formaldehyde in fabric?
 

I was at Joann's yesterday and noticed they had a warning sign over the Keepsake calico section. It said to beware, that the fabric had formaldehyde in it. Do all fabrics have that? I mean, LQS fabrics also? How many times do you have to wash it to get it out, or does it never come out? Just thinking about baby quilts. If you don't wash it all out, can it hurt you when you are working on a quilt, or a baby lying on it? And for those of us who do not prewash, is it harming us, handling it so much? I am cringing at the thought!

Know someone here knows the right answer. Thanks in advance.

Yes almost all do ... thats one more reason to prewash.

http://www.800mainstreet.com/formaldehyde/Fabrics.html

http://www.dermnetnz.org/dermatitis/...e-allergy.html
do scroll down the page .. they recommend several washings.

Agreed. Prewashing is mandatory for me - especially if it's for a baby or child quilt.

Honestly, i don't notice it as much in the stores now as I used to. Years ago, when fabric stores were all in the Malls I couldn't stay in one for more than a few minutes. Now that most (around here) are free-standing buildings the formaldehyde smell doesn't seem as noticable. Better circulation maybe?? I knew it was formaldehyde even back then-recognized the smell from disinfecting stuff at work.

I wonder if they got a particularly strong shipment in and got complaints?

I'm not a prewasher--chemicals don't bother me--but I always, always, always wash my quilts before they are given to anyone!

Chemicals don't generally bother me either. I am a pre-washer though, guess it's a holdover from my early garment sewing days. And I also wash everything before it's gifted for a variety of reasons.

I do pre-wash everything. I can't stand the chemicals. I am curious about the sign, as I haven't been to Joann's in a while.

I'm just going to throw this in here. People are worried about formaldehyde in their fabric (which they should be, that and all chemicals) but still they drink diet sodas. Diet sodas have aspartame in them which has 3 ingredients; one of which is formaldehyde. Go figure. I think the reason there are so many sicknesses is because of all the chemicals in things all around us.

I'm glad that JoAnns put a sign up to warn people; that is a good thing.

My SIL who is a Hazardous Waste Fire Chief tells me that if someone ever succeeded in getting a totally air tight house so that they could save on their HVAC cost, it would kill them because of the fumes from the chemicals in their carpets, drapes, walls and building materials. The drafts in our houses save our lives. Hard to get excited over our quilting fabrics when we have lethal carpets, etc. around.

Just a note aspartame contains: aspartame's three components are phenylalanine (50 percent), aspartic acid (40 percent), and methanol (10 percent).

Just a fyi: when ingested, methanol breaks down into formaldehyde.

AS does fruit pectin. There have been several studies that refute this hypothisis.
http://whatdoesthesciencesay.wordpre...-formaldehyde/

I do not wish to side track this any further.

I don't think a quilt is finished until it's washed. I noticed when my DGD was little and would go with me to fabric shops her eyes would tear up and get red. It was the chemicals from the fabrics. She isn't sensitive to it now but I made sure I pre washed all my fabric when she was small and stayed around my sewing room a lot. I would never take a newborn or infant to a fabric shop and if you notice most infants seem to be fussy and crying in a clothing store.

I read somewhere that any fabric imported (just about all the fabric in our stores) is sprayed with insecticide before being shipped. Our country has laws requiring that most products be sprayed so insects are not imported into the country with goods.

I have a dress that I paid a lot of money for from a well known online clothing store. Lo and behold the thing was made in India and when I recieved it, it stank so badly of insecticide I couldn't wear it. Today I washed it for the third time and included baking soda in the wash in the hopes that would get rid of the awful smell. I realize that imported fabrics and clothing need to be sprayed but really!! The dress smells like a whole bucket of insecticide was dumped on it. I rather pay even more and have my clothing made in the USA out of cotton grown in the USA. It would be better made and without the smell.

The formaldehyde is added for wrinkle resistance primarily, not insect control, though that is a side 'benefit' of it, as is the crisp feel that many give as the reason they do not pre-wash. Manufacturers work long and hard to create non-wrinkling fabrics so the odds of washing out the formaldehyde are really pretty slim...especially in clothing. Once it 'cures' and stops smelling, it's still there. More than you want to know about it can be found here.
http://oecotextiles.wordpress.com/20...-your-fabrics/

California has been posting warning signs for at least 4 years (probably way before that, but that's when it started showing up on quilting boards).

A lot of the smell in fabrics that are shipped from the Far East is a product used to keep mold from forming as it is so humid there. We lived over there a lot when my DH was stationed there and had to hang small bags of it in our closet's. When I got home and walked into fabric shops it was the same smell, sometimes so strong I could not stay long.

Just read the article. Scary!!!!

I had a friend that ordered the insulating material (cant think of the name) from Nancys Notions. The smell was so bad she had to put it in the garage, washing did not cut it. She called customer service and was told that they used formalehyde to kill the bed bugs that is such a problem over seas. So that is the alternative if companys stopped using that chemical.

I wash my fabric to get the smell out, also I do not want my pets to get sick from licking the fabric. Made my cats catnip bags, they lick them as well as kick with hind feet etc.
I use warm water, delicate wash, color catchers and if the fabric is super stiff, fabric softener.

I've known people to have developed a rash if it is over-done. I always wash new linen and clothes, before use, because of this. My quilts are generally displayed, so I generally don't pre-wash.

I know people who had to quit their beloved quilt shop jobs because of allergies to the formaldehyde. I would definately prewash if its for a baby, or someone with allergies.

In the last year, my mother and I have had to wash any new clothing, especially blouses made with cotton. If we don't, we end up looking like lobsters! Not where the fabric touches, but where it doesn't!! We have had red, itchy faces and necks and sought medical help. Now I use unscented washing detergent and NO softener!! AND I wash my quilt fabric before using with a color catcher and also after it's completed, before giving away.

Gee this is scary but according to my friends husband which is an externimatior bed bugs are prominent right now so i just wash all things first clothes fabric for quilts and use my stash mostly

I have contact dermaticis (SP). Doc gave me med for my hands and suggest I was fab 10 yes 10 times but I just wash everything twice. I wear exam gloves when I'm sewing the edges together before washing. Guess I'll never have pretty hands cuz I sew so much.

If you do sew alot, buy hand CREAM not lotion. Cream has more of the good stuff that we need to put the moisture back into our skin.

Thanks Lori S. for the info! I didn't know this, and yngldy........that was a great question! I'm often asked why I wash all the fabric I buy........and I just say, "that was what my first teacher told me to do".........NOW I'll have a better answer.

There is a place here in Colorado that one can go to get material , its been around for 35 years and they are wonderful people- We pick up freight from them quite often. Here is their website: http://www.envirotextile.com/
I have not used their fabric yet -keyword-yet- Have to have the time to get up there when they are open (as I am a feely type person when it comes to material). I was talking to the owner's daughter and she was saying some of their materials start at $4.00 and up to $20.00. It might be worth a try, yah you would have to pay for shipping and handling-but its supposed to be an all natural fabrics.

However, if our quilt fabric adds just enough chemical to throw the chemicals in house components into the danger zone, we'd better be "excited".

wow I didn't know that. Fingernail polish has it. It makes your nails harder.

Isn't it great what you learn on here. I didn't always wash my fabric unless I thought it might bleed. But you have me a believer to wash always. I have also just put it through a rinse & not a wash so I will be changing that also. Thank you so much for the information.

This has been a great discussion. Whether or not formaldyhyde is found in Aspertaine or not is irrelevant....they all have chemicals. I knew about the stuff in the material and have washed my material because I just don't like the idea of the chemicals. But I wonder when they make our material with all the beautiful prints.......what kind of chemicals go into the printing process? And why is it that some of the material with lots of prints all over it are stiffer then others????? I do like to feel my material if I can. Thanks for all the information about how dangerous our homes can be with all the chemicals in it. Glad I have the windows opened. LOL.

Yes, most fabrics still contain formaldehyde. Also, many contain a chemical to "set" the dyes used.

A interesting side note: When I moved to NC from Indiana, we moved into a brand new house. I was in and out of the crawl space due to a variety of issues. For the last two years we lived there, I had unbearable hives. The doctors could not figure out what they were caused by. I moved back to Indiana and have not had a breakout of hives since. It was almost immediate. I really believe it was the chemicals in the house and crawl space that brought on the allergies.

I am sensitive to chemicals, one being formaldehyde. I can not stay in Jo Ann's for more than 20 mins. The fumes from formaldehyde makes my eyes burn....I stick to all cotton. I haven't had any problems with the cotton....

That's why I only drink water or plain iced tea. And of course, a bit of wine at dinner!

I don't think a lot of people know how much formaldehyde is in everything around us. It is in the print in books, the money we handle, etc.

http://www.formaldehydefacts.org/app...s/common_uses/

I find that really interesting because about 10 years ago w moved into this house and I got extremely sick. I had never been sick much at all until moving here. I began to notice that as long as I was working outside most of the day, I wouldn't get so sick but in the evenings when I was inside it would hit me like a ton of bricks. I also had a lot of repairs that need to be done under the house (crawl space) and when I worked under there I was worse then ever. I got worried and called the poison control people and explained what was going on and asked if they had any idea what could be causing me so much trouble. They told me that their best guess would be from the materials the house was made from. This was a huge shock to me because I have always lived in wooden houses, the difference was the houses I previously lived in were all old houses (most built in early 1900's) so even though I grow up in wood houses the ones they make today are not all wood like they use to be made. They told me that the smell of formaldehyde should only linger about 6 months but since the house was already 10 years old they had no idea what to tell me to do.

To make a long story short, I ripped out every bit of flooring in the house, carpet, wood, tile, you name it I ripped it out, in the process of doing so the fumes were so bad they knocked me flat on my butt. I had to be taken outside and I lived in the shed until all the work was done. After I got some good air I opened the house up for several days so I could go in and do the work. It took a while because after 4 or 5 hours in the house I just got sick and had to get out. Anyway, I had to seal the floors with several coats of porch paint to seal out the fumes from the sub-flooring which is all press board, particle board or what ever you want to call it. Once the floors were sealed with the paint, I laid the heaviest tar paper I could get on top and then added all new hardwood not imitation but real hard wood floors or ceramic tiles. This is the only way I could fix the house for me to be able to live in it. All the kitchen cabinets that were made with the particle board also were removed.

To this day, I refuse to buy anything made with particle board, all the nice looking shelves and things they make are what makes so many people sick. Yes all fabrics, carpet, the particle boards for house building, furniture and so much more have some form of chemicals in them but it seems they are putting more of the stuff in there then what is needed.

Most people that know me say that I'm to picky because if something isn't make with plain old solid wood, then I don't want it even if your giving it away.

Nothing gets to "live" at our place unless it can be washed....good old soap and water and hung outside to dry...gets rid of most "nasties" and is a much healthier way to live. It is difficult to be completely chemical free....but using natural products and regular sweeping, dusting and airing does help a lot.

Just read it. Woah. Gross and scary! It never comes out??? So what are we quilters supposed to do? Buy all organic?

I suppose we shouldn't worry so much about what we sew on as much as what we wear.