"I found one of my grandma's hand-embroidered, crochet lace-edged tablecloths
which someone had put away unwashed after a party (probably...20 years ago!).
It has quite a large coffee stain on it, and a lot of fainter orangy stains
(fruit juice? tomato sauce...I'd like to fade as much of the stains as
possible. Can anyone recommend a bleach safe enough to use on elderly
cotton...quite strong sheeting..." Beth
We have products here in the US I can recommend that will take it out, but is
more difficult to prescribe for UK.
The coffee will probably come out with a long soak in regular detergent. For
the tomato stains, often grease is beneath them, so I would get a good hand
cleaner a mechanic would use, which you can typically find at an auto supply or
even hardware store. Fels Naptha (which is a yellow soap made by Dial here,
will take many things out and you can keep repeating the process, and is
especially good on tomato things, or a good French hand milled soap is a pretty
good substitute.
Though I don't generally recommend them, often an oxygenated cleaner (such as
OxyClean) will work, and I have rinsed them out thoroughly and alternated them
with a mild bleach solution. Note that one will render the other as
ineffective, so it must be rinsed out completely. They can weaken fiber over
time. I think it is more a matter of choosing weaker solutions and giving them
time, vs. strong solutions and wanting them to work quickly.
We have something here called "Bye Bye Baby Stains." It has bleach in it with
other additives and will even take out baby formula that has been left for
years. It can eat the fiber if left on too long, and I doubt you can find that
there. It is amazing stuff though. We also have something called a bleach
stick, but isn't really bleach. Clear gel in a tube and will work for obscure
things one cannot find the cure for. There is also a product called Whink Wash
Away. My dtr. when young opened a bottle of fuchsia ink to refill my rubber
stamp blotter, and wiped her hands all over the backs of three pieces of white
leather. It took it all out and isn't hard on things. Don't know if you can
get it there tho'. Have even used it for indelible ink
In addition, I add Miracle White to oxygen or bleach solutions as they tend to
enhance the effectiveness so one doesn't need as much product nor for as long a
time and using it seems like it is less harsh on the fibers.
You could always start with the good old sun on the reverse side if there is
colored embroidery, but I don't know if your fabric and crochet is white and it
will fade the back side of the embroidery. When is the sunny season in the UK?
(Smiling, as I have British ancestry.)
It is hard without seeing it. My mother would probably mix up a weaker bleach
solution and apply it and then quickly transfer it into a soak solution.
Keep in mind that some of these treatments need to soak for days, and then
refresh the whole solution and repeat.
There are online suggestions, but I haven't had good luck with them.
By the way, if you spill red wine on a tablecloth, pour table salt on it
immediately, and the stain fades before your eyes. Doesn't really work on
dried stuff. Also, boiling water on red fruit stains takes them out when they
are fresh. Amazing, but true.
HTH,
Susan Reishus
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