VANCOUVER -- It’s likely your holiday gathering will look a little different this year, but even with fewer people around the holiday table, it’s possible your tablecloth could end up with a few stains. Luckily, there are some tried and true ways to get out everything from candle wax to wine.

In her family, Susan Zeimet is known to be a great hostess. Before COVID-19, she happily hosted  holiday dinners for her extended family.

“I think the biggest Thanksgiving gathering we ever had would have been about 35 people,” she says.

But spills during those big holiday dinners can take a toll on the tablecloth.

“It’s a little hard to stop and remove them, so I sort of hope that we can them out later,” Zeimet says.

Luckily, the stain mavens at Consumer Reports have done the research on how to get out buttery sauces, sticky desserts and wine spills.

For spilled gravy or cranberry sauce, use a spoon or some kind of scraper to pick up any on the tablecloth. Then spray the fabric thoroughly with a good stain remover, like Resolve. Wash the item, but make sure the stain is gone before you throw it in the dryer.

“The heat of a dryer can set the stain forever,” says Sara Morrow, Consumer Reports’ home editor. “So if after washing you still see the gravy, dab it with three per cent hydrogen peroxide and line-dry the item in the sun. The sun can actually bleach the remainder out.”

For red wine, blot it up as soon as possible. Mix liquid dish detergent into warm water and work the soap into the stain. Then apply hydrogen peroxide liberally and set the fabric in the sun for several hours.

And red wine isn’t the only culprit. The sugars in white wine will cause an ugly brown stain over time. To get it out, blot up the liquid and then blot it again with liquid detergent and warm water. Then blot one more time with a dry towel.

“Another stain that responds to that detergent and warm water mixture is chocolate,” Morrow says. “If it’s on your tablecloth or napkins, blot it so you can get out as much of it as you can. Then put them in the soak cycle of your washing machine before laundering.”

When the party’s over, you might have candle wax on the tablecloth to deal with. Scrape off as much of it as you can and then sandwich the spot between two pieces of brown paper. Press the area with a warm iron and the paper will soak up the wax.

With files from Consumer Reports