How can I get "age" stains out of an antique linen table cloth?
by
Susan Urmey
+4
There are yellow staines where table cloth was folded. I don't want to use bleach as it's old.
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Soak it in a mixture of 1/3 bottle of hydrogen peroxide and warm water for about an hour. The launder as usual. Peroxide is a safer bleaching agent. Bleach tends to make whites dingy and harms fibers. I use hydrogen peroxide when I wash whites. Most oxygen based detergents are peroxide based.
A bluing agent like this would probably do the trick.
You can also soak it in oxyclean, it shouldn't hurt it. You can get the powder in bigger containers so that you have plenty to make a bucket full and use for soaking other things, too. I use oxy on a lot of things and it hasn't even harmed washable silk. It isn't that good for greasy, but I put my Tide on that before I soak or after before I put it in the washer.
Hi, try baking soda, vinegar & dawn (blue). Toss in washing machine & let it soak for at least an hour. Then launder as usual. That should do the trick.
I have had success with Borax. Also, the hydrogen peroxide can be poured into a spray container and sprayed on your stained area, let it sit for a while, then soak the entire fabric in HP. Hope that helps. Best of luck!
If antique the washer will be too violent - consider laying it in the tub & use some of the bluing and or peroxide -soak in the tub as long as needed then, rinse well, GENTLY roll in colorfast or white towels to absorb excess moisture, - DO NOT WRING OR SQUEEZE VIGOROUSLY - wet, old textile fibers are even MORE fragile than they are when dry! - & air dry as flat as possible - if stain remains, then try the more aggressive harsher chemicals like Borax or vinegar -but then again rinse well, & air dry flat - suggest NOT using Dawn unless no other recourse: it suds up SO much,rinsing is a nightmare! Ivory soap, Dreft or baby shampoo easier to rinse.
If you haven't washed it yet I wouldn't put it in a washer... I would try oxyclean or
peroxide in a sink or bathtub depending on size. then lay out in the yard on a piece of plastic on a sunny day the sun will help gentle bleach it out as well as dry it.