Nothing takes the Merry out of Christmas or the Happy out of Hanukkah and Kwanzaa than a big grease stain on your brand-new winter white linen tablecloth. Family get-togethers are the highlight of the holiday season, but when you put together rich and colorful foods with, well, colorful family members you could be looking at major messes in the making.
In our family we don’t let stains caused by Uncle Fred’s enthusiastic arm gestures dampen our holiday spirits. My mom is the queen of stain removal and uses the following techniques to keep her holiday best from turning into… rags.
Grease Stains
Turkey grease, cooking oil and butter can stick around on fabric long after your guests have gone home. The trick to getting out these types of stains is to blot (don’t rub) or scrape up the offending oil with a napkin or spoon as soon as possible. As I mentioned in my previous blog, I don’t hesitate to remove the stained tablecloth as soon as possible, but that’s just me, and my friends and family know this about me. However, if you don’t want to interrupt dinner to address the stain right then and there you can simply sprinkle baby powder, flour, corn starch or artificial sweetener on the stain and let it sit until the grease is absorbed. When you’re ready to tackle the stain, brush off the powder and pre-treat the stain with laundry detergent or a pre-wash spray, then launder according to the linens’ washing instructions. One important note: Never place the item in the dryer until the stain has been completely removed.
Gravy Stains
Whether it’s on your husband’s shirt, your linen napkin, or your new tablecloth—a gravy stain is never a welcome sight. Treat a gravy stain much the same way you would a grease stain–scrape off as much as possible with a spoon (making sure to blot not rub). Then, sprinkle the stain with cornstarch, flour or artificial sweetener to help absorb the oils until you can launder the fabric. Prior to washing the stained item soak it in a mixture of mild detergent and lukewarm water. After soaking, if the stain remains, pour a bit of full-strength liquid laundry detergent on the fabric, rub it in and then launder as usual. Again, remember not to put the item in the dryer until the stain has been completely removed. The heat from the dryer will set the stain.
A Final Tip: If it’s a serious stain and the fabric is bleachable, you can apply a few drops of 3% hydrogen peroxide with a cotton swab to the dampened stained area. Let it dry, then wash the item as usual. Hydrogen peroxide acts as a mild bleaching agent, so you may not want to use this trick on colored fabric.
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