Sometimes you pull a shirt or towel out of the drawer and there are blotchy rust spots on it. Where did those come from? If you have hard water in your house and use bleach, the bleach’s chlorine can leach iron out of the water, which can create brown spots. Rusty pipes could also be at the root of the problem. Or a metal hanger, or the metal attachments on a belt or clothespin, can leave rust stains on your clothes that make them look ruined. They’re not! Here’s what to do to get rid of the rust: For most colored and nondelicate fabrics, make a paste using equal amounts of table salt and cream of tartar (a powder available in the spice or baking aisles in supermarkets) mixed with hot water.
Work the paste into the rust stains, and let it sit for 15 minutes. Then launder as usual. For delicate fabrics—such as silk, satin, lace or organdy—proceed with caution…test the paste on an inside seam to be sure.
On nondelicate white clothing, sheets or towels, douse the rust spot with lemon juice and leave it in the sun for a few hours. Then launder as usual. Lemon juice should be OK on your delicates, but test an inside seam just to be sure.
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