How to Clean or Brighten Antique and Vintage Linens

I found information for cleaning antique and vintage fabrics here:

http://www.dollsandlace.com/howto.htm

These instructions work for me for just about anything except rust stains.  Embroidery colors don't fade.




I use gloves to protect my hands.

For white/beige linens: Make up enough cleaning solution to cover the linens: (1 gallon very warm water + 1/2 cup Oxyclean + 1/2 cup Biz). Let soak at least 24 hours, more if it appears it's still lifting color or you want to try whiter/lighter than you are getting. I would not soak fragile lace or antiques longer than 48 hours. Stir the soaking linens gently with a spoon every time you think of it. Change the cleaning solution during the first 24 - 48 hours as often as every 2-4 hours if the water appears to be picking up a lot of yellow-brown color (I've seen amazing amounts of very brown water on some brown linens that turned out to be light beige muslin!). Once the water stops showing dirty, change the cleaning solution once a day during the first 5 days if you need to go that long and every other day for the longer soaks. You only need these longer soaks for really darkly soiled linens, such as ones that may have been stored for years in a cardboard box a basement. I've soaked some seriously brown things for more than a week and restored them to light muslin color (their natural color) eventually. Linens that have just yellowed somewhat, or look a little dingy need only a 24-hour soak.

Removing stains: Actual stains may require more direct attention such as spot treatment or scrubbing (I wouldn't do that to anything lace or very old). Consult other references for how to remove these.

Rinsing/Drying: Rinse several times in warm water until suds are completely gone. Really pay attention to this rinsing-- you don't want any residual cleaning solution to stay in the linens and possibly damage them over time. Spin in top-loading washer (no agitation), or blot between towels-- squeeze, don't twist or wring; you be the judge of how fragile the fabric may be and act accordingly. Dry flat on towels, particularly for heavier items that might stretch under their own wet weight; lighter/small items can be hung on a rack to dry.

Colored linens: For white linens with colored embroidery or crochet thread, very long soaks will unavoidably lift color (I tried this on some crocheted potholders that I didn't mind if they faded-- they faded-- it was a week and a half of soaking!). I have done soaks of up to three days on embroidered towels without noticeably affecting color-- I didn't dare to go longer. Your mileage may vary so you be the judge.

Caution on colored linens: if you have linens with colored fabric, embroidery or crochet where you are not certain about the colorfastness of the colored threads, be sure to do the soaking separately on these linens to limit evil surprises to only the guilty item. Guess how I know this.