quiltlady1941

the retayne said to wash the fabric in water of 140 F, very hot, for 20 min then to rinse in cold water and dry at once.

OK how do you know if the fabric is going to stop running? It also said after fabric has been treated with the retayne to always wash in cool water..

would you wash it again in the cool water without soap and some color catchers and see if it stopped running..

Before all this treatment I had wash this fabric [10 yds] more the 10 times and the color catchers came out really dark with the color.. by the way it is a dark turquoise...I hate to have to buy more fabric but I would also hate to have it run all over the front of the quilt that has some white in it ...This quilt was for a present so I don't want it to run on her first wash..

What would you do wash it again and see if it runs or buy more fabric.. Thanks

thimblebug6000

Before you use Retayne in your quilts that you hope will be cuddled & give comfort... do some searches about the carcinogenic factors....

woody

I think I would test it to see if the Retayne had worked, better to be sure.
I am waiting for some Retayne to arrive so that I can try the same thing. Good luck with yours

Lori S

After you treat with Retayne as instructed on the bottle. Run cold water through the fabric, but use a sink stopper to collect the water , if its clear you are good to go.
Note: once fabric has been treated with retayne you MUST wash with cold water or you will remove the retayne and it can start to bleed again.

Prism99

You can test by dropping a small piece (maybe 2" square) in a glass of water for a few hours; watch to see if any dye bleeds into the water. While the fabric is still wet, rub it against the other fabrics used in the quilt to see if any dye transfers that way. If the fabric passes both tests, it is okay to use.

However, the dye-setting properties of Retayne are supposed to be lost if the fabric is washed in hot water later. To be absolutely certain the quilt will be okay, you could wash a small piece of the fabric in very hot, soapy water and then rub it against the other fabrics in the quilt. If no dye transfers, it will be fine even if the quilt is washed in hot water later.

One thing to keep in mind is that dye in the water is not the absolute determining factor that would keep you from using it in the quilt. Not all fabrics pick up stray dye. If the other fabrics in the quilt do not pick up a bleeding color, it doesn't matter if the fabric continues to bleed (except that the fabric will fade more with each washing).

quiltlady1941

I have washed the fabric in the ratayne and it is in the dryer now... I'll try the 2" sq of fabric in a glass of water and see if it bleeds.. also will try the washing of the fabric and see if it comes off when rib up against some of the fabric in the quilt top...This sure seems like a lot of work for this fabric but it is 10 yds...and I hate to buy more for the backing of this quilt.. I will tell the person to remember to wash it in cool water all the time, but really how often do you wash a quilt? I never wash my quilts in hot water most times it is in cool water wash and cool water rinse..


I did look up the carcinogen on the product and it said it may contain small amounts of formaldehyde but safe if not used all the time.. so I guess it is safe, I'll look into this some more but I had already used it, then I read the post by thimblebug6000 and it did give me a scare, I went in and really washed my hands again,even tho I had wash them after using it ....Thanks everyone for your advice...

Central Ohio Quilter

I seem to remember hearing that you could not wash the fabric before the Retayne use or it would not work. The Retayne washing had to be the FIRST time that you wash the fabric.

Is this true?

Prism99

I don't think so. I've never heard of this and I have read posts about Retayne for several years now. My meagre understanding of chemistry is that washing wouldn't make any difference anyway. I would think that, if anything, washing would remove manufacturing chemicals that might interfere with Retayne's ability to set dyes.

ragamuffin

Why not go with the vinegar? I have never used retayne. Mother always used the vinegar rinse if something was fading.
She would wash it first, and if it faded, she would pour in some apple vinegar and if the first rinse did not do it, she used a
second rinse. Then rinse the vinegar out. I aired it outside on the line if the vinegar smell was in it a little. Why buy retayne when vinegar will do nicely. I am sure it is much cheaper.

Prism99

Vinegar worked on a lot of organic dyes. It does not work to set modern chemical dyes.

Often at least some of the dye that comes out of a fabric is not due to the dye not being set properly, but rather to the fabric being over-saturated with dye that is then not completely rinsed out of the fabric. There is a difference between getting rid of excess dye in a fabric (there is a limit to how much dye fibers can absorb; excess dye sits on the surface of the fibers) and permanently setting dye particles in a fabric. The former can be taken care of with one or two washings. The latter will continue to bleed no matter how many times the fabric is washed.