but might get dragged into political intrigues instead you can tell quite a bit about someone from seeing their dirty bed sheets in underclothes like if they'd had overnight guests if they'd gotten their period or if they had not gotten their period for several months for some very high ranking people that was literally a matter of national security and it would not shock me if this is how the phrase dirty laundry got its significance okay so what about everything other than linen wool doesn't like soap or hot water and the lavish silks worn by the upper classes like them even less the occasional cold water rinse won't hurt most wool clothes so that's definitely a possibility dyes weren't just color fast though so while wool fibers might tolerate a gentle rinse in cold water that could fade the color and make the garment look cheaper since strong colors cost more to die what we do have evidence for was all kinds of spot cleaning methods many books that give cleaning recipes say things like wet the spot with it diverse times or wash your spots there with rather than saying to wash the whole garment there's a late NUMBER_TOKENth century book on housework known as the good wife's guide narrated to a possibly fictional NUMBER_TOKEN year old bride from her possibly equally fictional much older husband expecting that she'll marry again after he dies and wanting her to have essentially a successful career as a full-time spouse and homemaker while this guy doesn't go into anything as pedestrian as washing linens it does talk about caring for fine garments and how to spot clean woolen silk verdus a highly acidic liquid made from the juice of underripe grapes or other sour fruit is a common stain treatment the book's author known only as lemenagia de perry says that on rich silk fabrics soak and wash the stain in virtues and it will go away this method was effective enough that he then advises to always have verge juice on hand for it is useful for removing spots from dresses and bringing back their color fresh or old it is always reliable lye solutions are also common often made from specific types of ashes the nuremberg kunstbook recommends them specifically for green clothes and the good wife's guide says to soak ashes or chick feathers in lye and rub stains with them for extra kick the lye solution could be made using lime which is intensely alkaline and has a different chemical composition the soap work plant which is much gentler was also used for cleaning garments that couldn't handle harsh laundering a profitable book says that scarlet or velvet of whatever color or sort so ever it be can be spot cleaned with the juice of soap art not changing the colors at the time scarlet meant a kind of high quality wool cloth not a color absorbent ingredients like fuller's earth clay and powdered bone are all recommended for removing oil or grease stains this would be a great way to remove some of the grease without having to dissolve it with harsh lye or soap these recipes say either to make a paste with water to rub on the stains or to mix them with soap as a spot treatment the only place where the system of wearing washable linen next to the body and only spot cleaning other clothes breaks down is socks hoes in medieval europe were usually sewn from woven wool cloth rather than being knitted if you washed your hose like linens they'd felt up and be
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