mickeyd
Well-known member
My sister Peggy gave me a tablecloth stained with mildew, asking me if I could get it out. The stain was in three sections, and had turned black. The cloth is gold lamee, or some such fussy thing: it is ribbed, and the thread atop each rib sparkles. It is her favorite table cloth.
I said, "Sure, I'll get it out." Little did I know.
First, a nice bath in powdered Tide HE and ammonia, in the WP Portable, narrow tub--lots to clothes-to-agitator contact. If you fill the tub, and turn the dial to the knits cycle, the washer will keep washing indefinately when you do this. With the knob pulled out, in the "ON" position, you slowly advance the wheel or dial--not the knob!-- past off and as you approach the 8 minute mark, just before the 8 (max wash time), the machine will start to agitate, and the dial will stay there until you advance it. This does not work on any other cycle, only Knits.
I went biking for an hour and a half as the table cloth was gently surging; when back home, drained and spun, and hung in the sun, no rinse. The stain was still there. Left it in the sun for the rest of the day and evening and the following morning. Still there, one patch covering about 3 inches square, the other two stains, about an inch and a half each. In the sun you could see that the mildew had overtaken the fibers.
Next was a diluted Clorox bath, standard dose 3/4 cup and another dose of Tide HE Powder. Another hour and a half wash and an overnight soak. Next morning, after an energetic morning swim in the lake, rushed up the stair to the deck where the WP sits all summer, drained'er and spun her. In the glare of the morning sun the stain looked weakened, so I rinsed and hung the table cloth. Alas, in the light of sunset, the stain was still there unchanged. Oh well. Sometimes you lose.
The next day I tried lemon juice and sunlight, not bothering with the salt which, together with the other two, works wonder on rust stains. Failure.
That night somewhere around page 28 or so of Robert's Bendix Manual Scan, I was riveted to the stain removal chart. It said that some deep mildew stains are IMPOSSIBLE to remove, so I felt comforted in the knowledge that if those Home Ec. wizards at Bendix can be stumped by a stain, who am I to complain. But they DID suggest Hydrogen peroxide as the anitdote to mildew.
The next afternoon around 1:30, I placed the stained portion of the table cloth over a small glass deck table, and poured hydrogen peroxide over the stain and for good measure squirted some Great Value Dishwasher detergent over the peroxide and scrubbed with a small scrubbing brush.
When I came home from biking, there it was, as bright and black as ever. After dinner, I brought the cloth into the garage to meet Mother Blackstone. Her directions demand that you fill the machine and begin agitation BEFORE adding laundry. She pulled that lamee/brocade, or whatever it is, down and under so fast, quicker than a frog tongue yanks a bug out of the air. The wash was for the full 15 minutes in Tide HE, no spin, (she won't do that right now) a cold overflow rinse, and a "DRY" in the Unimatic.
The stain was gone. I thought I was was seeing things, or, better, not seeing what should be right in front of me. The turnover of the light tablecloth pulled through the Blackstone turbulence was something to see. Furious comes close. Would another machine have done the job, or was it the last chemical treatment that did the deed.
Cameraless at present, I'll post an oldee of the odd-ball thing that killed the stain.
[this post was last edited: 6/24/2010-23:04]
I said, "Sure, I'll get it out." Little did I know.
First, a nice bath in powdered Tide HE and ammonia, in the WP Portable, narrow tub--lots to clothes-to-agitator contact. If you fill the tub, and turn the dial to the knits cycle, the washer will keep washing indefinately when you do this. With the knob pulled out, in the "ON" position, you slowly advance the wheel or dial--not the knob!-- past off and as you approach the 8 minute mark, just before the 8 (max wash time), the machine will start to agitate, and the dial will stay there until you advance it. This does not work on any other cycle, only Knits.
I went biking for an hour and a half as the table cloth was gently surging; when back home, drained and spun, and hung in the sun, no rinse. The stain was still there. Left it in the sun for the rest of the day and evening and the following morning. Still there, one patch covering about 3 inches square, the other two stains, about an inch and a half each. In the sun you could see that the mildew had overtaken the fibers.
Next was a diluted Clorox bath, standard dose 3/4 cup and another dose of Tide HE Powder. Another hour and a half wash and an overnight soak. Next morning, after an energetic morning swim in the lake, rushed up the stair to the deck where the WP sits all summer, drained'er and spun her. In the glare of the morning sun the stain looked weakened, so I rinsed and hung the table cloth. Alas, in the light of sunset, the stain was still there unchanged. Oh well. Sometimes you lose.
The next day I tried lemon juice and sunlight, not bothering with the salt which, together with the other two, works wonder on rust stains. Failure.
That night somewhere around page 28 or so of Robert's Bendix Manual Scan, I was riveted to the stain removal chart. It said that some deep mildew stains are IMPOSSIBLE to remove, so I felt comforted in the knowledge that if those Home Ec. wizards at Bendix can be stumped by a stain, who am I to complain. But they DID suggest Hydrogen peroxide as the anitdote to mildew.
The next afternoon around 1:30, I placed the stained portion of the table cloth over a small glass deck table, and poured hydrogen peroxide over the stain and for good measure squirted some Great Value Dishwasher detergent over the peroxide and scrubbed with a small scrubbing brush.
When I came home from biking, there it was, as bright and black as ever. After dinner, I brought the cloth into the garage to meet Mother Blackstone. Her directions demand that you fill the machine and begin agitation BEFORE adding laundry. She pulled that lamee/brocade, or whatever it is, down and under so fast, quicker than a frog tongue yanks a bug out of the air. The wash was for the full 15 minutes in Tide HE, no spin, (she won't do that right now) a cold overflow rinse, and a "DRY" in the Unimatic.
The stain was gone. I thought I was was seeing things, or, better, not seeing what should be right in front of me. The turnover of the light tablecloth pulled through the Blackstone turbulence was something to see. Furious comes close. Would another machine have done the job, or was it the last chemical treatment that did the deed.
Cameraless at present, I'll post an oldee of the odd-ball thing that killed the stain.
[this post was last edited: 6/24/2010-23:04]
