Need Help Cleaning Salvaged Quilts
 

I'm here because I need some advice. I salvaged 12 quilts from a drug house which was full of black mold, dog urine, and rodent excrement. The quilts had been abandoned. Some are family heirlooms, made by family members in Kentucky. Others appear to be unused. I don't know what value they have. They smell pretty awful, and some have discolored areas on them.

The older ones have been washed many times in the past, so I'm running them through the machine with Oxyclean detergent. The others, I'm afraid to mess with. A couple look like they've never been washed, and I don't know if machine washing and drying affect the value. What's the best way to fix them up? Should I just take them to a dry cleaner?

a dry cleaner may refuse them if they are as 'stinky' as you imply- and they have no value in that state- so I would wash them- maybe 2 or 3 times- including vinegar in the rinse water to help disinfect them- if they come out ok that's great- if not, parts may still be salvageable. but as they are now I would not be concerned with them being *heirlooms* they obviously were not- though if they tolerate disinfecting/laundering they may become heirlooms.

I agree that you should wash them. The amount of known and unknown toxins seem to me to make a compelling argument for multiple washings. Good for you for trying to salvage them, hope they go to a better home..

I should clarify. They were heirlooms to the rest of the family, but not to the idiot who hoarded them and then tried to ruin them. The rest of us were surprised to find out where they were.

Definitely wash them, its probably the most thurough way to clean and sanitize them. Vinegar is a natural disinfectant, so let them soak before mildly agitating them. Once washed, evaluate if they can withstand the dryer. They will be of no use unless you can get them sanitized.

use color catchers (on the laundry supplies isle) when washing, particularly the unused ones. Be a shame to get the yuck out, to be replaced with red or green dye everywhere.

We'd love to see some before and after, and your hindsight advice if you have any, when finished.
I'm glad you found them, all kinds of family items get lost in the hard spaces of life.

Thanks for all the advice. The only advice I, myself, can offer is to have your will written by an excellent lawyer, and try to give valuable things away BEFORE you die, so things like this don't go to the looters and nuts.

You might want to try http://www.retroclean.com for stains.

I would wash them in a washing machine first. If you have a top loader with the usual central agitator, you can fill the machine, turn it off, then hand agitate (or use a broom handle) to wash, advance the control to spin, fill with rinse water, again turn the machine off and hand agitate, then advance to spin. If you have a top loader without the central agitator, you can probably just wash each quilt as a regular load. If you have a front loader, you can use it only if you can adjust it to use *lots* of water. If it's a water-saving front-loader, I would take the quilts to the laundromat and use their large front-loaders.

You want to use lots of water in the machine in order to dilute both dirt and any dye bleeds that might occur. Central agitators in top-loading washing machines are really hard on quilts, so it's best to avoid that kind of wear-and-tear on the quilts.

I would consider using RetroClean if there are still stains after washing.

An unwashed quilt will not have value if it smells bad. If you are concerned about the unwashed quilts, you may want to consult a quilt conservator before washing. These quilts may have great sentimental value to your family, but may not have much in the way of commercial value (or even commercial potential value) unless quite unique in some way. Unless a quilt is worth a thousand dollars, my inclination would be to wash at home.

Good luck cleaning them - and enjoy them and the memories that are attached to them!! That is priceless!

Got three boxes of color catcher. We'll see what happens.

I'd soak them for a couple days in a huge tub even a plastic trash can with a heavy dose of Oxyclean. Put something heavy on top of them to squish them up and down. Rinse, look at them then maybe put them back in another oxyclean soak. After you are happy with them, lay them out somehow, maybe on a wooden porch wiht a sheet under them to let them dry. Don't get in too big a hurry, do one and don't rush. When that one is put out to dry, start the next one. DO NOT HANG THEM TO DRY, puts too much stress on posssibly weak fabric &/or seams

RetroClean is supposed to be a good product for cleaning old quilts. stains, etc.

After they are washed,drying flat in the sun for a couple of hours would help with the sanitation part..sun has UV light

The problem with drying in the sun is that sunlight fades fabric and fades it *fast*. For this reason it is always recommended that quilts dried outside be placed in the shade. Even indoor lighting fades fabric -- just not nearly as fast as sunlight.

Also you can try OdorBan (Home Depot carries it). It works well on urine (animal and human) and other organic smells. My biggest concern would be the black mold. It is toxic, so don't breath it in (in other words, stop sniffing the quilts- LOL) and wear gloves when handling those quilts with the mold. You need something like bleach to kill off the actual mold spores, but bleach is harmful to a lot of fabrics. Maybe someone else on QB can help with an alternative that will kill the mold, but not hurt the fabric. Be advised that even when the mold is killed, it can still leave black stains where it was on the fabric. Don't know if Oxyclean will kill the mold. Vinegar is not strong enough to kill mold and mildew, however.

Do you have a textile conservator (or quilt appraiser), textile department in a museum or college near you? I would try to call them to get suggestions on cleaning/restoring the quilts since they are family heirlooms.

Good luck and please let us know how you make out.
Anita

Let's face it... the quilts are ruined now. Nothing you do can hurt them any further. It can only improve them.

I'm surprised if it was a drug house you could have them at all...usually all of that is confiscated and destroyed because of the hazardous toxins in the very fibers of the items. That's why kids and other when taken from drug house can only leave with the clothes on their back and then they are destroyed once the kids are cleansed by social services (we provide blankets for this charity is why I know this).

Unless you have super good ventilation, I don't think I would even attempt to save them. That is harsh but do you really really really want to jeopardize your health for the quilts?

I would not have them in my house or car so the toxins do not leach out from them.

Putting them outside to air won't hurt them at this point either.

Ask a company that specializes in cleaning crime scenes (ask police for names) if they can be saved. It would be worth the money for an expert to do it rather than put you and your family at any risk.

Of course this is just my opinion. I value my current family & health over heirlooms that are currently ruined anyway.

You could call a fie/water restoration company and see if they recommend anything else. When we had smoke damage in our house years ago they had special cleaners for everything. Best of luck

remember that vinegar is a Natural disinfectant, it will kill the bacteria that may be in the quilts- freshen, get rid of odors and soften them. you may be surprised how well quilts survive laundering- and are more beautiful for it. I do not 'baby' my quilts- even the wool ones, and the ones I have sold for over $2000 have all been through the washing machine and dryer- quilts are much more 'durable' than people seem to think.

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.

So very nice of you to go ahead and take care of these abused quilts! I probably would have written them off as a lost cause, so I'm very happy to hear that they might be salvageable and appreciate the time that you are putting into getting them usable again. I wish you the best of luck with this project.

Well, thanks. But I'm not that nice. After being forced to retrieve them and breathe all that filth, I am not planning to return them. This house was supposed to be cleared out about ten days ago, but the person responsible deliberately left piles of nasty, neglected items for me to deal with.

You could wash them in the machine with minimal agitation. Rather than drying them in the dryer, I would put them on a sheet on the lawn if it is warm enough. The sunshine will help to deodorize and bleach stains. If that is not possible you could lay them on a basement floor on a sheet or on a hard floor surface to dry. Good idea to use Oxyclean or Retroclean in the wash and colorcatchers too. Good luck!

I would put them face down on the sheet so if there is any fading it is on the back!

Odors that seem to be gone can come back. I have had that happen with other fabric items. Odoban eats odors. I have a silly little dog, that doesn't always let us know she needs to go out. She handles it herself in one of my extra bedrooms. I pour a mixture of 1 capful of Odoban to a quart of water on the soiled area and just let it dry by itself. It does take a while. There is no odor left. Odoban is a wonderful disinfectant, odor eater. It would definitely be worth the $10 cost for the original Eucalyptus scent to get those quilts odor free. I use about a quarter cup of Odoban as the softener when I am doing laundry. Even tee-shirts that have a sweat odor in the fibers don't stand a chance.

That being said, I haven't tried it for the mold & mildew. I always use a little bleach on that type stuff. There are probably better products out there.

Depending on the drugs used you may have to discard them and see if they have contaminated anything in your house. As you know some things in a drug house, if they have made it must be destroyed to not cause permanent damage to others around them. I would make sure before using them and if you check with authorities they can tell you who to contact to see about that and how to clean them. It is best to be safe than sorry.

As many have said, they cannot be used or enjoyed as is. Wash and dry them and see what happens. You may lose one or two but mold must be dealt with regardless.

I like vintage and antique fabric items and wound up talking to a lady whose business included such things. She swore by

Sodium Perborate

for cleaning them. She said it is available from the druggist only. She also instructed me to speak with the druggist regarding the best way(s) to use it as well as the safest.

Please note that I have never used it but am creating a pile of fabrics that need attention.

One more thing. About Oxyclean. My experience is that it works the best when dissolved in the hottest water possible and the fabric is allowed to soak until the water is cold. Repeated soakings were occasionally necessary.

Tide has chemical wetters that open fiber pores and allow stains, etc. to come out more easily. Had a conversation with a Tide corp. rep. on that one.

Good luck and thanks for sharing my interest. Please let us know what you finally do and how it works. My grandmother loved lacy linens and as she got older did not care for them properly. She passed on at 96 and left some gravy stained, etc. table cloths and napkins that did come clean. And the fabric survived!

Pat

fyi for those who might ever want to add more water to a water saving front loader. i was told to add water by adding extra through the "bleach" dispenser.

Please reconsider your decision to dry them in the dryer. Even low heat in the dryer will just "set" stains. I always air dry until I am absolutely sure I have removed all stains.

Also use Retroclean....it works!

I have been giving away some of my quilts to family members and charities. Just mailed off three the other day. Also,give to Quilts Without Borders for overseas children in need......good organization. I too would say wash the quilts several times. good for u for salvaging them.

I wonder if I'm the only person in the world who cannot tolerate the odor of Odoban! I tried it once and had to give the rest of it away.

Tide has a new product - Tide with Febreeze. Might be worth a try.

My thoughts are: They are basically ruined, so wash them. One thing that I use to freshen up towels, sheets, etc. is to add baking soda and vinegar to my washing machine when I wash them. I would use about 1/4 box of baking soda and a couple cups of vinegar.

This is also how I clean the garberator in the kitchen, which seems to get smelly.

Good luck. Let us all know how you make out.

amh

http://www.rockymountainquilts.com/index.php--I read about this lady, Betsey Telford-Goodwin in Yankee magazine. She hand washes all the found quilts that she retores. Perhaps you could contact her.

Oh how my heart went out to you in this entry. I have given quilts to my son and his family over the years, and one day when I was over at his house after a move (they are now divorced) there was one of my quilts in the packing quilts pile of rubble......

And then another time when I was accidentally over at "her" house, there were two quilts that I had personalized and made for their two kids in one of her trash piles. Needless to say, my son got a tongue lashing for his half of my discovery, and "she" will never see another quilt of mine at her address. Don't get on my s- - - list, huh?

Anyway, I don't know how I got off on this tear; but I commend you for wanting to clean these quilts up, and it sounds like you are doing the same thing I would do. It breaks my heart to see something like that happen.

Wash them by any means above and then hang them outside on your line or deck rail in the sun for at least two days, three is better, if they still smell then do all this again. You can hang them with the pretty side in...

It's really annoying to see how ungrateful people are. I had little interest in the quilts because I think it's trashy to squabble over dead people's belongings, but this person has a grasping, greedy mentality, and she got them. It was part of a pattern. When relatives died, she would start claiming they had told her they wanted her to have this or that item, and it would end up in her house. Or she would simply take things from other people's houses and then claim she had had them all along. Then she let it all disintegrate. Now she is clamoring for my mother's silver, while my dad is still alive. My mother's gold Rolex and wedding ring are gone, probably pawned. My grandmother's wedding ring is gone. Tons of gold chains. Family photos were stolen. I recovered some. Others were lost to mold.

She fooled a relative into paying for most of a house for her and then giving her a right of survivorship. We finally got her out last week. Today a mold remediation guy told us every wall would have to come out. She left a water leak open under the house for years. I'm not the world's best housekeeper, but some people defy belief.

Your story makes me really angry, but I guess decent people should be grateful for the lessons others teach us about themselves.

Sorry if I seem to be turning a forum post into group therapy, but this has been a remarkable experience!

I agree with Moonwork about not having them in my house because of the toxins leaching out from the drugs not to mention the mold and other contaminants you mentioned. Please do some research there are drugs that are so toxic that they can't be removed from fabrics. In one of my volunteer pursuits I work as a Court Appointed Special Advocate and I've seen young children under 3 test positive for meth from being in the location where the parents were "cooking". The children were not able to bring any toys or clothes due to the contamination so please be careful.

how about some pictures when you get done? we would love to see the quilts that you put so much work into. thanks in advance.