Thanksgiving Tablecloths
I won’t candy coat the challenge we all face when caring for and cleaning new and heirloom linens. Stains of all kinds are just waiting to land on your tablecloth, placemats and napkins: gravy, butter, wine, coffee – lipstick on the napkins – melted wax … Don’t let these things ruin your favorite linens. 

Care at Home
Here are the basics: Stains come in two varieties – water-based and oil-based. The coffee and wine are water based, and the gravy and butter are oily. Lipstick – to a certain extent – is both water-based and oily. For home use, it comes out with Zout and Spray & Wash. If you wash linens at home, the oily stains and wax may not come out completely because they require very hot water, from 150–190° to breakdown the oils. In either case, oily stains and stains with color will need pre-treatment.

To identify the type of stain: Water-based stains usually have a thin ring around the perimeter and oily stains have no outline and appear absorbed into the fabric.

After you clear the table – and take a brisk walk to work off the malaise – take all the linens outside and shake them out. Gently scrape off the wax with a dull utensil. Pre-treat the stains within 24 hours, using whatever works for you, pre-soak if needed, and then wash the linens as hot as possible. DO NOT DRY THEM because you may set stains. After they are dry, stretch them out and inspect them under bright light: Oily stains that remain often look clear or gray and blotchy. Bleach will not remove these stains. 

Care at the Drycleaners
You can start by sending your linens to the cleaners, rather than washing them at home, but be sure to ask some key questions: Are the linens done “in-house” or are they sent out? Are they pre-spotted for water-based and oily stains? Are they pressed and packaged with tissue? 

For more information, visit  the "Stain Emergency" section on this website. Have a great holiday and watch how you go!