How to Remove Hot Spots/White Marks from Furniture

Not too long ago we bought a beautiful mahogany table, during dinner one evening, someone passed a hot dish and set it down on the table, with nothing under it. It didn't take but a second and the damage was done, our once gorgeous table now spotted with a permanent ugly white heat stain. Or so we thought, until we discovered that we could easily remove it with this simple do it yourself tip . . .



You'll Need:
an Iron
a thin cotton cloth


First, make sure that the iron is filled with water, as it's supposed to be and then be sure that the table is washed and dried well before you begin.

Place a Clean, cotton t-shirt or thin towel over the white scorch marks on the table

Set an iron to medium with the steam on (I know, I know, it's hard to believe that steam will help when it caused the problem to begin with!)

Iron gently for about 30-60 seconds over the mark, remove and quickly wipe away any excess moisture that is on the table.

Repeat until the marks are gone.

Once the marks have been removed, apply a small amount of olive oil to the table using a soft clean, lint free cloth.


A few notes: There are varying reports of whether or not this works. As you can see from the photos above, it worked quite well for us, however, it may be dependent on several factors, how bad the stain is, what kind of finish the piece of furniture has (varnish/shellac/poly/etc) I couldn't tell you what our table has, I don't know what it is.

Here are just a few of the other tips that members have submitted over the years for this issue:

• In a small bowl, combine toothpaste and baking soda at a 50/50 ratio, then rub in using a soft cloth. (Please note, Do not use gel toothpaste!)

• In a small bowl combine salt and olive oil, mixing to form a soft paste, apply with a soft cloth and let it set for half an hour. Wash and dry normally

• Apply a small amount of Miracle Whip Mayonnaise, allow it to set for 1 hour and then wash and dry well.

• In a small bowl combine Baking soda and a couple drops of water mixing to form a soft paste, apply with a soft cloth and let it set for half an hour. Wash and dry normally

• Using a soft cloth, gently rub the stain with Vaseline, let it set overnight. Wash and dry the table normally.