Quilt Washing Advice that Scares Me
 

I've seen several suggestions for SOAKING old quilts in a bathtub of water.

I can see putting a quilt on a sheet in the tub - and running water THROUGH the quilt -

When it is soaking - that is an opportunity for stray dyes to migrate to where they might not be wanted.

Reason for this post:

I was just soaking some small pieces (thank goodness!) and I have migrating dye from one of them all over four of the five pieces - I did NOT expect any problems with any of them!

I always pre wash fabric for a quilt. Old quilts should be OK in cold water, if they have been loved old quilts. Some old unused fabric might bery well bleed as the dyes were not as good as what is being used today.Thanks for your post

I'm not very impressed with some of the new dyes either - look at all the posts telling people to use Retayne and/or Synthropol on their commercially dyed fabrics!

I prewash all fabrics except kits and jelly rolls. I use warm water, dry on regular and use a color catcher. No problems. Purples, red, black and some dark blues are the worse. From what I have read the more expensive fabrics bleed the most.

I agree that soaking a quilt is not a good idea unless you are *sure* there are no migrating dyes in the quilt.

I have washed and soaked many old quilts in the tub, the only one that bled was one I think had not been washed before. But I had to wash it because it had mildew stains.

Usually they have been washed so many times nothing is left to bleed.

I have "rescued" some old quilts and I put them in a cold rinse and spin with half a cup of ordinary table salt and have never had any problems, have I just been lucky?