Help! Cleaning vintage linens
 

I know this may be a bit off quilting(except I will use some parts for one)- but I'm going through my Mother's linens as they are moving into assisted living in two months. Some are perfect except a few light stains. They range from small tray liners to tablecloths. All of them are white. I know there are certain products that are used to clean these, but never really paid attention to the info about them since I didn't need to know. Please HELP so I can repourpose some of these 1900 linens! Thanks!!

I love Oxyclean! I bought a doily that was supposed to be white and it was brown. I soaked it in Oxyclean for a couple of days and now it's beautiful! You can also research cleaning vintage linens on the internet. Different treatments may be required for different stains.

I used to sell vintage linens. I would use OxyClean. I have a special large glass "casserole" pan that I would put the linens in. Cover the linen with OxyClean water. Then I would put on my griddle burner on low. I would leave it there for a few hours. I found that the warm water was better.

If it was a large piece, like a tablecloth, I would use the bath tub.

Rinse it well and if possible, dry in the sun.


This method definitely removes some stains and most yellowing.

I was going to suggest Oxyclean as well. Soaking sems to be the key to success.

http://www.retroclean.com is one option.

Thanks for the tips...I have oxyclean, but will find some retroclean to be sure to get them as clean as possible. Thanks to you all!!! Love this Board!

A lady who sells vintage linens at the big flea market in Canton, TX gives the following recipe and it works on most stains except old old blood stains. The recipe is 1 part dishwasher detergent(ex. cascade), 1 part clorox II, 1 part Biz. Dissolve these in hot water. Let cool to temp you want and soak dirty linens for however long you want or till stains are removed. You can soak them for weeks. Hope this helps you.

Retro Clean! Gets blood stains out too! Love the stuff. I got mine at a quilt show.

RETROCLEAN! Found a beautiful vintage quilt at an estate sale, soaked it in tub with retroclean for 2 days, yellow gone, and a couple of stains gone.