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Repair Heat Stains on Wood

If you have a white spot on your wood table from a heated plate, put on a dab of mayonnaise and it will disappear!

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It doesn't work Comments By: L.Parrino Except for making my table smell like mayonaise, this didn't work at all. The white stains are still there. Help!!   Worked great! Comments By: Lester I put on a paste of mayo and let it sit for 10 minutes. I spent another 10-15 minutes rubbing on two white spots. They are completely gone!   heat marks Comments By: sherry I tried the mayonaise as well and left it overnight. the white markes are still there.   did not work for me Comments By: KP what did work was some fine wirewool and 3in1 gun oil, do not attempt to use wirewool on its own the 3in1 gun oil was an excellent lubricante, do not rub hard! the slower/lighter the better and follow the grain   Brilliant mayo + wire wool Comments By: Chris Perfect results on really deep white heat stains using mayonnaise rubbed along the grain with fine wire wool. Credit to Sherry for her idea of wire wool and gun oil but I used mayo instead as a lubricant   Use an iron - it really works Comments By: Darren I just did this 5 minutes ago (found the solution on another web site). It really works!! Set the iron on LOW. Get a white linen napkin (or white t-shirt). Place the napkin over the stain and place the iron on the napkin as if you're ironing the napkin. depending on how deep the stain is, it will dispappear in 2- 5 mins. I was amazed - how can heat remove heat? But trust, it works. I had the stain in our cherry wood table for months and tried everything to remove it.   Omigoodness Comments By: Meg and i was baking a cake and i put the hot wood 1's on my moms old special dining table and it took 1 away. Didnt work 4 the other 2. we stood 4 inches away with a hair dryer and rubbed w/ a dry cloth and polished w/ orange glow and it was good as new!   SO SO Comments By: JK I tried the mayo + wirewool and it removed the whiteness but the mark remained?   iron works Comments By: loro had a large white mark on the table due to a hot plate.. tried the mayo but no joy,so tried the iron and hey presto wonderful can't see the mark any more...thanks for the tip   cloudy white marks gone in seconds Comments By: del the secret to removing stains (including ring marks) is have the iron set on steam. when steam iron is ready place towel over mark iron over lift cloth all gone...   iron really works Comments By: clare really and truly, I dont understand it but it works utterly and completely.do not mess with mayo or steel wool.. the iron is the answer.   Mayo does not work, but steamed iron does! Comments By: AK I just did it...amazing! Like the spots never been there:) Thanks all!   hot iron works! Comments By: mjk0324 oh my gosh..had a white stain on my diningroom table for 3 weeks...tried the hot iron and napkin...and it took the stain right out....   it really worked Comments By: caroline b I tried the nail polish and it didn't work. I used the hot iron and they came right out. I've had the hot white marks for several years and my husband didn't think the iron would work, but it did.   How clever ! It really works !! Comments By: Daisychain I truly didnt think the hot iron idea would work.....but it most certainly did ! Its a tip I shall pass on to everyone I know.   Steam Iron Works Haaaaaaa Comments By: Scott The reason i cam to this site is because the the reason I got the white stain is because I used a steam iron to iron a crease in my pants and the mark appeared   White stain on waxed / laquered Ducal pine table Comments By: Gary Mellon Steam iron over white tee-shirted worked in about 30 seconds on several 10 to 15 square inch sized marks deposited by heat from hot food.   Steam Iron Comments By: Mark We just used the iron method and it worked great. My wife and I couldn't believe how fast and easy the iron go the stain out. Just put the iron on a white t-shirt lightly with a little steam for a couple seconds and it's gone   Yeeha for hellmans Comments By: Karen B I just simply smothered mayo on and wiped off with kitchen roll. Suprised at the outcome. Will be telling people that mayo is best - iron just made it worse.   Spooky !!! The iron works !!!! Comments By: Annette Dale I read the tips about the iron and was to scared to try it, I waited 6 months before I plucked up the courage to try it. My Ducal varnished pine table had two really white rings. I used the iron and white cloth and they were gone in under a minute. I will never understand how, butit works !!!!   TRULY !!!! THE IRON DOES WORK !!!! FANTASTICALLY !! Comments By: Tony Buchanan I can't believe what I just saw !!! The iron did it and I have been sooo scared to try it. The Mayo guy must have done something wrong with the iron - maybe he left the mayo on the table an ironed it, because believe me - the iron WORKS !!!   USE THE IRON TRICK Comments By: Lydia I nearly destroyed my boyfriend's very expensive coffee table with a Superbowl Artichoke Dip - I had several layers of padding under it but the heat still went through to the wood. There was a HUGE, square, white mark in the middle of the table and then there were tears. I used a pillow case and the iron trick and it worked TOTALLY. Just do a little bit at a time and you can see it start to disappear. I think you have to make sure the table is varnished - because that's what is scorched - not the wood itself. I was shocked - I didn't think it would work. Amazing. And it saved me a couple thousand dollars!!   Woohoo it WORKS! Comments By: Tara Yes - the iron with STEAM option really does work! I've been staring at these white burn marks for almost a year (scrambled eggs on paper plates, whodathunk?) I tried the steam iron over a cloth and BINGO - amazing - the table looks just like NEW. THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU.   Another endorsement for the iron trick_ Comments By: Peter & Karen it really works!   Steam Iron Heaven sent Comments By: Dickon Povey Panic and wife's wrath.. White ring on newly revarnished table... Hot steam iron on doubled tea towel.... ten seconds... mark gone!! Thank you all!   It really does work Comments By: anon We used a white tee shirt and the iron on low (with no steam) but we did not have any luck; so we rolled the dice, cranked up the heat, still used the tee shirt, hit the steam button and then it worked like magic   magic iron!!!!!!!!! Brilliant. Comments By: Diane Thought my ducal table had be ruined! but didnt want to throw it out as it was a wedding present. Thank goodness of this site and this tip was 100% successfull. Had been trying to hide heat mark for a year now can put my table back in the middle of the room and show it off again. Delighted!!   hair dryer works best! Comments By: happyme i left a hot tea cup stain on my boyfriends wooden table and he was not amused. secretly tried the iron t-shirt thing (ruined my tshirt with strange wood color spots, so use a tea towel)...and had even more stains from the iron then before. i was horrified to say the least! secretly sneaked iron back into closet(vey worried by then) gave it another try with a blow dryer and it worked!!!! total relief. table looks better then before. thanks thanks thanks! (hold blow dryer really close to spot, it vanishes before your eyes)   Worked! Comments By: Anon Reproduction mahogony table, some kind of polyeuranthane finish I think. White stain from spilled glass of wine. Used hot steam iron through white towel. Worked like magic in seconds. Am amazed. Fabulous, thanks for tip.   hairdryer Comments By: Dee A Mayo didn't work and was a bit reluctant to use a hot steam iron, so I decided to try the hairdryer. Didn't think it was going to work to start with, but with a bit of patience, I can tell you the white heat mark caused by a hot coffee cup on our pine table completely disappeared!! I assume the heat reconstitutes the varnish and takes away the discolouration. Wonderful!   mayo with "magic eraser" worked Comments By: Anon I didn't have fine wirewool so I used mayo with "magic eraser" by Mr. Clean and I could believe it worked. The table looks like new after I put a horrible white spot on it by using an iron with only a towel under it.   MIRACLE HOT IRON!! Comments By: Jojo in New Zealand Can't beleive that this worked, but it did!! Hot steam iron on linen tea towel. Thanks so much to those who shared this miracle!!!   mayo worked!! Comments By: mayobeliever tried the mayo before the iron, b/c it was the easiest, and lo - gone. who would have thought it? at first only the white was gone, but the ring was still there. then buffed a bit more with a dusting cloth, and then sprayed the whole table with furniture polish. gone baby gone!   trial & error Comments By: nickJ Had ring marks and white blotches on birch varnished table. Used towel and iron on high setting as advised by another website. marks disappeared initially then came back worse. Girfriend's table and she was on her way home so started to panic!! Dropped the heat setting, put the steam setting on 1 and used a t-shirt instead of towel. As soon as marks disappeared i started wiping off moisture and used hairdryer at same time. marks now gone and not back yet! brilliant!   Steam ron it works !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Comments By: L.Htu Seng Iron and napkin , this work can remove heated mark on my table. It works amazing!!!!!!   Iron Absolutely Works!! Comments By: Amazed Mom We bought a table that had a huge white burn mark. We use the may at first, but this did not work. We then tried the iron. I actually made more white spots at first, but then tried to go over the spots and leave it on longer, it worked great. Unless you knew the spot was there, you would never notice. Make sure to polish it afterwards - it will make all the difference!!   This is the scariest thing but it was truly amazing Comments By: Amanda Thank you to all those who shared your comments about how using an iron was so scary to do - it pushed me over the edge to try it and I am so happy that I did. I can now take the tablecloth off of my beautiful & expensive wood table! I put some water in the iron and laid down a white napkin (folded a few times) and put the iron on the stain and pressed the steam button and removed the iron. I repeated for coverage over the entire stain. Thanks so much for the tip, I even shared it with the furniture company where I bought the table!   What an easy solution! Comments By: Anon I thought the heat stain had completely ruined my tables (that's right i damaged 2 tables!) BUT thanks to the steam iron the stains went away! Yay! Ps - whoever came up with the mayo idea anyway? why on earth would that work?   worked but another problem Comments By: Raghu Steam iron did work. But before I read this article I tried to scratch the deep white stain with edge of a spoon and the flakes started coming out. This is when I realised something was wrong. This seems to be coating which was coming out. Then tried the iron on other stains and it worked perfectly. Any ideas what to do for the scraped area. iron doesn't work as scratches are formed. Thanks   White marks removed in seconds from my table! Comments By: Margaret Larkin After years of unsightly white heat marks on my Strongbow dining table, I used a medium hot steam iron and white linen napkin and, hey presto the marks disappeared ! Many many thanks !   So you want me to apply a hot iron to my Ducal pine table?! Comments By: David & Ros 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 tipnut.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. Seems that success may depend on the type and depth of finish, so your mileage may vary. Good luck!   Best tip ever! Comments By: Stella Came home to 3 white steam marks (from Pizza's) on my beautiful "Rimu" coffee table. Could have cried my eyes out but kept my cool and came online to see what I could find. Did the steam iron suggestion. It worked! All I can say is....thank you thank you thank you!   Steam Iron Great!!!!!!! Comments By: Joan Have a soft pine table-don't know the finish. Used steam iron and t-shirt. Worked but left fuss on the table. I had been using Pledge on the table and think I should have cleaned that off first. Polished afterward and most sploches gone now. Great tip!!   The iron really worked! Comments By: Sandra I didn't try the may option, I thought it'd be messy but I did try the iron solution on two white heat stains and they miracoulsy dissapeared. I used the iron in a low setting and used a white thin cloth. It worked great. Thanks!   steam iron is the best!!! FANSASTIC Comments By: ZAINAB i spoilt my mother in laws expensive table then found this site and tried every thing but nothing worked. was scared to use the steam iron at first.WHEN I TRIED THE IRON IN 1 MIN THE WHITE CLOUDY MARK DISAPPEARED. i would suggest this teqnique to everyone. IT IS THE BEST ! THANKS A LOT ITS A MIRACLE!   steam iron is the best!!! FANSASTIC Comments By: ZAINAB i spoilt my mother in laws expensive table then found this site and tried every thing but nothing worked. was scared to use the steam iron at first.WHEN I TRIED THE IRON IN 1 MIN THE WHITE CLOUDY MARK DISAPPEARED. i would suggest this teqnique to everyone. IT IS THE BEST ! THANKS A LOT ITS A MIRACLE!   Amazing Iron Trick Comments By: Joanne The iron trick works brilliantly. I was a little nervous of doing it but was so fed up with the white ring marks, (they had been there for at least a year) I thought I would give it a try.I used my iron set on low(silk & wool setting) and a white cotton T shirt,I just slowly ironed the T shirt over the marks on the table and the marks dissapeared like magic within about 40 seconds. Amazing!   IRON WORKS Comments By: SANDY Rainey OH MY GOSH - THE IRON WAS AMAZING - I PUT A HOT PAPER PLATE DOWN ON MY TABLE AND LEFT A HUGE WHITE SPOT - I TRIED MAYO IMMEDIATELY AND IT DID NOT WORK - I TRIED THE IRON AND IT WAS FABULOUS - I USED A TERRY CLOTH TOWEL. IT WORKS!!!!!   IRON with steam WORKS!!! Comments By: Sharon We read the iron tips for removing heat marks with some disbelief. We have a $3000 cherry table that had two heat marks, one was about 8" diameter, other about 3" diameter. Used folded up white T-shirt, hit each area about 5 seconds with iron on low steam setting, marks are GONE. If I did not see this for myself, I would not believe it!   USE THE IRON!! Comments By: Anon After much hesitation we agreed to try the iron trick that so many people have vouched for. A doubled tea towel and iron on low heat, high steam setting worked within 3 seconds. Amazing stuff!   Absolutely Amazing! Comments By: Simone ( New Zealand ) I am probably the world most skeptical person but the iron and cloth has just removed a very large heat mark left from a laptop on my beautiful english pine table that has been there for months, you have got to try this im still gobsmacked!   Mayo as a last resort Comments By: RatGuy I tried the iron to minimal success. Figuring I had nothing to lose, I tried the mayo and it #&%*! worked! Something about the oiliness in it. The iron removed the lighter spots, but with the mayo it is perfectly shiny. I appreciate whoever came up with that.   Soooo HAPPY!! Comments By: Sarah I have been hiding white scorch marks on my 25 year old table that has been in my family since I was a child. My husband contributed by placing a hot dish and making two white rings. Tried the iron on high heat w/steam and a white t-shirt. Every single mark/ring is GONE! Thanks so much!!   HAIR DRYER AND SPRAY POLISH Comments By: RON Heat up the wood with the hair dryer, Spray the polish on stain, continue to heat up the stain and rub the polish in, spray a little more polish and continue repeating as many times as required until it's gone. P.S. DONT STOP TILL IT'S GONE.(keep up the HEAT and rub in more spray polish and don't worry)   Hairdryer works! Comments By: Anon I was a little reluctant to use the iron on my mothers beautiful desks so I opted for the hair dryer and it worked great. Just be patient it takes a few minutes but does work. Rub with furniture polish and heat.   the iron fix worked like i couldnt beleive. Comments By: Paul Mac. I was VERY sceptical at first but it was an ugly stain...only took about a minute...disappeared like magic thanks so much..I used the steam setting.   IRONING REALLY WORKS!!!! Comments By: Jan I was amazed that the clody white bloom I made on my oak didning table was removed in seconds by my steam iron on a hot setting witha tea towel underneath. Very simpl and very effective - thank you for sharing these wonderful tips.   iron Comments By: Edwina Mitchell (Merseyside) It took me a couple of days to get the courage to do the iron remedy but believe me it was brilliant. Really works. I set the iron to the wool temp and ironed over a white t-shirt for 1 minute.   The Iron was brilliant! Comments By: Andrew Just looked at this site and read a lot of the pro's and con's for the iron. Had already tried the mayo a few days ago which didn't work. Decided to have a go with the iron method straight away and wow it works brilliantly. I started off on cold and gradually increased the heat adding the steam on a tea towel. THen polished off with a spray polisher and yellow cloth. - Thanks for the tip   heat marks on wood Comments By: irene mayo and plastic abrasive sponge works fine not as much chance of damage as wire wool   Use the iron Comments By: Matt I have a dark wood table that had two white heat stains. After reading the tips on here I tried the Mayo, that didn't work.. I then places a cotton towel over the stain, set the iron to max and ironed the stain for around 20 seconds. After removing the towel I just cleaned the area to find the stains had gone. great tip..   iron worked Comments By: A.N. Rajah Well we had two white heat marks on the bed side table. I was skeptical but did the steam iron.It is gone!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!   Steam Iron worked for me Comments By: Phil large white stain removed with steam iron set on low, using kitchen hand towel. Would never have tried this without testimony from others here.   The Hot Iron Worked INCREDIBLY! Comments By: Anon I went with the suggestion of a hot iron set on a steam setting with a cloth napkin covering the white heat stain. I was unsure of whether or not this would make it worse so I checked after only a few seconds of having using the iron and the heat stain was already gone! Thank you for the wonderful tip!   Love that ironing tip Comments By: annie I placed a hot cake on the table for just a minute and oh! what a mark it left. The ironing tip is amazing! Yes, you must use the steam setting and be careful not to leave the iron on it too long. It's not perfect but soooo much better. Thanks!   Genius! An iron to remove an iron mark! Comments By: Micky I'll never laugh at a tip website again. A visiting friend made 3 large, deep stains on our table with an iron in a rented apartment and I had no idea how to get them out. The steaming iron on a folded napkin worked a treat. Thanks!   Another good resource. Comments By: Andrew Try this site as well, it has good tips on removing heat marks and water spots: http://raidz.net/blog/how-remove-white-rings-and-water-spots-your-furniture   Still friends Comments By: Queen Jo Placed a very, very hot paper plate on my friends coffee table and you know the rest. I immediately panicked, grabbed the Pledge, began rubbing and rubbing; no can do. Got online for tips; fisrt one I saw was the dab of mayo tip; nothing doing. I got back on the same sight and the very next tip was the steam iron. It worked instantly. I still have my friend. Thanks to all!   Use Iron with Caution Comments By: mtp An iron caused my white stain, so I was reluctant to try it as a remedy. And, truth be told, it only seemed to make matters worse. (Maybe because the wood is so old???) So, I tried the hair-dryer & furniture polish approach and that has proved more successful for my finicky furniture.   THANKS Comments By: EVIE I JUST USED THE IRON AND T-SHIRT. THANKYOU SOOO MUCH FOR THE RECOMMEDATION! YOU JUST SAVED MY FROM A NERVOUS BREAKDOWN.   Thank you for saving my butt Comments By: Tom i thought my wife was going to kill me when she found this burn stain... this resolved it in less than 1 minute... thank you and my wife is none the wiser!   Fantastic success with iron Comments By: Yvon ne, Newcastle Very reluctantly tried the steam iron over doubled terry cloth on our strongbow dining table and it worked like magic within seconds. Tried everything else, i.e. vaseline, mayo, oil and vinegar without success.   You ROCK!!!!!! Comments By: Chad and Amy I have a very expensive dining rooom table that my parents bought us that had five six inch white heat mark on it from a hot breakfast with paper plates. I tried EVERYTHING else before trying the iron and steam, however only the iron and STEAM took the stains out in seconds!!! THANK YOU so much I could not have imagined the look of horror if my parents had seen the spots on the table.