I found this forum the other day and have been reading here and there and really enjoying it. You guys are great! I hadn't planned on making any posts but I have an emergency.

I moved my sewing room to our basement. I'm in south Texas and basements aren't very common and maybe they don't know to make them here because ours leaks. The hurricane last week (the week before?) gave us appx 6" of rain in a day or two and, of course, the basement leaked.

I knew the basement leaks but what I didn't know was the cabinets I had installed on an outside basement wall would let water enter the back of the cabinets. Now about half of my fabric is damp/wet. I didn't discover it until today and it smells but I haven't found any mildew. (BTW, the contractor that installed the cabinets for me is also surprised water got into them and will try to figure out what to do to avoid this in the future.)

What do I do??? I know normally when you wash fabric you sew the raw edges but there are literally hundreds of pieces. (I inherited my mothers stash plus what I already had so it's a lot!) Can I wash it without sewing the raw edges? Will it be a big mess? Will it unravel much? Or should I just start sewing, washing and drying? I can't imagine how long that will take but I will do whatever is necessary.

Please let me know what you think. Thanks!

I would just wash and dry as quickly as possible and worry about the edges later.

Wash it and maybe throw vinegar in the water

I agree with UglyCook. Wash & dry as much as possible as you can. You will have a few tangles and strings, but as you unload washer take yourscissors with you and cut & put in dryer. I would even be tempted to put vinegar in rinse water in case there is the beginning of meldew.
Good Luck. I do not envy you. Let us know how turns out.

Also add a cup of white vinegar to the water.

Get it in the wash as soon as you can. Take a pair of scissors with you when you take it out of the washer and clip all the strings.

I would also put the smaller pieces into a mesh bag to wash them as there is less chance of them raveling as much.

You can also clip a little triangle off of each corner. This will keep it from raveling. Good luck. Just think how nice and clean it will be when you are all finished.

I can help. I learned from my daughter leaving wet clothes in the washer for a few days and I would find them smelling sour. I found that if you put a cup to a cup and half of white vinegar in a full load let it agitate for a few seconds then let it sit for about a 1/2 hour to an hour in the vinegar water then let the cycle run. This usually will do the trick. Depends on how bad the smell is you may have to do it again. You can also add soap to the water.

Good luck!

Sorry, by the time I got my response typed others had already beat me to the vinegar cure. lol Sorry to repeat.