Heritage Album

How can I get rust and general grime stains out of an heirloom cotton tablecloth?

The greenish speckled staining is mostly on the white part of the cloth, which has a multicolored fruit design around the edge. I've tried Oxyclean, a bleach pen, and several types of detergent.

Public Comments

1. simple green
2. you have done a pretty good job of setting it in. Soak it in a gallon of vinegar for two hours, add a pint of baking soda, let soak another hour and run it through the wash
3. I like JC's answer. It's what I would do, but I would use white vinegar and baking soda (1 cup of each) in the washing machine also. Any time you have whites that have gone dingy this does a great job of brightening, too.
4. They make a rust remover for clothes you just put it in the wash.. You can find it at walmart. I'd also check you local cleaners