How to Remove Oily Stains

There are so many great conversations on the Hotline -- it's hard to choose a favorite. But we'll be doing it, once a week, to spread the wealth of our community's knowledge -- and to keep the conversation going.

Today: There's a simple solution to an oil slick on your favorite napkin -- no clean-up crew required (but Dawn still comes in handy).

We're no strangers to stains. We frequently battle beet stains on our cutting boards, and even though we eat pomegranates the un-messy way, we still get berry stains on our linens. Truth be told, not very many of us are fans of cleaning up -- unless we have pretty new tools to distract us -- but stains happen, and need to be dealt with.

This week, twinjadojo was battling bagna cauda stains on cloth napkins, and asked the community to share reliable methods for removing oily stains from table linens: 

Treat
Fancy potions need not apply. 

• Follow creamtea's simple steps: "Sprinkle powder on the stain (flour, baking soda, or baby powder). Tap it into the stain and let it sit to absorb. Brush off the excess, then apply Dawn dishwashing liquid directly to the stain and dab (don't rub) that in. Launder in the warmest water allowable for the particular fiber that your linens are made of. Repeat the process if any of the stain is left after the first try."
• Another option for the powder you sprinkle on can be cornstarch, adds Pegeen.
• For an alternate strategy, boulangere suggests rubbing the stain with white chalk.

Prevent
The only thing better than successfully cleaning a stain: not getting a stain in the first place.

• Nataliesztern swears by Scotchguard -- she sprays it on all of her new linens (tablecloths, napkins, and clothes too).
• If you go this route, head Pegeen's word of caution: "Just a note that not all fabrics are Scotchguard safe. It may cause some dyes to bleed. The can of Scotchguard will caution you to test a small sample of the fabric in an inconspicuous spot to be sure."

How do you get rid of oily stains? Tell us in the comments!