formaldehyde in fabric?
 

I was at Joann's yesterday and noticed they had a warning sign over the Keepsake calico section. It said to beware, that the fabric had formaldehyde in it. Do all fabrics have that? I mean, LQS fabrics also? How many times do you have to wash it to get it out, or does it never come out? Just thinking about baby quilts. If you don't wash it all out, can it hurt you when you are working on a quilt, or a baby lying on it? And for those of us who do not prewash, is it harming us, handling it so much? I am cringing at the thought!

Know someone here knows the right answer. Thanks in advance.

Yes almost all do ... thats one more reason to prewash.

http://www.800mainstreet.com/formaldehyde/Fabrics.html

http://www.dermnetnz.org/dermatitis/...e-allergy.html
do scroll down the page .. they recommend several washings.

Agreed. Prewashing is mandatory for me - especially if it's for a baby or child quilt.

Honestly, i don't notice it as much in the stores now as I used to. Years ago, when fabric stores were all in the Malls I couldn't stay in one for more than a few minutes. Now that most (around here) are free-standing buildings the formaldehyde smell doesn't seem as noticable. Better circulation maybe?? I knew it was formaldehyde even back then-recognized the smell from disinfecting stuff at work.

I wonder if they got a particularly strong shipment in and got complaints?

I'm not a prewasher--chemicals don't bother me--but I always, always, always wash my quilts before they are given to anyone!

Chemicals don't generally bother me either. I am a pre-washer though, guess it's a holdover from my early garment sewing days. And I also wash everything before it's gifted for a variety of reasons.

I do pre-wash everything. I can't stand the chemicals. I am curious about the sign, as I haven't been to Joann's in a while.

I'm just going to throw this in here. People are worried about formaldehyde in their fabric (which they should be, that and all chemicals) but still they drink diet sodas. Diet sodas have aspartame in them which has 3 ingredients; one of which is formaldehyde. Go figure. I think the reason there are so many sicknesses is because of all the chemicals in things all around us.

I'm glad that JoAnns put a sign up to warn people; that is a good thing.

My SIL who is a Hazardous Waste Fire Chief tells me that if someone ever succeeded in getting a totally air tight house so that they could save on their HVAC cost, it would kill them because of the fumes from the chemicals in their carpets, drapes, walls and building materials. The drafts in our houses save our lives. Hard to get excited over our quilting fabrics when we have lethal carpets, etc. around.

Just a note aspartame contains: aspartame's three components are phenylalanine (50 percent), aspartic acid (40 percent), and methanol (10 percent).