absolutely incredible!! Thank you so much
31 Jul 2008 at 1:42 am
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!
02 Aug 2008 at 12:46 am
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
06 Aug 2008 at 10:18 am
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
06 Aug 2008 at 9:40 pm
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….
07 Aug 2008 at 8:56 am
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?
09 Aug 2008 at 1:37 pm
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.
09 Aug 2008 at 2:24 pm
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.
16 Aug 2008 at 6:31 am
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.
16 Aug 2008 at 2:13 pm
Thank you so much. Works like a charm.
17 Aug 2008 at 4:20 am
Thank you for the tip on how to remove a heat stain from my expensive table ! It worked a treat. Fantastic - thank you again !!
18 Aug 2008 at 3:06 am
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.
18 Aug 2008 at 11:07 am
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.
20 Aug 2008 at 6:30 pm
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.
22 Aug 2008 at 2:32 am
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
23 Aug 2008 at 5:52 pm
I used the white cloth method with some steam and gently went across the spot. It came off!
24 Aug 2008 at 11:28 am
I can’t believe that worked!!
25 Aug 2008 at 7:07 pm
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.
27 Aug 2008 at 4:38 pm
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.
01 Sep 2008 at 6:27 am
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
01 Sep 2008 at 10:05 am
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.
01 Sep 2008 at 9:37 pm
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!
02 Sep 2008 at 8:44 am
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
12 Sep 2008 at 1:20 am
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
13 Sep 2008 at 4:35 am
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!
14 Sep 2008 at 3:29 pm
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.
15 Sep 2008 at 5:18 pm
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!
22 Sep 2008 at 8:14 am
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.
22 Sep 2008 at 11:14 pm
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
23 Sep 2008 at 7:20 am
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!
23 Sep 2008 at 7:57 am
It works so well - hover with iron and steam away and within a minute my horrible stain was gone! Yippee!
25 Sep 2008 at 8:46 am
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.
30 Sep 2008 at 7:54 pm
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.
04 Oct 2008 at 2:18 pm
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!
05 Oct 2008 at 6:38 pm
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!
09 Oct 2008 at 4:39 am
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