Originally Posted by
cola410
Okay, so here's the basics: I bought two quilts at an estate sale this afternoon, and I don't know how clean they are. They smell a bit musty/old, so I'd like to launder them before I use them. But they are hand quilted and probably hand pieced, so I don't want to mess them up. They seem to be pretty well made, all the stitches are about the same length and nothing seems to be coming apart anywhere on either quilt. They are both bed size, one queen and one twin/full. I don't know exactly how old they are, but I'd estimate at least about 10 years old. So, after all that, my question is: How do I clean them?? I thought about using the special quilt detergent and washing them in the bathtub, but I don't know how clean that would get them. I don't think they should be dry-cleaned, so what are your suggestions? Our machine has a delicate cycle and they can lay out to dry if you think I should machine wash them. I live around St. Louis, MO if anyone knows anywhere that specializes in or is known for washing old quilts. Thanks for the help and listening to my babble.
~Katie
Put a couple cups of OxyClean in your bath tub. Put 2 or 3 inches of warm water in the tub. Make sure the oxyclean is disolved. Lay the quilts in and cover with more water. Get something big and flat like a tray agitate the fabric--just pushing up and down on the quilts. Let sit for a while. Then agitate again. Rest a while and agitate again. Drain, add fresh water and agitate again. Repeat one more time. Place something like a laundry basket in the tub and let the quilt lay on top of it to drain.
When enough water has drained off, carry to your washer and spin on a low setting. Hang across a couple chairs or something to air dry. Be careful that very little stress is put on the quilt.