Household Management Tip #3 - Water Rings

It's an inevitable fate of almost every piece of wood furniture: the dreaded water ring. Either someone forgot to use a coaster, or the plant was over-watered. Without fail, it seems these ghostly white rings tend to pop up in the most obvious spots. In my case, it was dead center of my less-than-a-year-old espresso wood table.

My search for a cure to these unsightly marks began a few days ago, when I decided my ceramic tart burner needed to be cleaned. I carefully removed all the old, excess wax and proceeded to wash with warm soapy water. I towel dried it completely, but apparently that wasn't enough. The porous unglazed ceramic base trapped water very nicely, so that when placed on the table it slowly transferred it's moisture. After nearly two days, I went to dust, and there it was. A bright white ring against my dark espresso table.

Ugly water mark :(

Furiously, I began searching for a solution, besides succumbing to a lifetime of tablecloths. I found toothpaste solutions, salt scrubs, and all kinds of potentially abrasive ideas. Being that my table is not solid wood and has a sheen, I was worried what all these solutions might do to its surface. I then remembered and old cure-all for carpet stains using an iron and lots of kitchen towels. I had no idea if this would work on furniture as well, but for the sake of blogging and Domestic Diva's everywhere, I put my poor table to the test.

DIY Removing Water Rings From Wood Furniture

What you need: Absorbent cloth (I used a Sham-Wow), and a hot iron

• Set iron to Cotton, or similar heat setting. NO STEAM (this is very important!)
• Place cloth over the water mark and press down firmly with hot iron for 10-15 seconds
• Repeat several times, this may take 20-30 tries
• Table needs to get very hot, so be careful!
• CAUTION: Some veneers may not be able to withstand high heat, so use this method with caution

Using an absorbent cloth and hot dry iron to remove a water mark

 After about 10 minutes of moving the iron back and forth, I learned that simply pressing down firmly (actually with all my weight) was the best method. After a that, the ring seemed to disappear before my eyes! Of course, the logic behind this is that heat causes the remaining water molecules to evaporate (turning from a liquid into a gas) and is trapped by the absorbent cloth. Interesting, right? 

The water mark-GONE!

Not to say I will forgo the use of coasters, but I do feel at ease knowing there is a simple solution to a longtime problem.