Old 05-25-2017, 07:29 AM
  #3  
Prism99
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Join Date: Dec 2008
Location: Western Wisconsin
Posts: 12,930
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Try Synthrapol. You MUST agitate the quilt. You can use a top loading washer but agitate by hand. Fill washer with hot water and Synthrapol, stop machine, add the quilt, and then use your hands (covered with rubber gloves to protect against the hot water) or a clean broomstick handle to push down and let up on the quilt. Synthrapol works best in hot water so I would start with hot water but, if you are squeamish about it, you could try using Synthrapol in warm water first.

You may need to do this several times using fresh water and Synthrapol to get all of the bleeds out. I would spend maybe 20 minutes or so per cycle. When done with all the Synthrapol washes, do two rinses. It is okay to spin out a quilt in a top loading washing machine. Again, if you're squeamish, drain the water and hand press out excess water before refilling machine. I would use the machine to spin out the water from the last rinse, though.

Afterwards, lay the quilt out flat on a clean sheet to dry. You do not want wet red fabric touching wet white fabric while the quilt dries. This is also why you need to keep the quilt moving while it soaks.

Here is a link to a thread that shows how this worked on another quilt:
http://www.quiltingboard.com/main-f1...x-t144836.html
Be sure to scroll all the way to the end of the thread to see how the quilt turned out after using Synthrapol.

I have not heard of a bleeding problem like this with Retro Clean, but in my mind it is always risky to soak reds without checking on them every ten minutes or so during the first hour.

Synthrapol is widely available online, but you may need to call around to find it locally. It is often carried by quilt shops that cater to home dyers.

Last edited by Prism99; 05-25-2017 at 07:43 AM.
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