This $8 Amazon Find Was Ridiculously Effective at Erasing Water Stains from My Wood Table

So, this happened: I have a cute little set of round nesting tables, and one has a substantial water stain on it. My peppy, neon pothos with its heart-shaped leaves adorns one of the tables and, yes, I accidentally overwatered it once. And, well, the water sat on the table and marked it — seemingly irreparably. 

What to do? Well, I had heard that regular toothpaste (the white pasty kind, not the gel kind) can be used to remove water rings from wood furniture. 

I grabbed a tube of toothpaste, figuring it was the perfect time to try the trick. I spread the classic white paste on the water spot. I buffed it in with a rag and … guess what? It did nothing. Absolutely nothing. In fact, I think it might have made the mark worse! 

But I refused to give up. I was on a mission, and I wanted to find something that would erase the water marks. I tried a wood marker and that helped disguise the stain a little, but not enough. Then I found something on Amazon that, admittedly, did not look like much. However, it had good reviews and was made by Homax, a company specializing in home improvement products. More importantly, it was called exactly what I needed: a white ring remover cloth. I decided I didn’t have much to lose at this point, and for less than $10, I gave it a try.

When it arrived at my door, I was surprised that the package was so small and had only one cloth in it. I was also intrigued when I saw that it was reusable. I pulled out the thin, pliable cloth, which reminded me of a cleaning cloth for glasses or electronics, and gently rubbed it across the stain. Would this really work? The treated cloth was a little bit greasy, like it had been saturated with polish even though it felt dry. Clearly, there was some magical product in it (the package doesn’t say with what), and I found myself wiping the entire surface of the table to make sure the product was evenly distributed. 

At first glance, the water spot was visibly less distinct. Half an hour later, I came back to look at the table and was absolutely shocked that the water marks had virtually disappeared!

Apparently, the wood had absorbed the mysterious product deposited by the rag, and now it looked as good as new. Turns out, the eponymous white ring remover did exactly what it promised.

How do you erase water rings from your wood furniture? Tell us your tips in the comments below.