No other day of the year brings such a large gathering of people to the same table. Not even any of the holiday celebrations in December compares to the sheer amount of food that sits on a Thanksgiving day table. After the last plate is removed and the platter of loose turkey meat pulled from the decorative silver platter, the time has come to assess the damage done to the linens adorning the table and the clothes worn on our backs. You need to know how to remove Thanksgiving mean stains.

A business that provides residential laundry services can help you restore your linens and clothing to their original pristine conditions. However, there are a few things you can do to wipe Thanksgiving stains from your memory. The key is to cater your cleaning strategy to each of the three most common types of stains left behind after a Thanksgiving day meal.

Gravy

Gravy leaves behind its presence just about everywhere. It splashes on a tie, drips on silk linen, and dribbles onto the carpet. The most common stain left behind after a Thanksgiving day meal requires some quick thinking to avoid permanently diminishing the quality of a fabric.

First, scrape off the excess gravy and then rub a few drops of liquid dishwasher detergent into the stain. Rinse the stain under cool water for about a minute before soaking it in an enzyme-based detergent for around 15 minutes. Wash the fabric in the hottest water possible, which should be accomplished under the hot wash cycle of your residential washer. A commercial washing service for laundry can provide you with the right equipment to get the job done right. Dry the fabric only if you have eliminated the gravy stain.

Cranberry Sauce

Serving cranberry sauce with turkey is the perfect culinary combination, but cranberry sauce and a fabric simply do not mix well. Cranberry sauce not only bleeds quickly on most fabrics, but it also leaves behind a permanent reminder of what you ate on Thanksgiving because it settles firmly on every type of fabric, from 100 percent cotton to a cotton-polyester blend.

Flush a cranberry sauce stain with cool running water for up to five minutes. Blend a liquid solution of 1 quart of water, 1 tablespoon of white vinegar, and a half teaspoon of liquid laundry detergent. Once again, flush the stain with cool running water this time for about 60 seconds. If the stain remains, gently rub into the fabric a few drops of rubbing alcohol and then flush the stain.

If the cranberry sauce stain persists on leaving a mark, take the fabric in for dry cleaning to get rid of the eyesore.

Red Wine

Red wine at Thanksgiving might not pair well with turkey, but it does pair well with many of the other foods consumed during a Thanksgiving day meal. Whatever you serve it with, spilling red wine requires a fast reaction to prevent permanent damage to a piece of fabric.

Soak the stain in cool running water for about 30 seconds and treat the stain with a laundry stain remover. Let the fabric sit for 15 minutes before machine washing it with color-safe bleach under the right type of cycle. If the red wine stain remains, take the fabric into Laundry Care Express for immediate and effective stain removal service.

Residential Laundry Services — San Jose & Santa Cruz

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