Well, it happened. Someone was pouring some olive oil on their salad during the T-giving meal and missed their plate. There's now a huge blot of oil on the linen table cloth. Is there a way of removing the oil without damaging the color and fabric?
If you also know of another idea for stain removal, I'm interested in that. I'm currently using soda water to remove the random drops of red wine, too, with varying success.
The Ranger
On Sat, 28 Nov 2009 12:35:01 -0800, "The Ranger" wrote Re Oil in Linen Problem:
Was this an Italian that missed the plate? Italians are notorious for missing the plate. I do it all the time.
I've always used Era Detergent, full strength, to treat greasy or organic stains, with good results. Just apply f.s., let it soak 30 min, launder. I used to be expert at splattering spaghetti sauce all over the front of me...Era always took it out :o) Dawn would probably work, too. Unless it is an unusual dye, neither should harm linen.
Hi, I'd try steam cleaner.
Italians have all the fun. Sistine chapel, Michelangelo, Leonardo Davinci, the Vatican, and now spaghetti throwing.
If the table cloth is something special, family heirloom or the like, it might be wise to have it dry cleaned. The folks in those shops have an extensive knowledge of stain removal tricks that work. IIRC, Consumer Reports has a publication that addresses stain removal problems.
Joe
I can tell that Dawn dish soap is different from the other dish soaps I've used because it stings my cuts. Nothing else does. I almost always have some cuts on my fingers.
Yes, stain removal is an issue for 10's of millions, and it's well researched. A web search might be better than asking here. I don't often say that, especially because it's possible here to give lots of details and ask and answer quesitons. But the only variable here seems to be "olive oil". A good webpage should handle that.
BTW, I didn't believe tehre were enzymes in clothes detergent, or that they did anything, until I heard they were a health hazard for people who made or maybe boxed the stuff. And my impression is that dirt that didn't come out very well in the past has in the last few years.
Has anyone else noticed this?
My mother's old trick: First heavily dust the stain with plain baby talcum powder. Do not rub it in but you can compress the powder into the table cloth with the palm of your hand using some plain white paper towels. (Talcum powder loves oils.(Let it sit overnight. The next AM, gather up the table cloth so you don't spill the powder all over the place, go outside, and using a toothbrush, gently brush off all the powder. Then repeat the process once again. After the second day, launder with a 5 minute pre-treatment of full strength laundry liquid. Good luck!
Now that you mention it, I've gotten a spot of food oil (either salad oil or conceibably maybe even liquid meat or chicken fat) on my shirt on a few occasions, and the next day the spot is gone without my doing a thing. I didn't investigate enough. I thought it must have spread out so thin I couldn't see it anymore.
I use Naptha for oily stains, apply and let sit for about 5 minutes, then reapply and blot dry with a clean paper towel. Reapply a third time and then gently rub in liquid Tide or equivalent, and then wash as normally done. Works great for oily stuff, but does not remove stains from wine. My wife has a few tricks for wine and berries that she has gathered over the years.
Also Italian women: beautiful when young and marvelous cooks when old.
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