HOW TO REMOVE A WATER STAIN FROM YOUR WOOD FURNITURE IN 5 MINUTES!

Valerie Burge
by Valerie Burge
2 Materials
5 Minutes
Easy

I was given a beautiful solid wood side-board from my mom when she sold her house. I loved everything about it, everything except the big water stain in the top corner! It had been caused by a cold drink on a hot day. And the stain had been there for as long as I can remember.


I didn’t want to paint it because I really loved the chestnut finish. And the rest was in perfect condition. And I don’t have much experience was re-staining and my previous attempts had not been hugely successful.


So I decided to try my best to remove the stain…

Step 1:

I got a dish towel and folded it in half and placed it over the stain


I filled my iron with water and set it to cotton mode and turned on the steam setting

I ironed over the towel, checking after every few strokes, until the stain completely disappeared!!

This technique also works on new stains. This is a heat mark I put on my oak table last week from a hot bowl of soup. Did the exact same technique with exact same results. Yeah!!! :)

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Frequently asked questions
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3 of 15 questions
  • Marita Gehret Marita Gehret on Mar 06, 2021

    I just read an article on this site, just like yours, but she said to make sure no water was in the iron. Can you explain, does it matter either way?

  • Richard lugenbeel Richard lugenbeel on Apr 27, 2021

    I have beautiful wood floors and I noticed that some areas have black marks I don't want to sand so how can I remove these black marks

  • JUDY JUDY on Nov 09, 2021

    Would this method work on crown moulding, stained by steam, when I was steaming the wallpaper off the wall below?

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4 of 38 comments
  • AnnWade AnnWade on Jan 19, 2020

    I have never heard of these techniques before. But I will definitely try them. Thank you for replying to help me fix my antique table. I will let you know how it turns out. I will take before and after pictures!

    • Valerie Burge Valerie Burge on Jan 21, 2020

      It's so easy and works so well! Some people have mentioned mayonnaise works well too, but that sound a little messy to clean up afterwards. Good luck! Look forward to seeing your before and after pics!

  • Kathleen Kathleen on Jul 01, 2020

    I REALLY want to say a BIG THANK YOU for that one! I actually worked right away and you can't even tell it was ever there. I would just make sure to tell people to do it quickly and then wipe off the steam from the table as soon as you steam it, so it doesn't create a new water stain. I steamed it for one second, and then wiped it down with the same towel I used as my "pad." I was SURE it wasn't going to work, but make it worse, but NOPE! It worked very well. Thanks again!

    • Valerie Burge Valerie Burge on Jul 01, 2020

      It's amazing right! Sometimes the simplest things are the best! :). So glad you found it helpful!!

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