Originally Posted by nancia
if you're always going to dry clean the quilt you don't need to pre-wash. if you're worried about colors running, set them by salting the wash water. and whenever possible, hire someone to iron the cloth. LOL 8)
Fabric dyer here: salting does not "set" the fabric. Salt is used in dyeing to raise the polarity of the fabric to attract the dye molecules. Once the soda ash has activated the dyeing process and the dye is spent, you hope that the excess dye is washed out by the manufacturer. You cannot "re-set" the dye with salt. Washing in cold water with Synthrapol is your best bet.
From Paula Burch's website:
"Synthrapol is a special detergent used in pre-scouring fibers before dyeing, and in washing out fiber reactive dyes after dyeing. It is also sometimes used as a surfactant or wetting agent to improve dye penetration.
A detergent contains long, thin molecules which each have one end that "likes" oily substances, and another end that "likes" water. Detergent molecules will completely surround a tiny particle of something too oily to be washed away by water alone, leaving just their water-loving 'tails' sticking out, to be easily swept away by the water. Water is the strongest of all solvents, but it requires detergents to wash away oily substances.
Good luck and if you have any other dye related questions, do a search on her name.