On Friday, 26 January 2018 12:47:56 UTC, Fredxx wrote:
On 23/01/2018 10:48, tabbypurr wrote:

I have pillowcases with unknown stains on, they look like maybe oil,
with just slight darkening, but standard washing doesn't touch them.
There's no way to find out what's on them. Any ideas as to how to
proceed? It'll be at least a day before I can rewash them.

Any good?

https://www.goodhousekeeping.co.uk/i...e-semen-stains

I don't think it's that and they don't have anything to offer that hasn't already been covered here.
I've been busy on other things, so have only washed it twice so far.
1. Cold wash, bio detergent. Fail.
2. Warm wash in bio detergent with oxi-whatsit powder. Fail.
The material is probably a cotton-synthetic blend so I don't want to boil it. The stains have no feelable bulk or stiffness, ie the cloth is just as floppy as elsewhere. They're just a uniformly noticeably darker shade.

I don't have acetone or methanol, so my best next move options a
overnight soak in detergent
apply strong detergent solution to stains an hour before washing

If those fail I'll start exploring the chemicals cupboard more, but most of my cleaning substances would likely destroy the cloth. It's red so can't be bleached. What have I got that might not kill it... ammonia, washing soda, vinegar, paraffin, assorted detergents, will see what else is there.


NT