Make Tipnut.com My Home Page
Email
More White Stain Removal Tips For Wood Furniture
If the last tip for removing those pesky white water rings or steam marks from wood tables and furniture was a bit too aggressive for you, try one of the tips below:
- Mix 50/50 toothpaste and baking soda, rub into mark. Do not use gel toothpaste for this.
- Rub in a paste of salt and olive oil, allow to sit for up to an hour. Wipe off.
- Rub in Miracle Whip (Mayonnaise) and wipe off after an hour.
- Mix 50/50 vinegar and olive oil and rub into the watermark.
- Try straight toothpaste (non-gel). Rub into the stain then wipe off.
- Make a paste with baking soda and a few drops of water. Rub into stain then wipe off. You can also try salt instead of baking soda.
- Rub some Vaseline (or other petroleum jelly) into the watermark and leave overnight. Wipe off in the morning.
Don't Miss These Tips:
- Cookware Cleaning & Stain Removal Tips
- Enamel Cookware: Stain Removal Tips
- Old-Time Stain Removal Tips: Timeless Wisdom
Join Over 33861 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!
Don't Miss Another Tip!
Your privacy is respected (see No-Spam Policy)
You can unsubscribe at any time
You can also subscribe to TipNut by 
RSS
I braved it and tried the iron with steam after setting down a bag with Chinese food in foam boxes on the table. It worked great and only took a few minutes.
I tried the iron/towel/steam technique on a wooden table with a similar problem as pictured. It resulted in an iron-shaped singe mark on the table. Not at all helpful. The only thing that fixed it was the olive oil and baking soda trick. Thank goodness that worked! Skip the irons and mayonnaise. Go straight for the olive oil and baking soda. The table is good as new.
tnb928 was it salt and olive oil or baking soda and olive oil that you used? I don’t see baking soda and olive oil on the list and I don’t know how much to use.
I just tried the steam iron with a terry cloth towel on a brand new table and a very old table. The white marks disappeared in an instant. Thanks for the tip.
Hi the toothpaste realy works, it takes a bit of scrubbing but they eventualy disapear.
I used Colgate Whitening toothpaste with baking soda and peroxide in the toothpaste and just a little extra baking soda, mixed it in a small saucer, and rubbed for maybe 30 seconds while applying a little bit of pressure and my spot the size of a silver dollar came right off my oak table.
A new coffee maker’s steam left a white mark – actually a trail up the entire kitchen cabinet door. I tried everything from mayonaise and baking soda to salt and furniture oil, hair dryer and oil, etc. It makes no sense to me but what finally worked was a hot iron with steam on held about an inch away from the door. I would blast the steam and then rub the area with an oiled cloth (Old English). It took only a few minutes to erase the weeks of fret and worry over a ruined door. Thank you for the advice!
I’m glad it worked for you Byrd
, thanks for the feedback everyone!
Crest Regular Toothpaste worked perfectly.
Thanks.
My problem is a little different. I put an heirloom table scarf in the center of my new dark wood table. I then covered that with a sheet of clear plastic table cloth that I bought at W……. I left it on for several months and when I removed the clear plastic there had been a reaction between the table finish and the plastic because of the sunlight. I have tried lots of things like mayo, wd40, oil, goof off, etc. Nothing has worked…any ideas.
I couldn’t believe it when I read your post. I had the same exact thing happen to my table! Did you ever find anything to remove those stains? Thank you for any advice you can offer!
I have a black wood table that someone put a hot paper bowl onto– the bowl left a perfect white ring. I tried the iron trick — nothing. I tried the steam iron trick — that took the ring out but added much more staining in the surrounding area!!! I then tried the toothpaste trick — that worked, but maybe I rubbed a little too hard or something, but the finish on the table there looks a lot less shiny than the rest of the table, unfortunately.
I had the same problem as Debbie, but I only used the steam iron technique which worked beautifully to remove the white spots left by hot paper plates, but has left the finish duller in these areas than surrounding areas. Any suggestions for my finish. I have already tried regular furniture polish with no luck.
Iron didnt work, baking soda didnt work caused more stain, toothpate DEFINATLY work ed and did the trick
i have a highly varnished mahogany unit and my daughter actually ironed on it and it has left a massive white heat stain so how can using the thing that caused the stain work ??
I have a new antique dark wood buffet with a veneered top. I used white cotton hotpads (cotton trivets) for the hot food dishes. When I removed the hotpads, they stuck to the wood, leaving the impression of the hotpad and I cannot get it off. Any suggestions?
Judy check out the link at the top of the post, you might want to try the steam/hover technique. Sounds crazy I know
.
BLOODY HELL IT REALLY WORKS!!!!
I TRIED THE STEAM IRON AND IT DISAPPEARED BEFORE MY EYES. THANKS
I mixed the olive oil and baking soda into a paste and gentle rubbed away the stain. Worked great!! Thank you for saving my table!!
Okay, I NEVER leave comments anywhere. But I had to tell you my results from all of the feedback on this issue. I have a wood nesting table that has this inlaid wood design. Well, I left a bottle on that table which left a weird raised up white residue ring. I thought I could just wipe it off, but when it seemed a little tough, i tried to test it and see if I could scrape it off a little. Big mistake, i actually scratched up the surface of the table and made a few noticeable little nicks. I decided to stop making things worse and try to google a home remedy and ended up here. I first tried that steam on the table method. That was scary – i think it may have actually slightly damaged the finish on my table because it started feeling a little rough. That technique did help though, but after several minutes and a rougher feeling table, I had to stop and it didn’t completely do the trick. Then I looked around a little more and decided to try the olive oil and baking soda trick. Made it into a smooth past and rubbed it gently on the marks – that cleaned up the rest of the issue! I actually wish I would have tried that first as it seems to have really done the trick! And MUCH less scary than the iron. I followed this by rubbing some vegetable oil into the table to help smooth out the rough feeling of the table. It looks so much better, barely see anything at all – well except for the little nicks i made trying to chip it off. I will have to get some wood stain/fill to touch that up, but at least my table is almost back to normal!
WOW!!! It really worked, I tried the olive oil/baking soda method with no visible change to the damage on the table, so I went for the steam iron treatment and it worked 100%.
I covered all the surrounding area of the mahogany finish with sheeting so as not to further damage any of the veneer and covered the white marks with a folded towel. My iron was on medium heat but full steam and I applied this to the area, never putting any pressure on, just resting the iron over the damage and moving it backwards and forwards, stopping every couple of minutes to check the progress. Slowly but surely it did the trick, have patience and you will be thrilled to see your table restored. I then buffed the area with a soft cloth, I don’t have a clue how this worked but it it did!!!
I love you ladies! In a hurry to get dinner on the table [why is it that a perfectly loveable hubby's bloodsugar drops and he turns into a toddler?] I had placed a thick kitchen towel under a dish and was horrified to later discover a dish-shaped white stain on the table. The baking soda and olive oil worked brilliantly in about 5 minutes! Hogs & Quiches to you all!
toothpaste is the way to go, not abrasive and easy as anything cheers
tried the olive oil and baking soda. the stain faded some, but still a huge white cloud. not sure if i’m brave enough to try the iron
Well you have saved my Christmas. Thought I had enough padding on the table and went to iron the Christmas white linen. Heat went through and marked my heirloom dining table.
Put Vaseline on all night, but still marked. Put Toothpaste on for a few hours, just a little mark, then applied toothpaste and the baking soda just for five minutes rubbing it in and “Merry Xmas” no mark in sight.
Thankyou. Thankyou for all of your ideas
i tried the oil & baking soda as well as the toothpaste tricck but niether worked as i geuss its based on ths fine abrasion in each product but when i tried the hot iron ontop of a cloth amazing both tables had white stains 1 from a hot pot and 1 from water thanks!!!!!
Olive Oil and baking soda is amazing it also helped to cover up the scratches my dog made on a few doors and the same table with the white marks! I suggest using a little more olive oil than baking soda. Best wishes!
I have a new wood dining room table…we were eating fast food and put the hot burgers down on the table..the steam went trhough the wrappers and left a stain that looks like a faded spot, but it is glossy?? any suggestions?
I tried the toothpaste and it changed the finish of my table…now I have a high gloss finish over my stain….what now???!
I was ironing on my brand new dresser using steam and it left a white mark in the shape of the iron. I have tried Jasco White Ring remover, hot iron + t-shirt, mayo….nothing has worked so far. Anyone has any idea how I could rectify this? Thank you!
I had the red from a bright raspberry colored post it note bleed onto my oak dining room table. I removed it by wiping a tiny drop of pepsodent original flavor toothpaste on it for 30 seconds. It disappeared instantly.
I just had the exact same thing happen to me and I was freaking out about our expensive kitchen table . . . I used the whitening baking soda toothpaste and it disappeared before my eyes!!! Thank you! Thank you!!
WOW what can I say, I had my tomato plants sat in a wooden tray in mt conservatory for a week and somehow the plants had drawn all the moisture out of the table in a huge white patch and I ahd tried to rub varnish and bees wax into it with no joy.
I was a bit worried about trying the steam iron but I thought what the heck it can’t look any worse and IT WORKED A TREAT – it removed the white stain? How??
I left a potted plant on top of a paper napkin on a relative’s wooden table. there is a nice stain. since I already ruined the table, I am afraid to try these techniques. anyone have advice for a starting point? i think it’s a partial water stain mixed with some mold/mildew… PLEASE HELP! I read other comments but I am still scared… I don’t want to make it worse!
I tried the iron trick and it worked very well!!! The only thing is the finish is still a little rough where the white spots were. How can I fix this? Would the olive oil/baking soda trick help to smooth out the finish and make it shinny again? Thanks!!
Kirk, i just left a long-winded note above – but i used the iron trick which helped some, but it was stubborn so I followed with the baking soda/olive oil paste and that cleaned it up beautifully! I followed that with actually rubbing vegetable oil into the table to restore some shine and smoothness. So much better!
Toothpaste worked wonders! Thank you so much!
A sticker was left on my nice wood kitchen table, I tried cleaning it off and there was still glue left on it, I used a tiny piece of Mr. Clean Magic Eraser without thinking. It left a foggy white spot, the sticker is gone but no I am stuck with this foggy white spot. Is this from the sticker, or Mr. Clean . Any suggestions on how to get rid of it? Will the iron trick work for something like this?
It must depend on the type of wood and finish, I tried several of these remedies and nothing is working. I was using a steam iron with a towel underneath when I noticed the stain, so I tried the iron trick and it faded the marks in some spots but made stains in other places, making it bigger. I tried salt and olive oil and let it sit for 2 hours and it didn’t even fade the stain, now trying vaseline but it doesn’t look promising. My husband is going to kill me! Any other ideas?? Please help!
I had several large white heat marks on my oak dining room table. I rubbed them with Mr. Clean Magic Eraser and they completely disappeared. Also had white mark on mahogany table from coffee mug. Mr. Clean Magic Eraser removed it as well. Both table tops look like new!! Absolutely amazing.
I was too hesitant to use the iron, since heat is what created the white discoloration of our old world dining table… .so I opted to start with making a baking soda paste. In minutes… a huge difference. After a couple applications of simply rubbing the baking soda paste on the marks, they were gone! BRAVO! A great tip, time saver and table repaired!
I too have never left a comment on one of these tips sites but I am flabberghasted at how well olive oil and baking soda worked on my table! My grandfather made and hand-carved a beautiful table that was given to my father. My dad gave it to me when I needed a table in my very first apartment. Needless to say, within a year or two of having it, I had a horrible white stain on it from a plant that sat on it. I tried different things to get rid of it and nothing worked. I ended up consistently covering it with a cloth or placemat always getting a heavy heart when I saw the mark. Over the years, more small water marks appeared from various sources. Today, the straw that broke the camel’s back was a poinsettia that leaked and added a much bigger, uglier white stain. Oh, and did I mention I am 9 months pregnant and EMOTIONAL??
I was hesitant to try the cloth and iron method but had oil and baking soda on hand — I covered the 10 year old stain with the paste and rubbed with the grain with a paper towel. I was AMAZED at the results. AWESOME!
THANK YOU SO MUCH!
Had two recent white heat stains on my table, on this occasion the salt or the toothpaste did not work but although I am not a smoker I made a paste out of ash from my son-in-laws cigarettes, and rubbed it on the stain, as if by magic the stain disappeared. This is a remedy my mother told me years ago.
My husband likes his food very hot so last week he microwaved his plate of food, then set it on the cofffee table to watch the game. Horrors! A white spot where the food was on the plate. I tried the olive oil and baking soda ( just a wee bit ) and it completely restored the table. So easy.
I tried the vaseline technique several years ago and it worked GREAT. Now when I try it, it doesn’t work as well. The table is oak inlay and about 25 years old. I’m trying the vaseline again today and if it doesn’t look any better tomorrow I’ll try the olive oil and baking soda trick. If that doesn’t work I guess I’ll just keep a table cloth on it to hide it.
I had a coffee-mug sized white stain on my dark walnut end table. I held my iron on high steam setting approx 1-2 inches above the table–just a second or 2–wiped off the moisture, then reapeated. MMAGICALLY,the stain disappeared!! Thank U thank U thank U. The best part was my sceptical husband had 2 eat his words. lol
Sandi
tipnut, you and toothpaste saved my life
Hi,
Got a new coffee table. Trying to fix a small dent, I damaged it further. I used iron and white shirt technique and it left a iron shaped mark. Tried to remove that using baking soda+olive oil mix. Worked to some extent. But the place is shinier than the rest of the table. Any help??
My dining table is not “real” wood—it looks great but just a fake parquet walnut design with white marks from hot food—I see its a choice of toothpaste/oil/b.powder or iron steam—But I am worried I will ware the parquet design off—-Ant thoughts?
Thanks,
Margo