Washing tips

Setting the table

Always place a good table protector underneath your tablecloth. Not only will it protect your table, it will also make the damask seem richer and fuller. The protector also absorbs the rattling of glasses and cutlery, making good conversation possible. Guests will also linger for longer at a table laid with a damask tablecloth with table protector.
It also prevents your tablecloth from being pulled off the table by accident, as the protector’s anti-slip layer holds it in place. That means less chance that a glass is knocked over, and fewer stains in your damask tablecloth.
We supply the best quality protector, made of natural rubber and cotton, available in widths of 125 and 150 cm (at € 31.50 and € 34.50 per metre).
Order your table protector in the webshop and we will send it to you.

Remove small stains after every meal with a moist cloth and a little bit of washing-up liquid. Let it dry and see if the stains have disappeared.
Help!!!! A glass of red wine over my table linen!!!
Reassure your guests by saying ‘No problem!’, then go to the kitchen to get a clean cloth, moisten it. Use the cloth to dab the stain. Make sure to keep the stain wet all through dinner, so that the wine stain can’t get through to every fibre of the material. Wash the table linen or continue to keep it wet after the meal.
A lot of red stains, such as red fruit or beetroot, disappear like snow in the sun if you pour boiling water over them. You will see the stain disappear within a minute. That is because the fibre is ‘shocked’ into releasing the stain.
By the way, most stains can be prevented by serving the food on plates.

Are there old brown stains in your linen damask? Read my blog on how to deal with old stains, or let me sing the stains out!

Wash your linen damask in the washing machine on the hottest cycle that you need. The higher the temperature, the better the stains will be removed. Coloured linen can be washed up to 60°, and white and ecru linen up to 95°. Use a colour detergent for off-white linen. Spin at a maximum speed of 700 rpm to prevent deep creases that will be difficult to iron out.

NEVER put pure linen damask in the tumble dryer – it will become limp and lifeless.
Fold it as neatly as you can after washing and place it flat on top of the washing machine or tumble dryer, smooth it with your hands and leave it there for a few hours. This will save you more than half of the ironing or mangling work. In bygone centuries, this was called ‘sticking the linen’.
Neatly hang up the linen without using pegs on a hard, round washing line, such as a drying rack or a stair banister, partly folding the linen. NEVER use pegs to hang the linen on a loose washing line, because it will take a lot of work to iron out the lifeless shape.

You can give linen damask a lovely sheen by ironing it while it is still damp, preferably with a steam iron on the linen setting. The right moisture level really is important. Mindful ironing is actually very relaxing. If the linen is too dry, you can dampen it using a plant spray and roll it up for an hour so that the moisture spreads evenly though the fabric.

A good laundry for new and antique linen damask is De Ambassade, Loosduinseweg 373 C-D, 2571 AE The Hague, The Netherlands Tel. +31 (0)70 345 8063 or 06 2427 5875 or email Rolf Pieterse at info@ambassade-textielreiniging.nl. If you do not live near The Hague, you can send your damask linen and they will return it by post. Mention that you are a client of Sanny and they will treat your damask with extra care, although it has to be said that they now recognize a ‘Sanny’.