We have an old wood table that has been used and abused for years. Bringing it out over the holidays for card playing, I commented how badly damaged it was and wished I knew how to remove the hideous white heat stains that marred the top. While talking I’m quickly covering the surface with a linen trying to hide the mess.
How did they get there? These white cloudy marks were caused by placing hot dishes directly on the surface. It’s been damaged like this for several years.
A few are from Chinese food takeout containers and another was caused by pizza boxes. It seems the heat from the container scorches or somehow steams the finish.
This is why we should always make sure to place potholders or folded towels on the tabletop first before setting hot food down. We may know this, but someone in the home forgot and so–here we are.
That wasn’t all though, there were also some watermark rings caused by setting coffee cups and glasses of soda directly on the surface. You name it–this piece of furniture was covered in it. Like I said–it’s been abused over time!
The good news is that the damage doesn’t need to be permanent, there is indeed a way to repair this and it’s not that difficult nor is there a need for any special products.
Even though I was dealing with an old piece of furniture that only held sentimental value, I understand the stress someone might be experiencing over a piece that is newer or more expensive.
The picture at the right (bottom) is a snap of the repaired table, all discoloration is gone (there is some glare but it’s due to image quality). One of these days I’ll figure out the camera and take better pictures–the wood has a dark finish but you’d never know it from these pictures!
What did I do to fix the problem? While setting out the table (as mentioned above in the introduction), a relative gave me this curious piece of advice:
- For the scorch marks, just take an iron and apply heat to the cloudy blotches, they’ll disappear!
Terrifying, right? But it’s an old table that we have shoved in a corner so with fingers crossed, I decided to take the chance and give it a try.
Success! How I Removed Heat Stains From Wood Furniture
I outlined the steps below in case you’d like to give this a shot too. It’s pretty aggressive so if it’s too risky for your comfort, don’t worry! I have some other ideas listed here as well (it’s probably best to start with those first).
- The first thing I did was wash the wooden surface and dry it well.
- Next, 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 carefully place it directly over the stain (with the towel in between for protection).
- I let it sit for close to a minute, checked, and nothing happened. The damage 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 marks literally disappeared!
- I couldn’t believe it and it defied logic to me–wouldn’t the steam cause more harm? All I know is that it worked.
- I was quick to wipe away any moisture and water left on the surface after each treatment.
- Added: A few of the comments below recommend finishing things off by wiping in a bit of olive oil once successfully getting rid of the stains, this helps nourish the wood and give it a bit of love after all that it’s been through.
A few days later and the surface is still great. The cloudy discolorations haven’t returned. I keep running my hand across the tabletop and I can’t feel any damage or change to the finish. I’m amazed at how easily this cleaned up–it’s a totally different piece of furniture now!
Caution: I have no idea if this affects the finish, I’m not an expert. It’s something I tried and worked very well in this case.
| Update (2023): I first published this here on Tipnut in January, 2007, so it’s been over 15 years since I wrote this article. There have been a few more stains develop over the years, but they’re new ones…not the originals mentioned here that were removed. I just go through the step-by-step directions outlined above and I haven’t noticed any long term negative effects to the wood at all. |
Updates
Although many are finding this works on their wood furniture pieces, some are reporting that this makes the problem WORSE (see the comments below).
- The reason for the discrepancy could be what the type of finish is…varnish or shellac.
I believe my old table in this project is varnish, but I haven’t tested it to confirm.
Glorious tips & suggestions have been contributed by many readers and those souls brave enough to test this method. Here’s the condensed version of the possible solutions if this technique is successful in removing the original stain–but then ADDS a permanent outline of the iron:
- Try a lower temperature and move the iron slowly around the location instead of letting it sit (thanks Matthew!).
- Others report success with hot temp & no steam (thanks Flora Monroe!)
- 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 method.
- Also scroll down for Dan’s helpful tip using rubbing or polishing compound instead of the above technique if it’s too scary or aggressive for you.
- Timmer shared that the iron method made things worse, the fix that did the trick: spray furniture polish over top then work it in with extra fine steel wool (carefully so not to take off the existing finish). Next, buff with a clean rag once it dries.
Read the hundreds of comments below for all the feedback people have left and to review the results they experienced. I’m thrilled this tip has helped so many–believe me, I know the state of panic you’re in! Also continuing to organize recommended solutions for those who aren’t experiencing success yet, please drop a note if this worked (or didn’t work) for you :).
More DIY Methods To Try
If the removal technique shared above is a bit too aggressive for you, one of these easy tips may help restore the tabletop to looking brand new again…
- Mix 50/50 toothpaste and baking soda, rub in. Do not use gel toothpaste for this.
- Apply a paste of salt and olive oil, allow to sit several minutes (an hour at most). Wipe off.
- Apply Miracle Whip (Mayonnaise) and wipe away after an hour.
- Mix 50/50 vinegar and olive oil, smear over the watermark.
- Try straight toothpaste (non-gel). Apply with the grain then wipe off.
- Make a paste with baking soda and a few drops of water. Rub in 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. Wash off in the morning.
This is great!!! Thank you so much! I was struggling with the white marks on my table for months trying to search for a solution. I put a light cloth over the marks and ironed on it. the marks vanished in an instant!! Amazing!!!
Just to add to the chorus! worked wonders on my quarter sawn oak table top. White marks caused by hot pizza box last evening. After about 10 seconds of steam from hot iron hovering about couple inches above the spot in circular motion, stain disappeared. Polished off with some bees wax. Good as new. Wife’s happy. 🙂
Got thinking about why it works. Here is my thoughts. I believe hot steam re-distributes the varnish from around the white spot and evenly spreads it. Similar principle worked, back in the days, with the typewriter/computer printer ribbons — since ink was used only from the centre of the ribbon, spraying the roll of the ribbon with WD40 redistributed the ink — instant recharge of those ribbons.
Thank you so much for this advice! It worked perfectly! I had a few couples come over for dinner and we sat in my dining room (which is rarely used). One of the dishes I made left the grey circle on my really expensive oak dining room table. I was so upset because it ruined such a great night. I was panning on hiring someone to fix it but decided to do some research first. I am so happy that I came across this advice! I used the white t-shirt and the steam of the iron and it came right off like magic! Thank you again!!
Think technique worked very well on a year-old water spot. I used my Shark floor steamer with great success!
Devasted to find an enormous white mark on our dining table after a meal. Tried the iron, amazing, worked like a dream.
Thank you so much
CAN’T BELIEVE THIS WORKED! Purchased an antique table at an estate sale THIS MORNING. Had family over for dinner and used paper plates = 5 white marks after dinner. I nearly died. Googled this, used wool setting with steam and t-shirt. Followed immediately by olive oil mixed with baking soda. Like friggin’ new (actually better b/c when i bought it there was a small white spot that is now gone!!!).
I had a high gloss dark wood table. I used a low iron setting and a spritz bottle on the cloth. Two things 1) how moist the cloth is, and how hot it gets, matter, it must be consistantly, very slightly moist, not damp.
2) you must constantly remove the cloth and dry the surface. Leaving the cloth on an area you have made steam will cause clouding, because it is trapping the wet heat against it.
This worked for me when I never let any one area get too warm or rest with the cloth down. Constantly moving the cloth and wiping of the moisture prevents adding faint clouding while still removing the marks. At low heat it took half an hour.
Add oil moisture product after, a wood oil polish, even olive oil.
OMG! as they say…… Worked in under a minute. Used a bath towel (for thickness) and started up my iron. On the highest setting I began pushing the steam button and iron right on the towel-directly over the stain (pizza boxes)on my cherrywood dinner table…. kept checking in fear that the stain would get worse and it was disspaearing right before my eyes!!! Unbelievable. My husband was getting ready to strip it and repaint it. AMAZING!!!!
WOW! Thank you so much! I just did this…and my dining table is restored!
We tried this tip on a teak table.
Left the iron on the white towel for about 7 seconds but unfortunately it has left an iron mark.
We tried further to just hover the iron a couple of inches over the table with steam on and the white mark disappeared. Unfortunately we are still left with a slight iron mark. Are there any tips for removing this? it seems dry – would some oil help?
i has stains on two tables. first the kitchen table, i tried hovering the iron with steam on and it worked perfectly and stain was gone. wife was happy. the sofa table in living room had dark finish and has a stain from Top Ramen Bowl. tried hovering steam iron first – made it worst. then cloth and steam iron made it even worst. then i warped the cloth around the table and irons the entire surface of the table. now the color of the table is surface has changed bu no stains. but i now i have a furious wife. i ll try re polish the surface this weekend. i guess this has something to do with chemical reaction that water has with varnish when heated under iron. now it depend on the varnish or liquor applied on the surface initially to what should the outcome be. but it is good way to remove stains no doubt. i’d say try on small patch ( side of the table or a leg may be) before treating expensive furniture.
Thanks alot.
My sister had the family over for my son’s birthday tonight and after dinner we noticed 9 burn mark in her 4000 dollar table…..We all thought the world was over…..and 30 mins and an iron later…..the world is back on its access…thank you all…..
To anyone who is reading this…TRY IT. It was so worth it. I read this and immediately tried it. It worked so well. I had already given up on our nice table. THANK YOU SO MUCH for posting this!! I can’t wait for my husband to come back home to see I got those heat marks out. Thank you!! D.
I think you guys might have just saved my marriage. We just bought this table off craigs list for $200 (it was the exact table my wife had wanted and cost $700 at Mathis Brothers. So I was dumb and decided to lay a blanket over it and use it as an ironing board and when i removed the blanked 2/3s of the table was covered in a new white stain (keep in mind our table is espresso and at this point it is 3:30 in the morning). My wife was out of town and I just started to think about how this was going to go down when she came back and began to freak out a little. So of course I googled and found this page. I got a 100% cotton hand towel and proceeded to iron over the towel in a circular manner. To my surprise it worked 110%!!! I even got out the few stains that were already on the table. I then got a wash cloth and used mayo to buff everything out. The table looks better now than when we bought it! Thanks you guys saved my life now I’m going to bed.
OMGsh this worked!!!!! My husband put a pizza box on my prized coffee table and then saw the mark he had made, so he tried to polish it before I got home. It worked temporarily, so when I sat down I didn’t notice anything. 5 minutes later the mark reappeared. I freaked out and my husband pretended not to know where it came from, but spent the rest of the night guiltily polishing and repolishing the stain. I woke up this morning to the realization of how the mark appeared (he’ll get an earful later). This was the first website I found and followed your instructions, substituting a white t-shirt for the towel. The stain was almost completely gone, so as some others commented I immediately rubbed the area with vegetable oil. It worked beautifully! My table looks like new. Thank you so much for saving my beloved table!
It worked, but…
I have a wood veneer table. I used a sheet that was folded over twice and the hovering method with a steam iron. It did indeed get the white cloud stain out, but it took the shine off the parts where it was not damaged. On the places where the iron made contact with the sheet it left an iron mark of missing shine. I then tried the olive oil trick, but once the oil was dry/gone the shine was gone as well. I may try some lacquer spray in the future.
My best advice … never spend $800 on a veneer table!!!!! It has cracked, chipped, stained, and upset me from the very beginning!
Holy Crap! It worked! We had a rather large white stain and a couple of smaller ones….I used a hand towel and iron with steam…came out in about 30 seconds. We then used wood polish and BAM! Good as new!!
Thanks sooooo much for the tips!!
Yes it worked. We were selling a table to upgrade to a new table when we noticed how bad it looked. The buyer was on the way. First we tried a technique we saw about using a blow dryer- not as effective. Then the thin towel over the spot with a steam iron worked. We experimented with movement holding it on first then around the area- nice quick fix.
Mayo worked great – 15 mins with a heavy layer on the spots and wiped with a dry paper towel. The bigger white spot took some rubbing to completely come out but it did in a couple mins of working it!!
Thank you. I had tried the mayo, the vaseline, the iron – everything. Decided to search online one more time. Found this website and read same stuff, but wait a sec, did I turn the steam on the iron—ran home from work. Threw off my coat and grabbed the iron. Yeah–worked like a charm. Happy day.
I have a teak table. Our white heat stain came out right away after briefly steaming through a medium weight towel. The secret is to quickly wipe away the sweat created under the towel. My husband thinks this process works through “reverse osmosis”; that is the white mark is water trapped in the wood and released by the steam. You then wipe it away. I too used olive oil to rehydrate. You can not see that we put our Irish Soda bread on a rack on the table to cool off! We have had this table for 40 years and now thanks to this great tip will continue to enjoy it for many years to come.
Thank you.
Yes! I tried this with my parents visiting. They and my wife didn’t like the idea at all, but I got out a Toby steamer and ran it over the table. At first it seemed to make the white mark worse, everyone said to stop. I did it some more – slower, now it’s amazing. No marks at all left.
I just steamed my kitchen cabinet door by accident and left a white spot. I was so happy to find this post. I thought it quite funny that what I did to cause it actually worked in about 20 seconds. Thank you. What a great tip.
I can not believe this worked. I have been looking at this stain for months loornow. I was too lasy to use an iron, so I got out my floor steamer and a dryrag, and wha la…spot be gone.
Thanks for the tip
My husband sat a hot pizza on my brand new table & I thought it was ruined until I ran across this site. You saved my new table, and my husband!!! Thank you!
Yes!!! It works!! I’ve been looking for a tablecloth or other way to hide the two large white stains on my table. Both stains came from setting hot plates on the table without adequate protection. I used the hover technique with steam on one stain and it worked great. On the other stain I used the steam setting and ironed over a lightweight dishtowel. It worked just as well. I finished with old english wood polish and my table looks like new again. Thanks so much!!
THANK YOU so much everyone! I have to say when I read all the comments I still didn’t believe it would work but it did! I put a white Tshirt on the table and I ironed the shirt like I normally would. It took the white stains right out. It took a huge weight off of my shoulders. Love it!!
My son left a hot bowl on one of my table nest. The mark was awful, white and very large. I checked Google yesterday and saw this page. I thought I had nothing to lose so gave it a go. Amazing!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I could hardly believe my eyes. I used a towel, placed it on the table and steam ironed it. I kept the iron moving and then removed the towel and ‘dried’ the table with rough movements. I did this a few times and the mark has disappeared as if by magic. I performed the same on one of the other nests which had had a white cup mark for years. Both tables are as new. Whoever came up with this solution is a genius. Thank you.
This worked on my non-shellacked wood table. Thank you so much!!!
Depressed after dinner party last night 🙁 2 white marks on table from hot foods. I desperately looked for a solution but thought it was a lost cause. This was the first site I got to and IT WORKED!!! I could kiss someone right now. My table is only a year old and I am SO careful with it. Hopefully hubby will be now after seeing my reaction last night. I think he could kiss someone too! Thank you for awesome and unbelievable idea!
Thank you!! This worked for me as well. Very upset this morning to find a large square white mark on the table from our bowl of rice from last night. The hot iron with steam worked beautifully. I guess the steam from the iron helps to put the moisture back into the table. At any rate, very happy! Now I don’t have to sand the table and refinish!!
I was at my wit’s end to remove a white round stain from my 30 year old Richardson Brothers dining room oak table. Since this mark only appeared in the last 2 months (when someone forgot to use a trivet) I was reluctant to try too many home remedies. The olive oil & baking soda paste did not work, neither did toothpaste. I tried steam from an iron set to medium heat applied through an old dish towel for 10 seconds. Stain is gone!!! Thank you to Matthew for your suggestion of medium heat, and steam applied through a towel starting with 10 seconds increments. After drying, I applied lemon oil and the finish is just perfect–like it never even happened!
My brand new dining room table has a mark from sliding a heavy object across the top. It is not through the finish but it is scarred.
Any suggestions?
I was a major skeptic……no more! It worked perfect! Not thinking…obviously….. I folded a big towel over and ironed a piece of clothing on our brand new table. Hours later I lifted the towel to find huge cloudy white mark on it. I thought I had ruined to finish. I tried a little furniture polish and that did nothing at all, so I try to accept the damage I had done and hoped my husband wouldn’t notice. A month or two later, he noticed…uh oh!
Did some research, found this site. I first tried hovering dry heat using a white undershirt on top of the table..didn’t work. Then I tried circular motion on the white shirt with no steam…didn’t work. I finally tried hovering using med/high heat and steam in a circular motion, with the white shirt on top of the table. I did this in about 15-30 sec intervals, lifting the white shirt and wiping the moisture of each time. After about 10 rounds – maybe 5 minutes worth, the white cloud is gone. I went back over the spot with a little bit of olive oil which seemed to really help also. I’m not sure what my table is made of, but I do believe the damage was on a vaneer and it is a newer table. Hope this helps the next sceptic…give a try, it worked. Who would have thought that the same thing that caused the damage would fix it!!!
Thankyou so much, My boyfriend brought some mates back for a few drinks last night and this morning I noticed about four white rings on our new coffee table I was furious, but thanks to you I cant believe it actually works I was a bit worried at first but it actually works.
Thank you so much for this tip. After putting hot pizza boxes on my table there were 3 white spots about 6 inches in diameter. I was afraid to try it on my antique oak table but after reading how many people tried it and were successful I gave it a try. I used one of my husband’s white t shirts and a steam iron on high. I did not leave the iron on the spot as some suggested but “ironed” the spot over and over again for about 30 seconds. The spots were gone! I did finish with olive oil as some suggested to finish it off and the table is back to its original state. I can not thank you enough! I am saving this website to my favorites so I can always refer to it! Keep up the good work.
Thank you, thank you, thank you!!!! Total save!!!! I could NOT believe it worked!
Thankyou! Parents away and thanks to this they will never know! Life saver haha x
I guess you can believe some things you read on the Internet. We have very expensive Oak table that I was sick over a white mark today. I tried this technique and it is gone!!!!
OK. Three coffee cup rings on my good oak table. The only reason I tried your method was because of all of the positive comments on this site. Shock and awe are the only suitable words to describe how I feel about the amazing results. No more coffee cup rings! I can’t thank you enough for these ‘words of wisdom’!!!
Excellent hot iron and steam
How do you know what type od finish is on the wood? I have a cedar coffee table with the “infamous white heat rings” but I am afraid to make it worse…any suggestions TipNut???
Excelent tip… like magic!!!
It really works!!! i tried on one of my accent tables who I bought for cheap precisaly because it had this big white ugly stain and scratches in the middle of the table but I bought it anyway cuz I like it so much, its a beautiful table, so I came to the internet and searched how could I get rid of this stain, I found this forum and after reading many of others sites and tips, I found this tip less crazy than many others, so I tried and it worked perfect!!
this is what I did, cut a piece of dry cotton t-shirt, then turned on the iron (#6 steam chart)… placed the rag on a tiny corner of the stain and put the hot iron on top, rubbed for a few seconds (about 5 or so) and checked the spot… well, guess what?? the stain on that tiny spot I’ve tried, it dissapeared!!! I was amaized and so happy for the result that obviosly I kept doing with the rest of the stain… and now my table is stain free but still with the scratches though… I’ll try to post pics of the “after” and “before” and hopefully they work out, so all of you can see that Im not lying but mainly to check it out for yourselfs and see that it REALLY WORKS!
Time to find another great tip on how to get rid of the wood scratches now! lol… any tips on that?
Thank you very much to you who posted this awesome tip in here… you have made many people happy now !
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Mythbuster. This totally busts the myth that “If it sounds too good to be true, it is” Because it totally worked for me and got me a SUPER MOM badge for getting my pre-teen daughter out of the doghouse with her father who was very angry that she and her friend ruined our table by setting a bowl of hot cheese dip on it. The big white spot was so intense that it almost looked like paint. I found this information on your site and, although it sounded really too stupid to be true (like some kind of prank web site to see if people will really do something like this) . . . . I figured that the table was ruined anyway, so what the heck. I quietly got my daughter out of bed at midnight and told her that we were going to try this thing together. And it was like a miracle. lol. When her father saw it in the morning, he couldn’t believe it. He said that the table looked better than ever.
The only differences I found: using the cloth was taking out the white stain, but seemed to be taking off the finish and melting some lint into the finish. So I re-did it with just the hover-steam method . . . . then quickly rub in some vegetable oil . . . then dry. THEN, when it was clear, I rubbed some scratch remover liquid over the whole table. Dried it. then put Holloway House Quick Shine (get at Kroger – – it is a hardwood floor cleaning product that leaves a shiny protective coating) on the whole table. By the way. I use that Quick Shine once a month on my wood tables that gets used alot anyway. It looks great and gives a temporary protectve coating.
This worked fantastic! I am amazed. I had a terrible white circle on the table from a hot tea mug I put on my wood coffee table. Wife wanted my head for this.
I used an iron with steam. Put down a thin white cloth & ironed over it- alternated between ironing flat & hovering it a 1/2 inch over the table. Removed the towel & Checked the stain every 6 or 7 seconds. Watched it disappear before my very eyes. Highly recommended. God bless you for posting this!
Worked Beautifully!,, works Best with a white cloth n iron
I just let the iron hoover (with steamer on) over the spots for a few seconds and they are now completely gone. I was very skeptical since the spots got there with heat in the first place. My husband always gets upset because I bring by hot tea to bed and put it on the nighttable. I am so relieved, he would have had a fit!
It took so much courage to iron the table through a thin table cloth…. but it worked!!! I am so happy. thank you for the tip. :-))
I am speechless. Thank you so much. My beautiful new table is now restored to it’s glossy self. I had a round white pot mark left after a casserole dish was placed on the table. I frighteningly followed all the advice listed and now, much to my amazement, my table is perfect again.
Wow, I bought an old farm table, paid almost $900. After second use, I had three white heat stains. I googled, found this site, but was afraid I’d make the table worse. A year later, I was desperate. I didn’t want to have to cover my table. I tried the blow dryer, but it didn’t work. Reread this site and went for the iron, using steam and thin towel. I steamed the table first, laid the towel down and steamed while moving the iron around. Only did it maybe 3-4 time back and forth. The table is shiny like new–with not a hint of white!!!!!!! Thank you so o o much!!!!!!!
Felt so guilty for spending so much on a table and then ruining it so quickly! So relieved!!!
I tried it on an oak piece that had a water stain from an old crock of water sitting and sweating on the furniture. It didn’t help there–although maybe a tad. Will have to try something else for that.