The Great 19th Century Stain Remover Review: BUTTER

What is it with the McKinnis'
and table linens?

Yes you did read that correctly. In one of my 19th century books on housewifery, don't ask me which one, I discovered that butter can be used to remove fruit stains. I have been so eager to try this out but in my 21st century life I rarely have the opportunity. As someone who portrays an 1860's laundress this bothered me. So you can imagine my utter delight when one of the McKinnis's six children decided to eat cherries and instead of putting the seeds into the compost they chose instead to spit them into their mother's table napkins. After they wadded it up they stashed it deep into the wash pile. There it sat for several hours before their dear Aunt Katherine, portrayed by none other then me, came a crossed it. You can tell by the look on my face how thrilled I was to make this discovery.  I tossed out the seeds and  I spread butter on to the stain with a butter knife. I probably put a good two or three coats of butter on the stain before leaving it to sit for three hours. The directions did not clarify a certain amount of time but it would not surprise me if it was meant to sit longer then three hours.  After some time the stain looked like it had gotten lighter. When the program was over I took the stained napkin home and washed it. I was not to happy with the results and wondered if I had done something wrong.  Later on when I had the time I did a little more research. That after the stain is treated it is important to soak it over night in a mixture of ammonia and borax or sal soda. Oh double drat!                    

After the butter but before the washing
I should probably mention that the butter I used was from the store since I do not have access to a dairy cow on site. I think the results might have been better if I would have used butter made from raw milk. However the great state of Ohio has strict rules about raw milk and it's hard to legally get your hands on the white stuff. It is my hope to try this all again with raw milk products though I might have to join a milk co-op  or buy my own cow. Next time I do this I plan letting it sit in ammonia and borax over night and seeing what the results will be after I wash it. I'm looking forward to a repeat of the fruit stain experiment. When I do this again I plan on using butter made from raw milk and see if there is a difference. I think there will be a major difference between pasteurized and unpasteurized milk in both the ink and fruit stain experiments. Of course the addition of ammonia won't hurt the results either. Expect to see a repeat of this experiment.                   

After a washing. Not to impressive