During the holidays we had some friends over for a dinner party. We served an extra hot meal that night and after everyone left and the dishes were cleared and the table linens removed, I discovered foggy white marks all over my beautiful new table. This one was the smallest, though brightest mark.
Before I had a chance to freak out too much, my husband did some googling and we discovered that on some pieces of furniture if moisture (usually from the steam condensation on a hot dish) gets under the finish, white splotches called heat marks will appear and will stick around until treated.
You’ll be surprised to learn, as I was, that to remedy heat marks, you apply… more heat and moisture! Weird, right? I just used two folded over clean white linen napkins and sprayed them down a little with water. You want there to be several layers of cloth between your iron and the table surface. Then I ironed over the napkins on top of the heat marks for about 15 seconds with the iron on a medium heat/steam setting. Don’t just set the iron down though – keep it moving.
I have no clue why my table looks so dark here. Must have messed up the camera settings.
It was like magic and the heat marks disappeared (though in these photos I can see I missed a spot that doesn’t show in person).
Anyway, random post today, but I thought maybe some of you might have had a similar issue with your wood furniture. Or if in the future you see these heat marks on a thrift store table, don’t pass on it – it’s an easy 15 second fix. I can remember one gorgeous coffee table that I didn’t buy because of it’s heat marks. I thought I would need to strip and refinish the whole thing! Who knew?
wow! who knew?? thanks for posting this! :)
I CANNOT believe you just posted this!! I left an english muffin on my husband's dresser-he siad "you're ruining my furniture!". This is great news-thank you for sharing.
Ooh! Ooh! I have another solution!
A glass of iced water was left on our timber table and it left a white ring.
Following a quick google search I placed a layer of whole egg mayo on it. Left it for an hour and then wiped it off. White ring was gone!
How is that for a weird fix?
who knew….i heard Wd40 also works.
pve
OMG..who would have thought it would be so easy…One of my end tables was similarly spoiled after i put a box of hot pizza on it…since refinishing it would have been a task I just put a marble top on the existing top…Thanks Jenny for this very useful post…i'm sure it'll come in handy some day :)
Great idea! You think that would work on a ping pong table??? I thought it was a good idea to iron my curtains on it since it was so much bigger of a surface than an ironing board ;) Real smooth.
Great tip. I'll be getting my iron out today!
Omg, you have the best timing! I foolishly ironed on top of our dining table and got the same marks. Going to try your tip!
-Chedva
That's incredible… I have a foggy white splotches on my coffee table. I want to go my home as soon as possible and do this. Thank you.
Wow – thanks SO much! This happened to my (then) new kitchen table and I tried several things but now will try this. It's holding up well so it will still be nice to get rid of the heat marks!
The table has received MANY scratches and fork marks from my 4 kids, but I get rid of those by leaving a coating of butter on them for about an hour. I guess mayo would work, too!
I seriously love you for posting this. My ironing board broke, so I ironed drapery panels on my DR table (on top of two towels) and to my horror, it left two HUGE heat marks.
I'm a little nervous to add more heat and steam, but I'll definitely give it a shot.
Wow! Thanks! I one time painted a table just to cover up a giant white heat spot. If I had only known……
Glad it came out! My husband got a heat mark on our table the same week we got it! I was so mad… luckily it just buffed right out though!
there's also a product called howard's restore-a-finish that will work wonders on heat marks, small scratches, etc. i "restored" a flea market table that had serious heat marks. it just requires steel wool and the product – very easy. i wish i had pictures. it was that impressive. (ps. i'm not affiliated with the company, just a good thing to have on hand for floors or furniture)
Thank you so much for posting this! The exact same thing happened to our dining room table after a party. I was devastated and have been covering it with linens to hide the discoloring since it happened. I had no idea we could actually fix it. Thank you, thank you, thank you!
This has happened to me more than once…so glad to know it can be fixed!
Hmmm, just tried this and ummm, not sure what I did wrong, but I seem to have made it worse. Much worse. As in, iron print on my table worse. I'm sure it's just user error (and we were ditching the table anyway, so it's not a huge deal), but proceed with caution, those of you who are attempting this. Maybe I needed a lower heat setting????
Oh wow! This is great. I have a dark gate leg table that is beautiful and unique… and even more unique now b/c it has a huge mark like this in the middle. I have just pushed this table aside for the last six months… and now I can try to repair it!! Thanks!!!
I just had to go through this same situation. Luckily, my table is ikea and not a crazy gorgeous antique! P.S. The Pier 1 on 87th(ish) and 3rd lost their lease and everything in the store is 30-40% off. But it's only that particular store. I know from being a devoted LGN follower that you kinda like Pier 1 :) so I thought I'd pass on the info…
I just discovered your blog and have been obsessed with it for the past week. I'm moving to a small apartment with a small kitchen (in Japan) and your blog has been so helpful. Can't wait to try this on my desk. Any posts on small spaces would be great. Or posts on how to change a look of a room (ie, Japanese room with sliding doors and tatami mats) into a different feel without removing the items. I love Japan but I want my home to feel more like me. Any tips?
You need to get a table pad to go under your table linens to prevent this. I have one and I love it. I don't have to worry during dinner when friends are over!! Just search on Amazon or whatever…. You cut it to fit. Vinyl on top to prevent spills, etc. from ruining and felt like material on bottom to pad and protect from heat. Peace of mind….
This happened at our family get-together – on our aunt's antique table – we were horrified! The woodworker in the family tried denatured alcohol on a soft cloth (tested first in inconspicuous spot) and it worked!
Amazing! thanks for sharing! I'll have to try this on our desk which has man of these (and scratches…) perhaps with a napkin, an iron and one of those furniture markers I won't have to sand and stain it!
About a year ago, my husband got a white mark on our table, while I was not home. He tried this trick and made it worse! Any tips on how to fix the iron mark?
Thanks for the tip. I have that problem in the past with our table as well. I found a thermal liner tablecloth, I think at Bed, Bath and Beyond, it can be cut to size. Now, I always put that under my tablecloth and I don't have to worry! Have a great one, Laura
Thanks so much for posting this! I have a white heat mark on my dark wood kitchen table. I've been ignoring it for years and placemats cover it for nice occassions. I can't wait to try this tip!
thats awesome. Does it work on rosewood?
We recently bought a beautiful vintage dinner table and the same thing happened to us! My husband researched and tried to figure out how to fix it and saw that this same idea works. He tried it and it only made the spots worse! We were so sad. I think we'll have to refinish our table eventually. I think it does work 99% of the time though! Bummer for us :(
Wow, I would have never guessed. Great tip, Jenny!
Thanks for the post – I have a heat mark on my new coffee table. I can not wait to try the iron.
Jules – did you put down any cloth? I think the wet cloth is the key. Also, be sure to have your iron on a medium setting, and keep that iron moving! It might be worth trying again. Also, I read that mayonnaise works in some situations?
HOLY COW, THANK YOU. I did the same thing to my dark-stained dinner table, and I've been strategically placing bowls and vases over the splotches ever since. I just assumed I ruined it (I have a knack). Ah, there's hope!
I have an antique buffet with a veneered finish, and I was afraid to add moisture to it to get rid of a white mark. I read that you can make a paste of ashes (cigarette, bbq, etc) and leave it on overnight, and the ring would be removed–totally works! I keep a bit of ash from the firepit tucked away each year, just in case…
I'm so excited to read this post! I have the EXACT same problem right smack in the middle of our farmhouse style table and I've just been covering it up with a bowl full of fresh fruit! Yay… I'm trying this today!
AAAmaazing!!! Thanks so much! When I was pregnant I ordered lots of pizza's and I set one down right on our entry table that is a dark finish and now there is a big contrasting white heat mark – so glad it can be fixed!!!
I had a heat marks on my coffee table a couple of years ago. I googled a remedy too, but was afraid to use an iron. I tried the toothpaste and ashes method and it worked like a charm. You have to get the paste toothpaste and not the gel type.
Weird! That's such a great tip, though! I left some weird heat rings on my table the other day (dark mahogany) and I thought I was stuck with them. And yeah, they looked really "foggy" so it must be heat.
Thank you, thank you! I used our dining table as a work table to make some curtains awhile back and my steam ironing left a faint white mark.. even though I was using one of those cardboard sewing mats.
Anyway, I'm going to try this… hopefully I haven't waited too long!
who knew?! I love finding little tricks like this! I want to hunt down a water stain and try this now, ha!
a great trick for water rings:
mix together a tablespoon of mayonnaise and the ashes from one cigarette (it'll look like cookies-n-cream ice cream). gently rub that on the ring for a few seconds, allowing some to stand on top. let it hang out for 5-10 minutes. wipe it off and VOILA! bye-bye water ring!
This is so good to know!! I have an asian coffee table that I love and have had for years (my first big design purchase) but it has been a bit beat up over time. I wonder if it works on red paint?
Perfect timing! We have been using paper plates because of a big kitchen remodel and there are tons of those marks on my kitchen table, I figured I had ruined. Thanks for the tip! I'm off to try it!
wow! had not heard this one – thanks. I did hear that if the mark is white, it's in finish and can be removed – if the mark is dark, it's in the wood and that will be HARDER.
thanks! donna
Wow — we have several white marks on a nice wooden dining table we inherited last year, and we've had no success trying to get rid of them. We'll try this tonight – thanks for the post!
GREAT post!
OMG!!! We have some in the middle of my table; however, I didn't know what they came from. I thought it was some type of mildew. THANK YOU.
I'm off to find the iron. : )
That is crazy! I wish I had known that when I did the same thing like 6 months ago.
What a great idea! I have had the same problem and thought I was going to have to live with it. Thanks for the tip. :)
Didn't read all the comments, so someone else may have mentioned this. You can also rub toothpaste into the white spots and presto! it's gone.
OMG thank you for this post as I have a console table with a white ring where the hubby put his hot coffee cup down!!! cant wait to try this!! you ROCK!!!
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