I recently bought an antique pin kitchen table to sit in our new home. We got the table delivered and were extremely happy with it until after our first meal.

Several plates and cups that were slightly damp (not even really wet) had left large white ring marks where the table had absorbed the water.

Some details about the stained table…

• Our table top is made from reclaimed pine floorboards
• It has been recently fully sanded and waxed with Briwax

How to remove water ring marks

After much research and reading on the internet I performed a couple of small tests on the table before settling on a method to remove the white stains. The method below was used to successfully remove all of the water ring marks from the table. Best of all the whole table took under 5 minutes to do!

1. Place a plain white cotton t-shirt over the affected area
2. Pre heat a normal household iron to a low heat and ensuring the steaming function is switched off
3. Place the iron on the t-shirt over the affected for 10-15 seconds then check to see if the mark is gone/reduced.

This worked superbly on our table, removing any trace of the many water marks we accumulated over the last 3 months. Here are some additional tips i’d offer:

• Use an old t-shirt as some wax/stain is left on the shirt during this process

• You may need to adjust the time the iron is used as it will be different for different bits or wood/irons

• Best to start off with less time and build it up slowly as I guess it is possible to burn the pine if you are not careful

I intend to re-wax and polish the table several times over the next few months. I am hoping that the more layers of wax there are the more resistant to water stains the table will become.

Finally, don’t blame me if this doesn’t work or damages your table. I’ve read about others doing this with success and it worked 100% for me so if you have pine furniture with white water marks this may be worth trying.