Lynn Mozingo leads Charity Quilts for Lakeside Quilt Guild (LSQG) here in Oshkosh. I gave her multiple car loads of fabric from my mom's quilting stash--all of it clean! She also gets other donated quilts that have seen better days -- and that need a deep cleaning due to smoke, or stains or whatever life throws at them.
PLEASE BEWARE THAT THIS IS NOT THE SAME RECOMMENDED TREATMENT FOR WASHING ANTIQUE OR VINTAGE QUILTS.
Here is Lynn's tried-and-true method for deep cleaning donated and thrifted quilts:
So, here's what I do: I use powdered Tide w/bleach alternative and powdered Oxyclean -- a scant 1/2 cup of each. I'm pretty frugal when it comes to laundry detergent so I've never converted to the liquid -- I don't know what the liquid equivalent would be.
If you've got some clearly defined stains, you can pre-treat them with with Grandma's Stain Remover -- available in little squirt bottles or in a sprayer. It's the best spot remover I've ever found.
Warm water and a full load -- the more water to slosh, the better. You can also add some Dawn after everything is mixed well, added at the end only because it causes so many bubbles, and then make sure that it is also mixed in well. Once everything is mixed well, I turn off the washing machine and let the load soak -- usually for at least 2 and sometimes as long as 4 days. My washer is in the basement so everything stays nice and cold (even though I start with warm water). Once or twice a day I turn the washer on to let things mix around a bit -- a few minutes is fine. I have a top-load machine.
After the soaking period, just finish the load as normal and dry in the dryer.
No comments:
Post a Comment