The hysteresis of the scanning elements in STM are known to cause geometrically distorted images. By analyzing the traces and retraces of the tip, the hysteresis can be quantified and a general model describing the hysteresis can be constructed. That the use of the inverse model can eliminate the hysteresis distortion in STM images is demonstrated. The method does not require any specific ordering of the image. Another method that can be used only on images of surfaces with ordered patterns is also presented. It is an iterative technique where the highest peak in the Fourier domain is maximized by tuning the hysteresis model.