I inherited my grandmother's crocheted bedspread. It has a brown stain down the crease in the center.

Been sitting in the closet for 18 years.

I ought to pull it out, clean it and try to sell it.

Put them in the bathtub with some Biz and/or some Orvus Equine Soap. [yes, that is correct...equine soap. You can bathe your horse in it, and you can soak your antique linens in it] I use both. It may take several soakings over a period of days, but the results are amazing. If the cloths are old and yellowed, the results of the first soaking will be startlng. I was horrified by the yellow-brown water! Repeat soaking as necessary, rinse well, and let them dry naturally. If you have a place outdoors where they can dry flat, in the sun, that is great.

I use my antique crocheted table cloths as throws (over antique quilts) at the foot of the twin beds in one of my guest rooms. Kinda quaint.

There are many websites available for the cleaning and care of antique linens. That is where I learned about the equine soap. You can get it at your local feed store! Have fun!

Tell me about the Equine soap, is it a bar or a powder. How much to use??? If I don't hear from you, I will find out at the feed store tomorrow.

I will dry it on the lawn over a sheet.
Many thanks!

Most interesting! Thanks a lot for sharing the info!

Use a bed sheet under the tablecloth and use that to lift the wet tablecloth out of the tub, this will avoid straining some possible fragile fibers and prevent them from breaking. Squeeze as much water as you can from the tablecloth, then roll in a towel and step on it to extract even more water. If you have a lawn, lay the cloth on the grass to dry, the chorophyll in the grass will also help whiten.
HTH!
Pat

Also meant to add that never, ever, ever use chlorine bleach on old textiles, it will weaken the fibers. Oxyclean is a good substitute, others as mentioned above have used Biz.

Oh, use Lydia's really good recipe!!! I used it on my grandmothers embroidered table cloth, and all previous stains came out.

Here you go:

A really great stain removal recipe!

Posted by lydia1959 on Sun, Jan 27, 08 at 12:54

I bought a old floral tablecloth from eBay and was looking for a way to remove all the stains from it. I found this recipe and let the tablecloth soak over night in the mixture. All the stains are gone and the white on it is now white and not yellowed!!

5 min 5 min prep

1/2 cup clorox 2 powder bleach
1/2 cup ivory liquid dishwashing soap (original formula)

1. You can make this using any amount of"ingredients", as long as the Clorox 2 Powder (it MUST be the powder) and Ivory dishwashing liquid are mixed in equal parts. If "Ivory Joy dishwashing liquid" continues to appear, be aware that this is IVORY not Joy liquid.
2. Add luke warm water to the mixture, enough to make a sudsy'bath' for your items.
3. Let the garment (s) sit covered in the water for at least one hour.
4. Check to see if the stain has disappeared.
5. If it is still there, soak until the stain is gone.

I used Ultra Ivory cause I couldn't find the original. Worked fine!

It is a very thick liquid. The label says paste. For a bathtub soaking, I use two or three tablespoons. If your linens are very stained, you may need to let them soak for several days, changing the water/soap as needed.

i did wash a lace in my front loader (but it was a quaker brand from the 60's) didn't dry it tho'..wanted to get it cleanned to see if my dds could use it...

lol..bought it back in the "hippie days"..remember when they used them for for tops? thank goodness i never cut it..they're hard to find anymore...

I soaked it in a tub of filled with Oxyclean and water. I looked at it this morning and the water was brown. I poured off that water, added clean water and more oxyclean. I just looked at it and the water is brown but not as dark as the first tub. I'm going to take it out tomorrow, spray it really good with the hose to get out as much oxyclean as possible then lay it on a sheet on the ground to dry in the sun. It is looking so much better already. I don't see any dark stains. The sun will probably brighten and whiten it more.