To remove a water ring, rub the cloth between the hands; then scratch with the fingernail.
If a ring has formed, remove it either by sponging the material with clean water or by shaking it in the steam from a briskly boiling teakettle. Scratching with the fingernail or a stiff brush or rubbing the cloth between the hands will sometimes remove a ring.
Other solvents
If a stain seems to be greasy, try a grease solvent, such as carbon tetrachloride, Stoddard solvent, gasoline, benzene, turpentine, ether, acetone, or alcohol. Most of these do not change the color of fabrics, but ether, acetone, and alcohol are apt to. So use them carefully on colored materials; always mix alcohol with 2 parts water. Either sponge the stain with the solvent or dip into a bowl of the liquid.
To sponge a grease spot, lay the stained material, wrong side up, on a pad of soft cloth. Apply the remover to the back of the cloth, so that the stain is washed from the material without having to pass through it. Sponge with a clean, soft, lintless cloth. Dip the cloth in the liquid and wring out most of the moisture. Sponge with light, brushing motions, working from the outside of the spot to the center. Work rapidly and use the solvent sparingly. It is better to apply the solvent several times quickly than to apply it once and leave it on for a long time.
Sponge a greasy stain with carbon tetrachloride, gasoline, or benzene. Lay the stain face down on a pad of cloth.
Use light brushing motions, working from the outside of spot to the center. Change the pad as it becomes soiled.
