Posted on 03/26/2010 9:35:35 AM PDT by SMARTY
I have to get my favorite quilt cleaned and I don't want it to go to the dry cleaners. They never really get things clean.
Can I put it in the washing machine?
1) The batting (filling) has a lot to do with how it will come through. If you know, you can figure out the next important question.
2) Is the quilt made of washable materials like cotton, polyester, WASHABLE silk — not acrylics or wool or delicate silk.
3) Wash on gentle cycle in cold water, pre-treat spots if you can test a spot in an inconspicuous spot with stain removers.
4) Use Cold Water Woolite or Woolite for dark colors if the quilt is dark. If you feel you really need to disinfect you can add a 1/4 cup of baking soda to the wash cycle or put the quilt in a large plastic bag and leave it in the freezer for a week. It will kill any and all dust mites and bacteria commonly found in bedding.
5) Drying is where things shrink. Use the timed cycle on Fluff Dry OR since Further Evidence of Global Warming is upon us — line dry it.
No chlorine bleach — non-chlorine if you feel you just — I use baking soda.
I did that once, not knowing what to do for the same problem as you. Tore my quilt, the one my grandmother made me.
So that’s a no. If it’s stain, spot treat it. If it’s odor, let it spend the day out in the sun on a clothes line (or across a swing set like I do now) and the sun with sanitize it. We did this after a fire that didn’t burn my quilts, but just had the smoke smell to them. After a day of sun, they were just fine.
The pulling back and forth of the center arm can tear the fabric. Especially if it’s a hand made one with real thread and not polyester thread as modern comforters are made with.
Don’t dry it in the dryer but you can put it in for a few mintues to fluff it after it’s dry. You just don’t want to dry it while wet for fear some of the pieces will shrink while others might not.
My mother in law made a beautiful Noah’s ark quilt for my son when he was a toddler. I thought it was too precious to use, so I bought a quilt hanging rack and put it on the wall. When she came to visit and saw it, she was furious that my son wasn’t using it, so on the bed it went. She is gone now, so I put it back on the rack, because it is really too precious now.
NO do not use Woolight on quilts! It is one of the worst detergents for fading colors and has ruined many a quilt! I quilt a lot anbd have antique quilts I’ve cared for for years. You are much better off using liquid Ivory dishsoap in cold water. Woolight is awful stuff that after seeing how much it fades colros I quit using.
I have quilts that I make to use, and quilts that I make that are heirloom. All the wedding quilts are not meant to be used, just admired. The baby quilts are to be used. The ones to be used are made with cotton/poly and can be machine washed. The recipients know which ones they get.
I didn’t think of that. I will have to wait for better weather so get it dry most of the way first.
What.. you mean you would not let me do the laundry?
oh... darn
What.. you mean you would not let me do the laundry?
oh... darn
I have this other theory that shoe polish makes a great carpet cleaner... does that mean you wont let me vaccuum either?
I know... i dont understand the question! and dont be stingy with the bleach- it’s relatively cheap
I was going to recommend dishwashing liquid (as I have heard it is gentler on clothes than laundry detergent — even Woolite) but I hadn’t heard there were problems with Woolite. Thanks for the heads up. (I actually thought everyone would go nutz if I suggested dishwashing liquid, so I didn’t say anything. I have run out of laundry soap and have used dishwashing liquid in the past myself with no ill effects).
No, sweetheart, you just put your feet up and relax. I’ll take care of it. I wouldn’t want you to throw your back out with the vacuum. How about a nice glass of sweet tea and a couple of Thin Mint cookies. The Girl Scouts just dropped off a couple of boxes.
This is what it depends on:
How old is the quilt?
What fabrics is the quilt top made out of?
Were they prewashed before making the quilt?
I wash some of my quilts, maybe once or twice a year, they are all cotton, machine sewn and they handle it well. I washed a quilt my stepmom made for me, and although it handled the washing just fine, it bled like mad, because she didn’t wash the red fabric before she washed it.
If I were really worried, I’d get some Drycleaner’s Secret and just dry clean it in my dryer.
But old and delicate quilts probably need a specialist’s touch.
I offered what smarts I have...
I’d have never thought a thing about it as a quilter myself. The reason for Ivory is that it is an old fashioned soap and not a chemical one like some of the others are and it is much more gentle to fabric colors especially reds that do tend to bleed badly.
Gentle or hand wash cycle, mildest soap you can find like Woolite or the Dreft for baby clotes, pre-treat spots with a Q tip and favorite spot remover Zout, Shout, etc.
Wash it by itself. USE a dye catcher...get them at Walmart or grocery store. Couple styles available. Some are like a wash clothe (carbona) or others like dryer sheets, and can be used several times regardless of type.
LOW air dry.
NOW if it is an HEIRLOOM quilt, hand wash in the bath tub. But be sure to use the dye catcher!
Wow I don’t want you doing my laundry. Your advice is totally wrong.
COLD WATER, hand wash cycle, lowest dryer setting, NO BLEACH. Dye Catcher a must.
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