LJ hivemind - I need advice on cleaning old linen with stains

[dame_cordelia]

My seester and I have been going through a huge pile of table linens that Mom wouldn't let us have when she was alive, and quite a few have stains of various kinds.

I know that ordinary detergent is as likely as not to make the stains permanent. Is there a laundry product out there that will help old linens get cleaned up?