How to wash/clean these quilts?
 

Okay, so here's the basics: I bought two quilts at an estate sale this afternoon, and I don't know how clean they are. They smell a bit musty/old, so I'd like to launder them before I use them. But they are hand quilted and probably hand pieced, so I don't want to mess them up. They seem to be pretty well made, all the stitches are about the same length and nothing seems to be coming apart anywhere on either quilt. They are both bed size, one queen and one twin/full. I don't know exactly how old they are, but I'd estimate at least about 10 years old. So, after all that, my question is: How do I clean them?? I thought about using the special quilt detergent and washing them in the bathtub, but I don't know how clean that would get them. I don't think they should be dry-cleaned, so what are your suggestions? Our machine has a delicate cycle and they can lay out to dry if you think I should machine wash them. I live around St. Louis, MO if anyone knows anywhere that specializes in or is known for washing old quilts. Thanks for the help and listening to my babble. :)

~Katie

I am an in the washing machine with vinegar and baking soda kind of a person. If they are only 10 years old and fall apart, you got a bad deal. If they smell better good for you! If they were really old like then maybe off to the dry cleaner. Do you have pictures?

Put a couple cups of OxyClean in your bath tub. Put 2 or 3 inches of warm water in the tub. Make sure the oxyclean is disolved. Lay the quilts in and cover with more water. Get something big and flat like a tray agitate the fabric--just pushing up and down on the quilts. Let sit for a while. Then agitate again. Rest a while and agitate again. Drain, add fresh water and agitate again. Repeat one more time. Place something like a laundry basket in the tub and let the quilt lay on top of it to drain.

When enough water has drained off, carry to your washer and spin on a low setting. Hang across a couple chairs or something to air dry. Be careful that very little stress is put on the quilt.

GrannieAnnie: i have a detachable shower hose, could i use the pressure from that to agitate and rinse the quilt good?

The shower hose would work well for rinsing. I have been known to hop in and gently tread items in the bath....no wear near as fun as grapes, but does the job. It is also handy to tread out the excess water before removing from the bath. Mind you if your machine has a gentle cycle....I would be using it.

I'm afraid I agree with Grandma58. If they don't withstand a wash on gentle and tossed in the dryer on low, then how are you going to wash them in the future? I can't see having to wash a large quilt by hand a couple of times a year...way too much work. I also remember reading on here and elsewhere that drycleaning quilts isn't a good idea because of the harsh chemicals.

I agree with GrannieAnnie, but would like to add, RINSE, RINSE, RINSE!! Very discouraging to dry the quilt and see brown spots appear because it was not rinsed well enough.

I agree! Use the gentle cycle and let the quilt soak for a good while. I would use Quilt Soap and then dry in the dryer on the low cycle.

r

A 10 year old quilt should not be in delicate condition, but for vintage quilts that are hand quilted, I wash in the bathtub. Oxiclean is great for stains, and since it is "active" for 6 hours, the process can take days when working with an old quilt with spots. However, I have found it to be effective. I use vinegar in the rinse.

After squishing out as much of the final rinse water as possible, I lay towels out on a clean tile floor and put the quilt down flat. We live in a dry climate, so that works. When it is almost dry and much lighter weight, I hang it over a shower rod.

It is a lot of work, but so rewarding to have a fresh, clean quilt to use when finished.

Dayle

If your machine is not a front loader (no agitator), you may want to go to a laundromat that has the front loaders. Even if you have pay to run the complete cycle again without detergent - just rinsing to make sure your detergent is completely removed - I think it would be worth it. I feel the tumbling action of a front loader washing machine is gentler on the quilts. I agree with not taking them to a dry cleaners because of chemicals used.

i would follow pscott's advice about the front loader and the second 'no-detergent' second cycle... personally, i wouldn't put it in the dryer...quilts got washed for centuries and hung on the line...just hang over 2 lines so the pressure is not all on one place...that's the way our grandmothers did it and they just tossed them in the washer, too. No chemical baths...they don't care if they get them all out...we do... and i would be surprised if they are only 10 yrs old...are there any pix?

Just don't get too close to the fabric---------the thing with old stuff that you're not sure of is how much stress it can stand. A hand hose would make it a lot easier to rinse, though.

Believe me, if I could get in the tub and stomp the quilt, I would. Might have to hire my grandson to do the next one. LOL

And the big advantage of the Oxyclean, in addition to removing yellowing and many stains--------it takes out odors and leaves a nice smell.

I have never understood the idea of washing quilts in a bath tub. Quilts are very heavy when wet. How can the "delicate" seams handle being lifted from the water....drained or not....squished/wrung/wrapped in towels/squished again, etc. etc., better than they can handle the soft agitation and spin of a delicates/gentle cycle of a washing machine? Spinning gets much more water out of a quilt in a machine, making it lighter and easier to remove.

With the exception of *one 1860s quilt* which I foolishly washed before testing well, I've NEVER had one 'behave badly' when laundered in a machine with care, whether antique or vintage or recent.

Jan in VA
*2 of the fabrics in this quilt were more fragile than I knew and shattered a bit.

you are absolutely correct about 90% of the quilts out there... but for the few that need to be coddled, the bathtub is a great solution BUT you are supposed to put a clean white sheet under the quilt, with the edges taped up to the wall and the side of the tub... this is all just so you can lift the quilt...i also use the white of the quilt to tell me when i have rinsed it completely... it will be gray after the first rinse, before you put the soap in... each time you move the quilt, the sheet is to take all the weight and stress... and personally, i hang my quilts over 2 lines, no dryer... people don't realize that the dryer is as damaging as any washer...

ps.... i lift the quilt out of the water every time i drain the tub...you don't want the dirty water to settle back into the quilt... it will be really heavy... you may need help to do this... a DH or a DF (friend)...