When it’s time to celebrate the holidays and special occasions, we love to set the dining table with our best dishes, tablecloths, and napkins. But once the meal ends, it’s hard to determine if you can you put your food and wine-stained linens in the washing machine.
Turns out, most tablecloths and napkins are machine-washable. Follow our step-by-step guide on how to remove stains and keep your tablecloth and napkins looking great for the next celebration.
Can You Put Tablecloths and Napkins in the Washing Machine?
Most tablecloths and cloth napkins are machine washable with your regular laundry detergent. Newer table linens have a care tag with instructions for washing and drying. If the tag is missing, separate the pieces by color and wash them using cold water and the permanent press cycle. Tumble dry on a low heat setting to reduce wrinkling.
Vintage or delicate heirloom linens can also be machine-washed. Use the gentle cycle and place lace tablecloths in a mesh delicates bag to prevent snags and tears. When the cycle is complete, remove the cloth from the mesh bag and air dry vintage pieces on a drying rack.
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How to Wash Tablecloths and Napkins the Right Way
The secrets to great-looking table linens are pretreating stains as quickly as possible and sorting the fabrics by color: Don’t wash red napkins with a white tablecloth.
- Pretreat stains. Always check table linens for stains before washing. Try to remove the stain according to what type it is. If you aren’t sure what caused the stain, start by placing a dab of an enzyme-based stain remover or a bit of heavy-duty laundry detergent onto the stain. Use your fingers or an old toothbrush to work in the cleaner. Set aside the fabric to sit for at least 15 minutes so the enzymes can begin breaking apart the stain before you toss it in the washer.
- Select the washer settings. Wash tablecloths and napkins, especially those made from synthetic fabrics, using the permanent press cycle. This cycle has a cool-down feature that helps reduce wrinkling. You can clean most table linen fabrics in either cold or warm water.
- Check the fabric. Before placing the linens in an automatic dryer, inspect them to make sure all of the stains have been removed. If not, treat stained areas again and rewash the items. Placing a stained cloth in the dryer may set the stain permanently.
- Dry the tablecloth and napkins. Give the tablecloth a good shake as you remove it from the washer to help release wrinkles. Most fabrics should be dried on low to medium heat, or run through the permanent press cycle.
Ironing Tablecloths and Napkins
Your tablecloth and napkins can be wrinkle-free by using a steam iron and a well-padded ironing board. To prevent excessive wrinkling when ironing a large tablecloth, place the ironing board near a table so you can put finished sections of the cloth over the table rather than letting it pile up under the ironing board.
Start ironing on the cloth’s underside first, pushing the cloth section by section over the board as you iron. Turn the fabric over, and finish by pressing on the upside of the cloth to bring out the sheen for light-colored linens. For dark-colored cloths, iron on the underside only.
If you like to fold napkins into fancy shapes, use starch and a hot iron setting to get the crispness you need. Many napkins have monograms or embroidery: To keep the stitched monograms looking crisp and smooth, iron with the design face down against a thick, white terry cloth towel. The soft texture will prevent the monogram from being flattened. After ironing the monogrammed part, finish by pressing the rest of napkin.
4 Additional Tips for Cleaning Table Linens
- Be sure linens are clean and dry before storing them flat or hanging them over a padded hanger in a cool, dry, well-ventilated area.
- You can prevent wrinkles by wrapping the linens around an acid-free cardboard tube. Secure with soft, cotton ties.
- If you have a white cotton, linen, or synthetic piece that’s yellowed, brighten it with a solution of warm water and oxygen bleach powder. Follow the product directions and mix the powder with warm water in a large sink or tub. Submerge the cloth and allow it to soak overnight. Then wash as usual.
- To help remove wrinkles from folding, toss the tablecloth in a dryer and add a damp towel. Tumble on medium heat for 10 minutes and immediately spread the tablecloth over the table so the fabric can relax.
