How to Remove Water Spots

The most mysterious rings in the world are crop circles, supposedly left by the landing of alien ships, and the water circles from glasses left on the surface of a wood table when there were perfectly good drink coasters right there. There's not much you can do about the first, except harvest what's left of your corn, but it is possible to recover the table's good looks with a little elbow grease and a few other substances.

Water spots on furniture happen when there is either a spill of liquid, or a glass is set down and it "sweats", producing moisture that runs down the outside and pools at the bottom. Unless there is a coaster underneath, or the moisture is wiped up immediately, it can penetrate the wood's surface coating, and lift it away from the wood, which is what causes the ring to appear.

If your wood has a fairly good finish, try taking a damp, lint-free cloth, and dabbing it in some non-gel toothpaste, or a blend of half and half, toothpaste and baking soda. Apply with a firm, rubbing motion and then wipe away with a clean, damp cloth. When dry, polish the wood.

With antiques, which have a very different finish from today's furniture, you may have better success with buffing using ultra fine steel wool, and then a soft wax polish.

When marks won't come off despite your best efforts, you can re-finish the top of the table, and make sure there are coasters on it afterwards.