Dish towels

[Ame]

I have a set of seven Days-of-the-Week dish towels, white with brightly
colored embroidery.

My husband made the mistake of drying a stainless steel pan with one of
them. The bottoms of these pans are always black - I think it's tarnish or
soot of some sort. I use a paper towel when I wipe them.

Anyway, so now Tuesday's towel is horribly stained with black streaks. I
used Spray'n'Wash and it got it to an acceptable gray level. Bleaching and
sunshine didn't do anything, although the white part of the towel is now
super-white.

Does anyone know of a better product or technique for the next time he does
this? =)

Thanks!
Amy

[Phisherman]

On Wed, 6 Aug 2003 08:47:12 -0500, "Ame" <yahsure@likerightsure.com>
wrote:

>I have a set of seven Days-of-the-Week dish towels, white with brightly
>colored embroidery.
>
>My husband made the mistake of drying a stainless steel pan with one of
>them. The bottoms of these pans are always black - I think it's tarnish or
>soot of some sort. I use a paper towel when I wipe them.
>
>Anyway, so now Tuesday's towel is horribly stained with black streaks. I
>used Spray'n'Wash and it got it to an acceptable gray level. Bleaching and
>sunshine didn't do anything, although the white part of the towel is now
>super-white.
>
>Does anyone know of a better product or technique for the next time he does
>this? =)
>
>Thanks!
>Amy
>

I would pre-soak the towel in a detergent with a booster such as
Clorox II. Since trhe stain came from metal, diluted CLR or powered
Zud cleanser may work. I have over 100 light-colored kitchen towels
-- most of them are stained, scorched, and frayed, but all are very
clean. The towels were a gift from my sister who made them from a
roll of commercial toweling. They outlast anything store bought. (I
don't recall stainless steel staining fabric.)

[Dorot29701]

Oxy Clean works for me but you will have to use really hot water - then soak it
overnight.

Dorothy

[Lloyd Randall]

In article <vj21lt2dg5pd3b@corp.supernews.com>,
"Ame" <yahsure@likerightsure.com> wrote:

> I have a set of seven Days-of-the-Week dish towels, white with brightly
> colored embroidery.
>
> My husband made the mistake of drying a stainless steel pan with one of
> them. The bottoms of these pans are always black - I think it's tarnish or
> soot of some sort. I use a paper towel when I wipe them.
>
> Anyway, so now Tuesday's towel is horribly stained with black streaks. I
> used Spray'n'Wash and it got it to an acceptable gray level. Bleaching and
> sunshine didn't do anything, although the white part of the towel is now
> super-white.
>
> Does anyone know of a better product or technique for the next time he does
> this? =)
>
> Thanks!
> Amy
>
>

If it's tarnish, it's a metal compound. Soaking in vinegar and water
might help, but I don't know.

If it's some sort of soot, the color comes from carbon. For centuries,
people cooked and heated with wood and coal. If only we knew now what
they knew then about washing soot out of laundry! I'll bet Dawn and
DrClean know. I'll bet they're laughing at us!

In general, they washed with strong alkalines and boiling water in the
days when they were dealing with lots of soot.

Alkaline bar soaps like Fels Naptha and Octagon might be good for
scrubbing the stains with a brush.

For boiling or machine washing, I think powdered detergents tend to be
more alkaline than liquids. (I like Tide but don't know if it's the
best.) Dorothy say OxiClean worked. I think that's because OxiClean
contains washing sodaa, and washing soda is cheaper. Trisodium
phosphate (TSP) is stronger. It's sold in paint and hardware stores.

If you boil your towel, don't use an aluminum pan. Alkalines corrode
aluminum.

--
Best Regards,
Lloyd

[DrClean]

"Lloyd Randall" <broth@eels.net> wrote in message
news:broth-14DEE4.14525906082003@corp-radius.supernews.com...
> In article <vj21lt2dg5pd3b@corp.supernews.com>,
> "Ame" <yahsure@likerightsure.com> wrote:
>
> If it's tarnish, it's a metal compound. Soaking in vinegar and water
> might help, but I don't know.
>
> If it's some sort of soot, the color comes from carbon. For centuries,
> people cooked and heated with wood and coal. If only we knew now what
> they knew then about washing soot out of laundry! I'll bet Dawn and
> DrClean know. I'll bet they're laughing at us!

I never laugh at anyone here (unless they're trying to be too serious).

> In general, they washed with strong alkalines and boiling water in the
> days when they were dealing with lots of soot.
>
> Alkaline bar soaps like Fels Naptha and Octagon might be good for
> scrubbing the stains with a brush.

I was thinking alkaline too as it's likely to be something burnt or
something metal, so I think both your suggestions are great. IN the UK I
would use household ammonia, which is readily available in any supermarket
or hardware store.

If I see good suggestions I rarely come in and add something - the person
has the help they need.

Other than what's been suggested I'd try with something like methylated
spirits and white spirit just to see if it's a solvent style stain such as
dirty grease. However, I would just try a spot of solvent to see if the
stain starts to shift - otherwise the cloth will retain the odour for a
while. Also, how much time does one want to spend on a dish cloth??
--
DrClean
www.DrClean.co.uk
The Best Fabric Cleaning Resource on the Web

[Dawn]

On Thu, 7 Aug 2003 08:40:46 +0100, "DrClean" <Admin@DrClean.co.uk>
>I was thinking alkaline too as it's likely to be something burnt or
>something metal, so I think both your suggestions are great. IN the UK I
>would use household ammonia, which is readily available in any supermarket
>or hardware store.
I wonder where in the UK you are?
I tried to buy ammonia a while back and had a hell of a job, none of
the big stores stocked it or any of my small locals but I eventually
got some in a small chemist down town. It was very strong and I found
the fumes unbearable.
>. Also, how much time does one want to spend on a dish cloth??
Are we talking dish cloths or tea towels here?

[DrClean]

"Dawn" <dawn@noyoudont.uk> wrote in message
news:m7j4jvs0s7n4ngs6l0ovncqetuoa638bqa@4ax.com...
> On Thu, 7 Aug 2003 08:40:46 +0100, "DrClean" <Admin@DrClean.co.uk>
> >I was thinking alkaline too as it's likely to be something burnt or
> >something metal, so I think both your suggestions are great. IN the UK I
> >would use household ammonia, which is readily available in any
supermarket
> >or hardware store.
> I wonder where in the UK you are?
> I tried to buy ammonia a while back and had a hell of a job, none of
> the big stores stocked it or any of my small locals but I eventually
> got some in a small chemist down town. It was very strong and I found
> the fumes unbearable.
> >. Also, how much time does one want to spend on a dish cloth??
> Are we talking dish cloths or tea towels here?
>
>
Jeyes household ammonia is available from all the hardware stores I visit
and most of the supermarkets. It will be in the general cleaning section not
the detergent section. I'm north London - just north of Harrow but before
Watford.
--
DrClean
www.DrClean.co.uk
The Best Fabric Cleaning Resource on the Web

[Lloyd Randall]

In article <klj4jvcfmijed157et0l3mbggaqcckg3cc@4ax.com>,
Dawn <dawn@noyoudont.uk> wrote:


> I find once a dish cloth gets that grey dull look it never goes back
> to the original white even though it comes clean and looks ok when I
> hold it to a new one there's a difference. Tea towels maybe with a
> good soak and scrub but usually I demote to another job, windows or
> car or some such.
>
>
I have a white dishwashing cloth that gets gray and smelly. I put it in
a jar of water to which I have added a tsp of 6% hypochlorite (American
bleach) and a tsp of baking soda (bicarbonate). Bright again in minutes.

--
Best Regards,
Lloyd