Water marks can stain wooden tables (stock photo) (Image: Getty)
If you’ve ever left a cup of water on a table without a coaster, you’ll know the sinking feeling you get when you lift it up and realise you’ve stained the wood forever.
Water marks often appear as white or dark rings and are caused by trapped moisture, heat, or liquid reacting with the wood’s finish or the wood itself. They are usually caused by hot mugs, cold glasses, or spills that aren’t cleaned and get left to soak into the wood – and they can be a nightmare to remove.
Because water marks often stain the wood itself, you can’t just wipe them away with a wet cloth. They don’t respond to most traditional cleaning methods because, in order to remove them, you actually have to add something back to the wood.
But there is something you can do to restore your wooden tables to their former, non-stained glory. All you have to do is cover the water marks with one food item – but be warned, it might turn your stomach.
In an Instagram video shared by Sarah Baus, she explained that her grandmother taught her how to remove water marks from wood by covering them with something she always keeps in her fridge – mayonnaise.
She said: “Every time I do this, my husband looks at me like I am chronically insane. I left this glass on my table all night so that I could show you how to get water marks out of wood. We have a very nice water mark here. I’ve also got some water mark spots that were left as well.”
Sarah then simply picked up her jar of mayonnaise, scooped out a spoonful, and dropped it on her table. She smeared it around so that the entire stain was covered, and then left it to sit.
She added: “I know this looks atrocious, but we’re going to leave this for several hours. Oftentimes, I will leave it overnight. Then I will come back, wipe it off, and the water marks will be gone.”
The woman came back to her video several hours later and wiped away the excess mayonnaise, proving that there was no longer any staining underneath where the condiment had been sitting.
While it might seem gross to leave mayonnaise sitting on your table, the trick works because the wood surface needs oil to help lift the moisture that’s trapped in the wood. The good thing is, this means you don’t have to use mayonnaise. Oils like olive oil and even non-gel toothpastes can help draw out moisture.
You can even try to lift the stain with a hairdryer on a low heat, which might help to evaporate the trapped moisture and remove any white or cloudy marks.
How to remove water marks from wood
Gentle heat method
- Use a hairdryer on low/medium or a warm (not hot) iron with a clean dry cloth between iron and wood.
- Keep it moving; check every 10–20 seconds.
- Stop as soon as the cloudiness fades.
Mild polish or abrasive method
- Apply a small amount of furniture polish (or a specialist ring remover) and buff with a soft cloth.
- For some finishes, very light rubbing with a non-gel white toothpaste (no whitening crystals) can help – rub gently, then wipe clean and buff.
For darker stains
- You may need light sanding (with the grain) to see if it lifts.
- If it doesn’t: a wood bleach/oxalic acid solution is commonly used to reduce black water staining (follow product safety guidance). Afterwards, neutralise/rinse as directed, let it dry thoroughly, then refinish.
If you have dark stains, this suggests the water marks have penetrated the wood itself and not just the finish. You may wish to call in a professional to remove these stains, as it can be easy to ruin your table by sanding too much or using too much heat that blisters the finish.