How to Get Marinara Sauce Out of a Table Cloth

Spilled marinara sauce on the tablecloth creates a red, greasy stain.

Marinara sauce is a type of red sauce used for pasta and meat dishes. It's a healthy alternative to cream-laden white sauces and the combination of vegetables and seasonings dazzle the tongue. As spaghetti is lifted from serving bowl to plate or plate to mouth, spills and splatters easily occur on a tablecloth. Left unattended, this red, grease-based stain spreads further into the fabric fibers, eventually becoming a permanent stain. Treat both the color and oil portions of the marinara sauce stain for successful removal.

Things You'll Need

• Paper towel
• Ammonia-based window cleaner
• Cloth
• Bucket
• 3 cups white vinegar
• Aerosol prewash stain remover
• Laundry detergent
• All-fabric bleach

Instructions

1. Blot up excess marinara sauce with paper towels. Carefully sponge the sauce to prevent spreading it further.

2. 

   Ammonia in window cleaner helps remove red marinara sauce stains.

   Saturate the marinara stain on the tablecloth with clear ammonia-based window cleaner. Allow the solution to sit on the tablecloth for 10 minutes to loosen and remove the color portion of the sauce stain. Dab at the area with a clean cloth to lift the window cleaner and red stain.

3. Place the tablecloth in a bucket and pour 3 cups white vinegar and 1 cup water over the fabric. Double the ingredients for a larger tablecloth. Allow the fabric to soak for 30 to 60 minutes to loosen the stain.

4. Remove the tablecloth from the vinegar solution and rinse the stained area. Wring out excess moisture. Spray the remaining marinara sauce stain with aerosol prewash stain remover to tackle the grease residue from the stain; leave the stain remover on the fabric for 10 minutes.

5. 

   Prompt laundering helps remove marinara from your tablecloth.

   Launder the tablecloth with detergent and all-fabric bleach to remove any last traces of sauce stain. Before drying the tablecloth, ensure the entire stain is gone so heat from the dryer doesn't set the stain.

Tips & Warnings

• Treat marinara stains left after washing by rubbing laundry detergent into the stain before soaking in warm water for half an hour. Wash in the machine again to remove the stain.

• Add 1 to 2 cups white vinegar to the wash cycle to boost stain-removing power.

• A few drops of grease-cutting dishwashing detergent can be used in place of aerosol stain remover to cut grease from the marinara sauce.

References

• University of Illinois Extension: Stain Solutions: Tomato-based Products: Fabric
• Good Housekeeping: Stain Buster: Tomato Stain: Fabric
• Reader's Digest: Homemade Stain Removal Solutions: Vinegar, Window Cleaner
• Consumer: Stain Removal A-Z Guide: Tomato Sauce