You love your gorgeous quality linen tablecloth right now. And your family. But you may not feel quite as attached to the latter when they topple a glass of red wine over the former.
It’s very easy to happen considering you use your linen tablecloth for special occasions when the odd bottle of vino or two is opened. So, in order to restore family relations, you need to find a way to get rid of that wine stain. In this post, we’ll tell you how, together with a way to get rid of a whole lot of other stains on your linen.
Removing red wine
What you use to remove red wine from linen depends on the length of time the stain has been there. If it’s just happened, for instance, then pour salt on the stain.
Cleaning expert @joliekerr says: “Table salt will act as a desiccant when poured onto a fresh red wine spill; use a liberal amount and make an anthill-style heap in the spot where the wine has spilled. As the salt sits atop the wine, it will soak it up, pulling it out of the tablecloth.”
Next, brush off the salt and rub in liquid laundry detergent to get rid of the rest.
If you only notice the stain at the end of the party, hours after it’s happened, then the best remedy is to soak the table cloth in cold water overnight with a stain removing solution added. Oxygen bleach is best if the material - or threads on the linen - is colored.
Weathering wax stains
Another potential stain hazard for your lovely linen tablecloth is wax from candles. If you’re lucky you may be able to get it off in one go by sliding a dull-edged butter knife underneath the wax.
If not, then try to put a brown paper bag over the stain and place an iron over it. The heat should melt the wax and cause it to attach onto the paper. Keep moving the paper so that the wax is melting on to a clean piece each time. After the wax has gone, give your linen cloth a wash to remove any lingering residue of the wax.
Banishing ball point pen
When sitting writing lists or bills at the table, it’s easy for some ink from your pen to end up on the cloth. Fortunately, we know a way to get rid of this too. It involves, of all things, hairspray.
All you have to do is hold a towel in front of the stain then spray hairspray onto the back of the stain so that it then transfers onto the towel. Afterwards launder as usual.
Getting rid of grease
Throw a party with burger buns, hot dogs and BBQ chicken wings and inevitably you’re going to end up with grease on your table cloth. Get some pre-stain treatment and rub into the stain then launder as soon as you can, using liquid detergent.
If the stain has been there for a while, or is particularly deep, then put a cleaning agent onto the back of the stain while laying the front of the stain onto paper towels. The idea is for the stain to transfer onto the absorbent paper. Afterwards, launder as usual.
