How to remove white rings from furniture

Forgot a coaster? Even diligent hosts can be prone to pesky water rings popping up days after, the moisture already lifting the wood stain to leave ghostly water stains. We spoke to Val Olivera of Val's Services for tips on how household products will remove water rings and save your furniture from needing the DIY treatment.

Vaseline

This medicine cabinet staple uses its natural oils to restore the wood from within and remove the white cast water stains leave on treated surfaces. All you need is a dust cloth to buff it out.

Spread vaseline on the water ring and leave overnight. Make sure the wood has been dusted so the oils can penetrate the surface. The next morning, wipe off the excess and buff the oils out. Clean the furniture as you normally would.

Olive Oil and Vinegar

For wood stains caused by wet glasses, you'll need a two-time solution to break down the moisture and replenish the wood's oil. Look no farther then your salad dressing. An equal part vinegar and olive oil is the perfect tag team to restore wood furniture.

Oliveira explains how to get the most from the kitchen ingredients. "Put some of this solution on a cloth and gently apply it to the stain. Make sure to wipe in the direction of the wood grain, then use a dry cloth to wipe up the excess solution and leave the furniture shining."

Toothpaste

A non-gel toothpaste has just enough abrasion to smooth over irregularities in the wood while coating the piece in a protective layer. Just spread the toothpaste over the water ring and lightly scrub with a toothbrush after a few minutes. Wipe off the excess and buff the table with a microfiber cloth to remove the water stain.

If you're finding water stains on your surfaces regularly or love to entertain, it's time to time preventative measures.

"If your wood furniture doesn’t already have a protective finish on it, I suggest applying your own. Common options are lacquer and varnish and both will provide your furniture with stronger resistance to staining," Olivera recommends.

Entertaining guests can be hard on your house. Along with carpet stains and scuffed walls, you probably discovered new white marks on your coffee and dining tables after your last party. Drippy drinking glasses and hot-from-the-oven casseroles placed directly onto wood surfaces cause moisture to become trapped in the furniture's finish. This moisture then surfaces as a white ring or mark. Fortunately, restoring the beauty of your piece is as easy as, well, ironing.

Here's how:
1. Place a thick towel on top of the ring or mark.

2. Lightly press the towel-covered spots with a warm, dry iron for several seconds. This will gently soften the finish just enough to release the trapped moisture into the towel.

More From Good Housekeeping

How to remove white rings from furniture

3. Check your progress and repeat, if necessary, turning the towel to a fresh section.

4. Finish with a fresh coat of furniture polish and buff the area well.

Finally, treat yourself to some new coasters and trivets!

More Helpful Cleaning Advice:
• 44 Hacks for Common Household Items
• The 6 Mistakes You Make When Cleaning
• Have Your Fastest Laundry Day Ever

TELL US: Do you have a pesky household stain you've been trying to zap? Maybe we can help!

How to remove white rings from furniture

Home Care & Cleaning Lab Executive Director

Carolyn Forté brings more than 40 years of experience as a consumer products expert to her role as executive director of the Good Housekeeping Institute's Home Care and Cleaning Lab. Using deep analytical testing and writing expertise in appliances, cleaning, textiles and organizational products, she produces cleaning and home care advice for GH, has authored numerous books and bookazines for the brand and partners with the American Cleaning Institute to co-produce the Discover Cleaning Summits. She holds a bachelor's degree in family and consumer sciences from Queens College, City University of New York.

I’m sure all of us, at some point, have put a glass of cold water right on top of a nice piece of wooden furniture. You know what happens then? You end up with a water mark like that.

Now, that can cause quite a panic if you have a nice piece of furniture. A d I’ve seen a lot of people try different home-spun ways of getting rid of that, including mayonnaise or even peanut butter; but I’ve got a way that really works very, very well.

Basically, you take a simple cloth, like this, place it over it. Then take kind of a medium warm iron, place it right over it, just for a minute. Take it off. Let it breathe a little bit, because you don’t want to put too much intense heat on it where it will affect the actual finish on it.

You got to be patient or you’ll end up really having a problem with the furniture finish. After you continue this a little bit, you’ll notice when you peel this off, it kind of has a little bit of a matte finish, which is fine. That will pretty much go away once it starts cooling down.

Then, you can just rub it. Rub the rest of that out. Then, you want to finish everything up with a good quality furniture polish to make everything look consistent.

But, in the future, instead of having to go through all that, why don’t you try one of those. That makes life a lot easier.

  • TAGS
  • clean water mark
  • clean water stain
  • DIY
  • furniture
  • hard water stain
  • Home Improvement
  • home maintenance
  • home repair
  • home repairs
  • how to get a water stain out of wood
  • how to remove dark water stains from wood
  • how to remove old water stains from wood
  • how to remove stains from wood furniture
  • how to remove water stains from wood table top
  • how to remove white spots from wood table top
  • How to Remove White Water Marks from Furniture
  • how to remove white water stains from wood
  • remove stain
  • remove water mark
  • water based stain
  • water mark
  • water stain
  • white water mark

Previous articleRepairing Garage Door Opener Screws

Next articleRIDGID Compact Jigsaw

How to remove white rings from furniture

DANNY LIPFORD

https://www.aboutdannylipford.com/

Backed by his 40-year remodeling career, Danny served as the home improvement expert for CBS’s The Early Show and The Weather Channel for more than a decade. His extensive hands-on experience and understanding of the industry make him the go-to source for all things having to do with the home – from advice on simple repairs, to complete remodels, to helping homeowners prepare their homes for extreme weather and seasons.

What Causes white rings on furniture?

Drippy drinking glasses and hot-from-the-oven casseroles placed directly onto wood surfaces cause moisture to become trapped in the furniture's finish. This moisture then surfaces as a white ring or mark. Fortunately, restoring the beauty of your piece is as easy as, well, ironing.

How do you remove water rings from wood furniture?

Combine Vinegar and Olive Oil for a DIY Wood-Stain Remover In a small bowl, mix equal parts vinegar and olive oil. Apply the mixture to the water stain using a cloth. Wipe in the direction of the wood grain until the stain is gone. The vinegar will help remove the stain while the olive oil acts as a furniture polish.