Smelly fabric
#21
Spritz or soak in vinegar (I'd dilute it at least 50:50). No baking soda. It will react with the vinegar, producing foam and rendering both the vinegar and baking soda useless. Vinegar is a weak acid. Baking soda is a weak base. Mixing them gives the reaction sometimes used for volcano demonstrations.
#22
Senior Member
Join Date: Oct 2012
Posts: 777
i ended up choosing some adorable lined wicker baskets from Walmart. I insisted on making the trek to the store because wicker, seagrass, etc, baskets can have a very strong odor. I opened the box before taking it. These had absolutely NO smell, amazingly.
(They are on the website, btw, and come in a set of 6, painted white, cloth lined, for like $38.). I cover each basket with a cloth, and stack them.)
hugs,
charlotte
#23
Power Poster
Join Date: May 2008
Location: MN
Posts: 24,388
I would wash the fabric in a sink, bucket, or large kettle.
Swish it, rinse it - and then get rid of the excess water by draining it in a colander, salad spinner, rolling in towels, or on the spin cycle of the washing machine.
You can spread the damp pieces out on a towel, or hang them on plastic hangers. i have a wood drying rack that works well.
If there is a lot of fabric, just do one color at a time.
Actually, just put one color in a container at a time - if there is a bleeder, it won't be that big of a deal if red runs on red.
The washing process can be done with very little agitation and if there is shrinkage or bleeding - wouldn't you rather know BEFORE - rather than after - you used it for something?
I agree - washing the pieces is a bit of a bother - but if one thinks about it - the whole process of making a quilt is "a bit of a bother " when one can buy ready-made things for a fraction of the cost.
Swish it, rinse it - and then get rid of the excess water by draining it in a colander, salad spinner, rolling in towels, or on the spin cycle of the washing machine.
You can spread the damp pieces out on a towel, or hang them on plastic hangers. i have a wood drying rack that works well.
If there is a lot of fabric, just do one color at a time.
Actually, just put one color in a container at a time - if there is a bleeder, it won't be that big of a deal if red runs on red.
The washing process can be done with very little agitation and if there is shrinkage or bleeding - wouldn't you rather know BEFORE - rather than after - you used it for something?
I agree - washing the pieces is a bit of a bother - but if one thinks about it - the whole process of making a quilt is "a bit of a bother " when one can buy ready-made things for a fraction of the cost.
Last edited by bearisgray; 06-08-2014 at 03:29 PM.
#24
I acquired several bags of fabric from a smoker's house. I put it all in a clothes basket and put in out on my screened in patio and just left it out there for about a week. I made sure it was not in a plastic bag. I may have left it out there longer, I can't remember. I did toss it a bit so the fabric on the bottom moved to the top.
#25
Super Member
Join Date: Nov 2011
Location: California
Posts: 1,987
This may sound crazy, but when we had to store our refrigerator for 3 years, I put charcoal in an open container and I was able to use the refrigerator without any smell. Is there somehow you can have a closed container and put the fabric in and have the charcoal in an open container inside of the first container.
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