Being a self-proclaimed bad housekeeper means that I'm usually scouring the internet to find answers for my various domestic quandaries. Margo at Thrift at Home and Heather at Home-Ec 101 are my usual stops so I rarely ever have a good tip of my own to pass along. Until today.
(horns trumpet)
Honestly, I didn't come up with it. This tip comes from my pal Alex. During the day he works at a law firm and at night he's using his genius to remove stains from fabric, and in particular, vintage linens. He's a magician, I tell you, and has generously offered his laundry skills more times than I can count. I've sent him all sorts of old tablecloths and napkins with stains that occurred years before I was born, and he has managed to restore the fabric to its former state of white snowiness and removed almost every yellowed spot. (He considers it a personal affront when he can't make an item pristine.) But now we live too far away for Alex to help, and I had to ask him to reveal the source of his secret cleaning powers.
The answer was surprisingly simple: time and oxygenated detergent.
It's all very simple. First I make sure the item has been through the wash and dried to remove any day-to-day food or dirt. I fill our beverage tub (it was given to me as a hostess gift to use for chilling beverages but it gets more use as a linen soaker) with eight quarts of hot water to start and add a scoop of oxygenated detergent according to their measuring guidelines. Stir gently to dissolve the detergent. I then drop in the tablecloth, napkins, etc. and add more hot water so that it's mostly covered. Using a wooden spoon, I poke the cloth around to ensure that it's saturated, and I let it sit. For a full 48 hours.
Alex stressed that time was the most important part of the equation. In his words, "forget about it." The older the stain the longer it needs to soak. I usually stir the contents once a day except that Little Bear loves to help. She pokes at it with immense enthusiasm, sending water splashing all over the bathroom.
After 48 or so hours, I set the washer on delicate and rinse the linens. Most times I make it a double-rinse to get out all the detergent. Then I hang it up to line dry. (According to Heather, over-drying weakens fibers. Not to mention your burgeoning energy footprint.)
I've done this with three tablecloths since our move, and every single one looks good as new. Well, as new as any vintage linens look. If you give Alex's method a try, let me know how it turns out for you.
Happy soaking!
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