"You know when your friends set their cups on your table, even though there's a coaster right there?" asks TikToker @mostlyecomorgan. "You get all these fun little rings on your table, and you're like, 'Oh! This is why we can't have nice things.'"
It's an all-to-familiar problem, but Morgan shows us there's a cheap and eco-friendly fix — and you probably already have all the right supplies in your kitchen.
The scoop
"Buh bye table rings ✌️" reads the title of Morgan's TikTok video, in which she simply pours a bit of olive oil onto a rag and rubs it into one of the marks. Then she wipes the olive oil off with a damp rag.
"Guys. You can't see the ring," she says. "The ring is not there."
@mostlyecomorgan buh bye table rings ✌️ #cleaninghacks #reducewaste #ecotips ♬ original sound - Mostlyecomorgan
Morgan checks her work by using the hack on another mark, and voila! Same results. The trick even helped her lessen the severity of a deeper scratch on the table.
"Overall, I'm a pretty big fan of this hack," she says.
How it's helping
It's likely you already have olive oil tucked away in your cupboard, making this hack a money- and time-saver since you don't have to go out to the store to buy a commercial furniture polish.
Plus, olive oil is better for your health. According to Mount Sinai, many furniture polishes contain poisonous ingredients, including hydrocarbons. Breathing in these poisons can cause blurred vision, dizziness, coma, headache, sleepiness, lung bleeding, and more. If these chemicals touch your skin or eyes, you could suffer vision loss, skin burns, and irritation.
These products can contribute to allergies, respiratory problems, and other maladies, according to the Environmental Working Group (EWG).
There are also environmental concerns. According to EWG, the chemicals found in most furniture polishes can cause acute aquatic toxicity if they make it to a body of water. This threatens an array of wild plants and animals.
Plus, many of these products contain chemicals called volatile organic compounds (VOCs). When VOCs are released into the air, they react with other chemicals and do damage to the Earth's ozone.
What everyone's saying
Commenters offered ideas for several other natural alternative scuff erasers.
"Awesome tip, thanks!!" one says. "My woodworker suggested grapeseed oil for wood if you need to use it often. Olive oil sometimes turns white-ish."
Another says, "Olive oil can go rancid, it's not a bad option, but my woodworking grandfather always suggested mineral oil! Same idea, different oil!"
Several others say walnuts are a miracle hack for table scratches.
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