Home Garden

How to Remove a Heat Ring from a Wood Table

A hot cup of tea or a warm plate placed on your wood table can leave behind an eyesore of a stain. These stains are caused by excessive heat. As the wood table begins to warm, it changes color and leaves a difficult-to-remove white heat ring. Heat rings do not affect the table's functionality, but do cause the wood table to look old and dingy. Fortunately, there are a variety of methods that will successfully remove heat rings from wood tables.

Things You'll Need

  • Baking soda
  • Non-gel toothpaste
  • Damp cloth or sponge
  • Wood polish
  • Fine, 000-grade steel wool
  • Wood wax
  • Lemon juice
  • Cigarette ashes
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Instructions

  1. Baking Soda and Toothpaste

    • 1

      Squeeze non-gel toothpaste into small bowl. Mix enough baking soda into the toothpaste to create a paste.

    • 2

      Rub the paste into the heat rings with a damp cloth. Rub until the paste begins to warm.

    • 3

      Wipe the paste off the wood table with a damp cloth. Repeat the process as needed until you have removed all signs of the ring.

    Steel Wool

    • 4

      Rub the heat rings gently with a piece of fine, 000-grade steel wool. Rub with the wood table's grain.

    • 5

      Continue rubbing for a few passes. Examine the heat rings after every other pass. Repeat the process until the heat rings are no longer visible.

    • 6

      Apply wood polish and wax to the table as you normally would.

    Lemon Juice and Cigarette Ashes

    • 7

      Mix together cigarette ashes and lemon juice in a small bowl.

    • 8

      Dip the corner of a cloth in the mixture. Rub the heat rings with the mixture.

    • 9

      Continue rubbing and apply the mixture until the heat rings are no longer visible.

    • 10

      Wipe the wood table clean with a damp cloth. Dry with a towel.