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A whole new spin on laundry - no rinse - delicate wash for your quilts and wool mats
A family member, brought her sons quilt back to me as she had washed the quilt many times thoroughly and there was no intact batting inside the outer fabrics.
Now, when I make quilts for friends and family, I always include a couple of color catchers, and a small bottle of this Eucalan laundry product I found when we travelled across Canada. The sheep business staff suggested that it is very hard on the batting in my quilts to put the quilt through a regular cycle on my washing machine. This was the solution I was looking for and I thought I would share with my fellow quilters on this wonderful and helpful information sharing board. There is a whole new spin on laundry, no rinse delicate wash, lanolin enriched concentrate detergent called "Eucalan" with different scented oil, the one I purchased is eucalyptus scented. You just fill your top loading washing machine with tepid water, add the Eucalan - 1 tsp Eucalan per 1 gallon of water, stop your machine, load your washables - Do not Adjitate and soak for 30 minutes - By-Pass the rinse cycle, and Spin out the water. No Need to rinse. I purchased mine through a sheep wool farm outlet in Ontario, Canada. My bottle cost $12.50 plus shipping. You can also get a smaller bottle of this product. You could soak your wool pressing mat in this and then let it dry flat. I just place mine on a towel on the ironing board overnight. I also made a couple of long pillow cases for my mat, so when it gets soiled, I can change and wash it and then put on the other one. |
Great information. Thank you for sharing.
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that would be great except most modern washers don't let you fill the tub with water.
mine will not let me decide for myself how much water i want to use. even the so-called "deep water wash" is a bad joke. :hunf: i tried filling it manually, using a garden hose. did not turn on the washer. after a few minutes, the washer turned itself on and drained/spun out all the water. :hunf: |
Sometimes "new and improved" isn't all that great.
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I guess it could be soaked in a tub and then drained and carried to the washer for the final drain/spin
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This does sound like a wonderful product but Patrice is right, and in addition to the limitations on most modern washing machines I think this would also present an issue for front loaders. In my experience, when batting doesn't hold up in a quilt this is usually caused by insufficient quilting. Not meeting the minimum batting requirements for spacing between quilting. And batting that says you can quilt up to 10" apart, like W&N I have found that is way too far apart for the quilt to hold up. To much pressure is put on the piecing seams and they pop and the fabric shrinks differently from the batting and often looks unsightly in large unquilted areas. I remember making some placemats for my mom when I first started quilting. I used W&N and only quilted the minimum as recommended by the batting. I was visiting my mom and found the placemats in her linen closet and they were an unsightly wrinkled mess. No wonder she didn't use them after washing the first time.
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I'm a quilter so understand all this, but if I was not and someone gave me an item that needed real specific washing, I'd probably put it in the closet and not use it. I'm also that way about my clothing, I've got a few sweaters that need special care so they never get worn.
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My new top loaded washer has no self adjustment water levels, and locked lid so I couldn't open it once started. DH disconnected the lid lock (it's electric) and to get a decent water level I have to use Super water level and it barely covers two bed sheets. I have a pause button. I have learned not to touch it. The washer gets confused and starts all over.
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I know some washers have a mind of their own. Mine lets me fill the tub and as long as I don't close the lid, it will sit just there. Ask me how I know.:D
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is this product specific fof wool battings.
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