EasyPeezy

I like to use a gentle soap such as Woolite. Some of the regular detergents
are too harsh for quilts.

Prism99

Retayne is not really a soap. It is used to set loose dye. Retayne is not for routine washing of fabric.

lfletcher

I don't use any soap when I prewash my fabric. I wash in warm water on a gentle cycle with a Color Catcher to see if any fabric is bleeding. Someone years ago told me not to use detergent for prewashing, but, I am sorry, I do not remember the reason why.

Jordan

I used my regular laundry soap-Gain. wash on gentle cycle and line dry if the day allows. I pre-wash all of my fabric.

Neuras

Thank you for all your responses!

cathyvv

Laundry detergent, cold water, with color catchers. That works well, and, it is unlikely that anyone I gift a quilt to will use the other soaps when they wash the finished quilts.

ckcowl

Retayne is a product used when dyeing fabrics, sometimes used to prewash hand dyes or batiks that are over saturated to help set the dye. Visit Dharma Trading company to read about it and when to use it. It is very popular for its purpose. Quilt wash is often used to launder heirloom quilts, again very popular for its purpose. To prewash yardage I use laundry detergent since I am prewashing to remove chemicals, oils, grime from many people handling the fabric before I even get it and to make sure it doesn't bleed or to remove any odors; also reasons for me to prewash would be to tighten up a loose weave and preshrink if it's a flannel or homespun.

Skhf

I use Dreft soap for all of my quilts or fabric

Jeanette Frantz

I use regular laundry soap when prewashing fabrics. You would use Retayne only in the case that your fabric is "bleeding". I've never used Retayne myself, but I do test my fabric, particularly very deep or vibrant colors. Red is very prone to bleed. If any of your fabric's bleed, they need to be treated -- I use another product that I discovered online, which works great. In any event, if you are gifting a quilt, I would suggest that you provide a few Color Catchers, and washing instructions with the quilt!

Bree123

Honestly, for pre-washing, I don't think it matters much which detergent you use. If it's a batik or home-dyed fabric, you may need Retayne if the dye wasn't properly set. For solid fabrics, sometimes there is a bit of leftover dye sitting on top of the fabric (i.e., the dye set, but there was extra that didn't get absorbed -- this can happen with batiks as well); in that case, you want Synthropol.

For prints and quality commercially-dyed fabrics (except batiks), you can just wash, press & use. For a single wash, it really doesn't matter what detergent you use. What matters is how much heat & agitation you expose the fabric to. You want that to be similar to what the end-user will use when laundering. For heirloom cotton quilts, I recommend using cold water, dye-free/fragrance-free detergent, no bleach, no fabric softener, on the gentlest cycle available on your washer (Gentle/Hand Wash), and drying on Low heat or lay flat to dry. I personally use Tide Free, on the Intermittent Hand Wash Cycle with cold water & tumble dry on low.

If I know the quilt is going to someone who is going to abuse it in the laundry, like a college student (who might dry on High heat to save time/money) or my mother who clings to the idea that everything should be washed in warm or hot water, with Clorox 2 and liquid fabric softener & dried multiple cycles on High heat, leaving it in there to "dry" long after it has completely dried sometimes to the point that she's "burned" holes in the fabric... then I will launder under those atrocious conditions and will explain that the quilt is a utility quilt. I learned this the hard way after making a quilted changing pad for my mother (for the grandbabies) that shrank nearly 6" in each direction after she laundered it a couple times (I had already washed it twice on cold/low heat & the fabric was all pre-washed in cold). So now I buy 40-50% extra fabric, pre-wash it in hot water with detergent, bleach & fabric softener & dry it for 2 hours on high heat. As you might imagine, Mom gets very few quilted items from me. They are my practice quilts; otherwise, she'd get none at all.

I have used Orvus. I was disappointed that it didn't get out either my Crayola Ultra Clean markers/crayons or Dritz water-soluble white pencil completely. I do like it. I have never used it for pre-washing. Just never thought of it. I like using it to wash my own quilts or if I'm blocking a quilt to hang.