Removing an Oil Stain from Bookcloth

[Ann]

This is a question from Jude.

Has anyone any idea if an oil stain can be removed from a cloth bound cover? My feeling is 'no' but before giving that negative response to the person who asked me, I'd just thought I'd try here. It was one of the essential oils by the way. I think he might have to rebind the book.

[Ann]

I've never had any success removing oil/grease stains from my clothes even, so I'd tend to agree with you, that it probably can't be done. If it's soaked into the cloth, then you could risk leaving a bigger mark in an attempt to remove the original one! I'd be more than happy to be proved wrong though!

[Ann]

I've just been browsing through a 1920s book of household hints and happened to come across the following suggestion for removing grease stains from cloth.

"Put a small quantity of eucalyptus oil on a piece of cotton wool and gently dab the grease spot; then lay it aside to dry, when it will be found that the spot has disappeared. If very much marked, a second application may be necessary. It leaves no mark on the material."

(I can also provide helpful hints on renovating a straw hat and cleaning doeskin gloves if required!)

[sueben]

Hello
Just a thought, using the old household cleaning tips head ... one old trick is to cover the oily stain with blotting paper or equivalent absorbent paper (kitchen towel?) and apply gentle heat such as an iron on a low setting. This apparently melts the oil which the paper soaks up. I've tried it a couple of times on clothes and had mixed results: if it's been an old oily stain it didn't work.

For info: if needing to soak up a recent oily spill the blotting paper / kitchen towel thing does work, but when there's not much oil left you could dust french chalk or talc on it which absorbs it, and brush it off after it's stood for a while. The mark will still be there but hopefully the oil won't then mark anything else it touches.

A mine of useless information, me.
Sue

[jude]

Thanks Ann and Sue for your suggestions re: removing oil stains from book cloth. In fact my client has now 'disappeared' and done their own thing. However, there'll always be another time....I remember using the hot iron and kitchen roll or blotting paper method on other materials such as cloth. I used this method whilst teaching batik many years ago. I have also just come across this item in a D & MK Packaing supplies catalogue, that i use from time to time for all sorts of things: De-Solv-It Label remover which claims to dissolve grease. oil m gum, tar, crayon and much more on carpets and hard-surfaces as well as books!