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My mom used to smoke and her christmas boxes were just horrible when you opened them. I usually set the box open in the garage for a day or two and all that smoke smell went away.
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Febreeze works. I cannot stand the smell of smoke -- I use Febreeze on my husband's clothes that need dry cleaning or his coats before they go into the closet. Sometimes Ive had had to do it twice, but it works. Great find!
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Just run a simple stitch around the outside of each block, then you can launder without fear of them fraying...weather is good..set machine up outside or on the porch to do it!
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Good luck, I have tried everything with some I got, and even the large pieces after washing twice and hanging out in the sun still smells bad. I pretty much have to use it to get the oil off my blades, practice stitches, etc.
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Originally Posted by quilter in the making
I always read about the wonderful finds the QB members stumble across at garage sales, so last week I went to one myself and hit pay dirt. Attached are the pictures of the yardage I found and also some hand pieced blocks. I spent $16.30 and got 17+ yards, 108 of these blocks and still have a paper box and Rubbermaid container of various pieces of material, miscellaneous cut pieces, a cigar box of scraps, sheets and about 10 sets of pillow cases and about 2 dozen cookie cutters. There are a couple of crewel work pillow fronts (completed). My problem is it all smells horrible from cigarette smoke. I have washed the yardage and that washed up fine, but what do I do about the handpieced blocks and miscellaneous cut pieces? They smell so bad I don't want them in my sewing room until they smell better. Is there a way to wash them without them falling apart?
Pull out your biggest stock pot. Pour a couple cups of Oxy-clean (I use generic) in the bottom. Fill about half full with warm water. Carefully lay similar colored pieces in the water, one at a time so that each soaks up some of the solution. After I get the stock pot about half full, I lay a dinner plate on top of the water. Luckily my stockpot is baredly wider than a plate. I soak for a while, then push the plate up and down, sort of like an agitator. I usaully take the pieces out and reverse the order so that I'm pretty sure the pieces have all soaked evenly. Leave in the water a good while. I usually leave mine a couple hours. Drain water, fill with clear water and agitate with the plate. Repeat a few times until you're confident the Oxy-clean has been rinsed out. If you still have a bit of smell, add vinegar to a rinse. In a washing machine, I'd use some baking soda with hot water. But I always have trouble getting baking soda completely disolved in a pan. |
Originally Posted by Prissnboot
Where do you people find these great deals? Garage sales, thrift store finds...I'm so jealous!!!
Heloise says newspaper is great for absorbing odors, as well as baking soda, both are very inexpensive. The vinegar will help too. Good luck! |
Originally Posted by quilter in the making
Originally Posted by needles3thread
It looks like some of the fabric in the blocks might be
feed/flour sack. Is it? I also forgot to mention that there is a hand pieced quilt (rather small) that has a few holes in it. Very old. I'd love to try to figure out if there is anyway at all to salvage this. It's very interesting. You just gave away your age. You're still a pup! LOL Many of us oldies grew up wearing dresses made of feed sacks. Our cow feed came in them when I was a kid. The fabric is more course than what you buy today. Usually floral--at least ours was. |
Good find! I'm going to more yard sales.
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You have done a good job of yard saleing! I think if you washed them on a gentle cycle for about 4 minutes with a tide with febreeze in it they should smell a lot better.
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Put everything that is "offensive" into a sealable plastic bag or at least a covered plastic tub, along with a cup (aproximately) of fresh ground coffee. Leave for several days. Crumpled newspaper also works, but you'll need lots of it; and sealing it up for several days with LOTS of baking soda will work as well. My niece just "deodorized" a used car that reeked of smoke with the ground coffee trick. She's picky, picky about smells!! Give it a try.
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