I had a major disaster happen in my sewing room and I need your expertise to help me get a stain out. Somehow a jug of distilled water leaked all over my cutting/drapery table and I didn't know about it. I think it must have happened months ago.

Anyway the table was covered with stuff and one of the things was a quilt that I had on my fake flynn frame awaiting an opportunity to quilt it. I had stipple quilted half of the quilt on my sewing machine and was going to finish it on the frame.

So...1/4 of the back of the quilt has a huge water stain (see picture) and some little dots of black mold. Do you have idea how and if I can get this stain out? I'm going to have to recover my table but the quilt is another story. I don't have any of this fabric left so I can't piece it.

Any help is greatly appreciated!

Hmmm, maybe finish sewing it and then wash it with some Oxiclean?

I think I would take it apart and then clean it, but I'm totally not sure.

Put the mold side up outside in the fresh air and bright sunlight and the mold may go away.

For the quilt, you would have to baste closely all around the edges if you want to try to get the stain out before continuing the quilting. It is probably preferable to finish the quilting first.

For the stain removal, I would probably try RetroClean first (http://www.retroclean.com ). If that isn't enough, then I would try soaking it in a top-loading washing machine for a day in powdered, colorfast bleach. If that still doesn't do it, I would use Synthrapol in hot water in the washing machine -- several times.

I have never been successful in removing dots of mildew from fabric, but here is a website of tips:
http://home.howstuffworks.com/how-to...ew-stains2.htm
By oxygen bleach, I think they mean Oxyclean.

Mould/mildew spores can be removed by using pure lemon juice (from a fresh lemon). Squeeze the juice from the lemon and apply to the mouldy spots, then put in sunlight for a couple of hours and wash normally. Hopefully one or two treatments will do the trick. I have successfully used this treatment on antique linen. Bleach will remove the odour, but I have never successfully removed the stains using bleach (plus I worry about fabric dyes fading) but I am not familiar with the oxycleans/bleach in the USA, yours might work.

When you recover the table, make sure no mould spores remain on the surface that needs recovering...so out in the sun with it or gently rub in a mix a solution of oil of cloves and water - oil of cloves is a mould inhibitor. You should be able to get it at the pharmacy...a little goes a very long way. Let it dry thoroughly before recovering.

Let us know how you get on. Don't stress it happens to everyone somewhere along the line.

PS. Mould can have disasterous affects on human health, wear a mask when dealing with mould/mouldy areas. Mould spores are invisible. That in mind I would be inclined to wash the quilt before doing any more work....especially if you have allergies or asthma.

To remove mold from fabric and hard surfaces wash with ammonia. Use a cup in your washer and a quarter cup in a bucket of warm water to clean hard surfaces. It will remove the spots and the mold will not return. Works great in bathrooms and damp basements etc. also.

Buttermilk is also suppose to remove mildew without taking out the colour. I haven't tried it but I know it is an old remedy.

I so agree that mold can have disasterous effects on your health. It is awful. Is that mold on your floor in the last picture or your table top? I would finish quilting that quilt as fast as possible and then call the dry cleaners to see what they could advise for mold. I would be scared to death to take it off the frame and wash it for fear of it falling apart but that's just me. I certainly would use a mask while finishing the quilting or try methods to remove the mold while on the frame.

Wish I had a good solution to offer you, I am so sorry this happened and hope you can resolve the problem immediately.

I've found Oxydeep by Woolite better than Oxyclean.

I have used a solution of 1/4 cup of Dawn original dish detergent, cup of Biz and let it soak for a two or three days in a bucket or tub of water. I would not run it through the washer, but would ring it out by hand. Also there is a "Grandma's Spot Remover" available at your quilt stores or online from Eleanor Burns. Good Luck!

Here is a site that I check out when I have a problem and don't know what to do.

http://www.stretcher.com/menu/topic-a.htm#cleanrecipes
Mary

Wow...thanks for all the suggestions!! I found the fabric available at an online quilt store so I'm thinking maybe I should just replace that section of the quilt back. That might be easiest. It would only require a yard.

As to the mold on my cutting table. I have the supplies to recover it (been meaning to do that for years!) so I think I will take your suggestions and strip off the fabric and padding and treat the wood underneath and take outside into the sun (if we ever get any!).

I suspect the batting has mold on it too so I'm thinking maybe it should be replaced too. Have you ever washed batting alone? Does it stay together? I could use bleach on it because it won't matter if it bleaches it out.

Thanks!

What an awesome site! I definitely bookmarked it :-D

Most batting can be soaked by itself but cannot tolerate agitation. The only kind I know of that cannot tolerate even soaking is old-fashioned 100% cotton such as Mountain Mist Blue Ribbon batting. Polyester battings, 80/20 battings, and cotton battings that are either needlepunched or needlepunched through scrim can be safely soaked (but not agitated).

I would probably replace both the fabric and the batting. It's pretty easy to baste batting together with a hand tailor-tacking stitch, with a long and wide machine zigzag, or there's even a fusible tape out now for this purpose so you can just iron the batting pieces together. To me, this would be the safest route.

I would definitely replace/cleanse the batting as well. Even wipe the walls/surfaces nearby where your mould appeared. Mould throws out spores quite a distance. Sorry if I sound a bit paranoid, but I take immune suppressants, so I get a bit over the top when it comes to things that can cause infections/illness.

Good idea. I had DH take my whole table outside today. I think I'm just going to toss it and make a new one some day.

And I'm going to replace that quarter section of batting and backing. I think then it will be hard to see what happened. Sad part is I have to rip out a fair amount of quilt stitches. Oh well. Gives me something to do while I watch tv :)

I would still use mold cleanimg technique, the mold spores will have made it into the batting and maybe the top. I don't was quilts in a agitator machine. I think the twisting damages the quilt.

You can purchase a mesh laundry bag at the Dollar Store. I wash all kinds of stuff I can wad up and cram in there. I've even washed my silk flowers in one, using the dishwasher(top rack) to wash with.

I should perhaps add that for soaking purposes, I am recommending soaking in a top-loading washer without ever letting it agitate. It's a convenient way to soak a quilt for a long period of time -- a day or two. Just turn the machine off after the water fills and let it sit. When ready to take out, advance switch to spin, allow rinse water to come in, again stop machine to skip agitation cycle and advance to spin cycle. Two rinses is good.

Agree that agitating a quilt in a top-loading washer is not a good idea. However, spin cycles. When soaking, just hand agitate once in awhile by pushing down on the quilt in the tub. Do the same for the rinses.

So sorry this happened to you. Looks like really pretty fabric.