Rust stain on cotton towel

[av]

Hi,

apart from one "green" household hints book which recommends that I boil the stained part of the towel in a solution of Cream of Tartar, I'd like to know what others have found useful for getting out quite a bad rust stain from a white towel. It was left damp with a safety pin inside which, of course, rusted.

Thanks,

avril

[Vox Humana]

I had all my whites sorted and ready to wash a few weeks ago only to come home to find that the water heater rusted through, soaking the clothes with rusty water. I got some Iron Out and added it to the wash water, soaking them for several hours. It took out all the rust.

[av]

Hi and thank you for your response. As is often the case, I don't know that product by that name here in Melbourne, Australia (unless it is a hardware item that I'm unfamiliar with).

Could you please tell me what are its active ingredients?

Thank you,

avril

[Dawn]

lemon juice and salt boiled rhubarb juice

[Lobo]

Boiled rhubarb juice will remove a stain? I would think it would leave a red/pink stain? ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Delete the obvious to reply to me personally. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

[Dawn]

Not if you use the green variety of rhubarb :)

[DrClean]

Hi Avril,

Rust is removed using acid treatments, which is why things like lemon juice can have an effect. Start with acetic acid or Pickling vinegar and work to stronger acid groups or even specific rust removers.

However, cotton likes alkaline not acid conditions so have some dilute ammonia handy to stop any adverse reaction when you get on to higher grade acids or specific rust treatments.

Hope this helps

[jamie]

Drench the stain thorougly with bottled lemon juice, and leave it outside in direct bright sunlight for a few hours. Sometimes it takes two or three treatments to fully get rid of the rust stain, sometimes only one.

My husband used to get his workshirts covered with rust stains fairly often, and this always worked for me. (Why hospitals like to select blue and white striped shirts for heating/AC maintenance personnel who get covered in rust and black grease is beyond me.) At least the place he works now had more sense, and picked brown shirts.

[Lobo]

snip

I'm not familiar with a green variety ... will a green stalk work? ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Delete the obvious to reply to me personally. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

[Dawn]

I believe green has more acid than red so if it works I guess green would work best.