Originally Posted by
Farm Quilter
Thanks for the education! I live on a farm with a septic system and never even considered the chemicals I'm putting into it!! Could you possibly use Retayne or Synthrapol in your bucket and dump the bucket with that stuff in it away from your aquifer? I'm a city girl not used to the interesting, different systems we have here on the farm, so I'm always up for learning!! Is it a specific brand of batiks that is bleeding so much? Different brands seem to react differently - I think some over-dye the fabric. I don't want any bleeding on a quilt I have invested so much time and money on either, so I'll be obsessive/compulsive with you
We are also on a septic system and the soil is basically clay--which causes some lateral field issues. While I am cautious of what I put into the drains, I have never worried about chemicals that are in fabrics--ALL fabrics, whether cut goods or clothing come with chemicals and we wash our clothes, right?My "honey wagon" man says just don't flush things that would clog the filtering system--like tampons, Kleenex or egg shells--none break down. Unless its a blizzard outside, I also compost vegetable scrapings, etc. to minimize the stuff that goes into the drain.
A friend that owned a quilt fabric shop said all fabric should be tested for dye issues by rubbing a swatch of whitepaper hard on the fabric-if you see ANY color,then you have to wash until none rubs off.