Last Updated on March 20, 2024
Hey friends! This is going to be a short post. I just wanted to share my excitement at figuring out an easy way to remove brown spots on vintage white sheer curtains using one ingredient – OxiClean.
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Backstory
I inherited my Nana’s white sheer curtains over 25 years ago after my grandparents passed away and the contents of their house divided up. They are a mid-century polyester with embroidered flowers. Not exactly Antique Roadshow valuable, but they are valuable to me.
It’s funny, I remember not sharing the same interior design taste as my Nana. In fact we had quite the opposite tastes. She loved frilly and feminine in peach and turquoise colors. Me? Not so much.
But there is something about these embroidered white sheers that I just love. And I love sheers living in an old streetcar suburb where the houses are close together. They provide the perfect amount of privacy while still allowing natural light inside.
According to Design Sponge (website no longer active), around 1850s lace curtains (which turned into “net” or “sheer” curtains) came into popularity because they “maintain[ed] privacy as towns and houses grew increasingly dense, with homes being developed closer together..”
I have 4 panels which are perfect for 2 windows. These sheers have hung in a bedroom in my apartment or house for almost 20 years.
Unfortunately, there have been brown spots on the bottom half of one of the panels ever since I inherited these vintage white sheers (which is weird since Nana was a huge fan of clean homes). So over the years either I’ve hid that panel behind some furniture or, quite frankly, just ignored it.
I was too scared to try anything stronger than Woolite to wash these vintage sheers (and the brown spots always remained).
But this spring (when I usually wash all my curtains), these mystery brown spots just hit a nerve.
So I decided it was time to remove these spots. I knew there was a risk to ruin them, but I was prepared to face the consequences.
Nana would completely understand if I ruined her curtains trying to get them whiter and cleaner.
Disclaimer
Vintage white sheer curtains run the gamut in material, and ability to hold up in the wash. Please please PLEASE test this method out first on a small portion of your sheers!!! I don’t want you to ruin your curtains if this method doesn’t work..
Remove Brown Spots on Vintage White Sheer Curtains
I found a ton of different ways online to remove brown spots from fabrics, including using white vinegar, baking soda, hydrogen peroxide or even lemon juice. But I ultimately decided to use OxiClean.
Why? It’s what I had lying around the house. Usually, I’m a fan of cleaning with baking soda, I didn’t have much baking soda left and I didn’t feel like running to the grocery store.
And honestly, I didn’t expect that the first method I tried to clean my sheer curtains. No idea that OxiClean would work so quickly and completely! I anticipated trying several different methods before I finally succeeding in removing the brown spots on vintage white sheer curtains.
Clean Vintage White Sheer Curtains With OxiClean
So here’s what I did:
After adding my curtain, I filled the washer with lukewarm water and added about 1/4 cup of OxiClean powder (I didn’t use the tabs). I swished the water and laundry soap together with my hands to ensure that the OxiClean had completely dissolved and work up a lather.
If your sheers are extremely delicate, you might want to forego the washer to avoid the damage and hand wash in a bucket. The thought crossed y mind, but in all honestly, I didn’t have a bucket big (or clean) enough.
(FYI – I soaked all of my panels, even though only one has brown spots. Just in case the OxiClean turned the panels a weird hue, I wanted all of them to match….)
My advice? Soak the fabric for about 1-2 hours, then check stains. If spots remain on your white sheers, leave it to soak for a few more house, and even overnight. Some stains are slow to remove.
The brown spots on my vintage white sheer curtains were completely gone in about 2 hours. I honestly didn’t expect it to work that fast!
After soaking, I drained the OxiClean and water from the washing machine. Then I ran a gentle cycle on my machine wash using a mild laundry detergent (aka Woolite) and cold water.
My sheers are a thin polyester fabric and shed water fairly easily so they don’t need to go into the dryer. I hung them right back up on the curtain rod in the guest room, letting them air dry.
If you handwash, be sure to rinse your sheers a few ties to remove excess detergent. Then gently squeeze excess water and wrap the items in clean bath towels to absorb the remaining liquid before hanging.
Here’s my sheer curtains after cleaning…. a close-up
Here’s a comparison of Before and After….
And honestly, they look amazing! Not only are the mystery brown spots gone, but the slight yellow-ish tinge is gone to reveal beautiful clean white sheers! My cleaned vintage white sheers are SO bright I need some sunglasses! ?
Here’s two shots after I hung them up – one with tiebacks that I like to use. Admittedly not the best quality (I struggled with the lighting), but you get the gist.
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