Need Help Cleaning Salvaged Quilts
#42
Super Member
Join Date: Nov 2010
Location: Jozefow, Poland
Posts: 4,474
To clarify again, these were not in a meth lab. They were in the home of an addict. They smell because the house was full of black mold and mildew. There are only a few mildewy places on the quilts. The rat pee is a bigger concern. Fortunately, it appears to be concentrated in the quilt that also has cigarette burns going all the way through it.
Things are going much better than expected. Most of these things will be usable. The color catchers are working. I'm washing them in a warm cycle with a prewash and an extra rinse, and I'm drying them on low heat. If I can get them to the point where they don't smell, then I can make sure they're dry, and I can store them indoors without filling the house with mold funk. After that I'll have time to worry about further cleaning.
When they came home, they smelled so awful I had to open the SUV windows. Not a particularly powerful smell, but very oppressive. Like being trapped in a filthy drawer.
Things are going much better than expected. Most of these things will be usable. The color catchers are working. I'm washing them in a warm cycle with a prewash and an extra rinse, and I'm drying them on low heat. If I can get them to the point where they don't smell, then I can make sure they're dry, and I can store them indoors without filling the house with mold funk. After that I'll have time to worry about further cleaning.
When they came home, they smelled so awful I had to open the SUV windows. Not a particularly powerful smell, but very oppressive. Like being trapped in a filthy drawer.
And I know apparently someone is emotionally attached to these quilts, but what is the worst case scenario? They are all ruined. In that case, those who are emotionally attached are no worse off than before the quilts were discovered.
So, wash away, dry as you deem the right, and we can all hope with you and for you that all comes out okay.
#44
Super Member
Join Date: Jun 2010
Location: The Deep South near Cajun Country, USA
Posts: 5,434
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