In the course of 5-10 minutes while I finished getting ready in my bedroom this morning my two mischievous munchkins got into what appeared to be an epic water fight - and our new wooden dining room table got stuck in the middle.  I didn't think too much of it  (the table, not the water fight) as my sons and I wiped up the wet mess.  That is, until about an hour later, when I realized a large corner of the table had been overlooked by us and some pretty big water stains had formed.

&$#*!.  I mean, it is a brand new table... but, when you live with little kids these things are bound to happen....... then I came across a non-toxic quick fix for getting rid of water stains using my #2 favorite ingredient :  baking soda (#1 goes to vinegar!).  Why not?  so I gave it a try

Here are pictures of the water stains- 

According to the recipe you mix 1 Tablespoon of baking soda with 1/2 tsp of water and form a paste.   place the paste on top of the water stain and rub it in until the stain has disappeared.

Not only did it work- my little munchkin helped me.   

I did a bit more research and it seems like this method really only will work on recent water stains or white/ light colored stains because the light color is a sign that the moisture hasnt reached the actual wood- it is just trapped in the finish.  If you have a dark colored stain you usually would have to refinish the piece.  

In any case, baking soda paste definitely is an easy and non-toxic place to start if your battling water stains of your own.