Holiday Laundry Stains

The holidays are right around the corner – a time we want to dress up our tables for special dinners. With this comes the possibility of staining our holiday tablecloths. Please read below to discover ways of removing certain types of stains from these special coverings.cleaning-a-table-cloth-stain[2

For all stains, it is important to:

  1. Check laundry for stains before washing. Many stains need pretreatment.
  2. Take care of stains promptly. Fresh stains are much easier to remove than those over 24 hours old.
  3. Blot up any excess liquid with a clean white cloth or paper towel.
  4. Inspect wet laundry before drying to be sure a stain has been removed. If a stain is still evident, do not dryer dry. The heat of drying makes the stain more permanent.

For Cranberry, Apple, Grape, and Orange Stains as well as Wine Stains (also referred to as Tannin Stains):

  1. Do NOT use natural soap (usually in bar form). Wash in hot water with detergent (Wisk, Era, Tide). Fresh stains are usually removed by laundering the fabric using detergent in hot water (f safe for the fabric), without any special treatment.
  2. Old tannin stains may need bleaching for more complete removal.

For Candle Wax and Gravy, Use a two step treatment:

  1. Remove the oil/waxy portion of the stain, then
  2. Remove the dye portion using bleach (safe for the fabric).
  1. Spray or sponge with a dry-cleaning solvent or treat with a stain stick. Then rub with heavy duty liquid detergent and scrub in hot water.
  2. Soak in an all-fabric bleach diluted according to package directions. Use liquid chlorine bleach for tough dye stains on fabrics that are color fast to bleach. Wash in as hot of water allowable for fabric using detergent.

Beth Marrs

I graduated from Iowa State University with a degree in Adult Home Economics Education. I love to cook and entertain and spend time with my family.

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