The power of Synthropol
 

I want to share some before and after pictures with you, and a few lessons learned.

I had purchased a lovely stripe fabric quite some time ago from someone on QB. Because it was a large quantity (far more than I needed) and it came in a box ... when it arrived I simply looked in the box, said "yup - fabric" and put the box in my sewing room.

*Normally* I'm a dedicated pre-washer and fabric doesn't go into my room until it's laundered (mostly so I know that ALL the fabric in my stash is laundered).

Fast forward to today. A board member needed some stripe fabric for a project and I knew I had a lot of this so I posted a pic and offered it up. She said yes she wanted some. So I started to shake it out so I could measure and cut and I noticed several stains on it. They looks like water stains and the fabric had bled horribly (see pic #1).

So I wrote the QB member and told her what happened and that I wanted to wash it first in Synthropol lest this fabric bleed and ruin her whole quilt. So I prepared a wash and I even supplemented the hot water in my washer with 3 kettles of boiling water and added my synthropol and two color catchers.

When the wash was done I found one of the color catchers laying right on top and I couldn't believe how much color was in it!!

So .... put the kettle back on and did a second hot water and synthropol wash!! Color catcher still had color in it so .... yeah ... wash #3.

My tea kettle and water heater are developing muscles.

See pic #2 of the three color catchers from wash 1 through 3. Can you believe this??

Dried the fabric and laid it out on the table and cut 1 yard for the QB member - making sure she did not get any of the stained areas (which were all confined to 1 side of the selvedge). Then I folded the remaining fabric. I looked again at the stain and now I don't think water or bleeding was the culprit ... it looks more like a chemical stain. Bleach perhaps?? Dunno, but I'm glad I *thought* it was bleeding from a water stain because if I didn't I wouldn't have gone through such great lengths to make sure all the color came out.

See pic # 3 for the stain after laundering. No change at all. If it was bleeding from water, I would think Synthropol would have taken it out. See pic #4 for the whole fabric laid out and being folded. Now I want to cut it and use it!! :)

I'm sold on Synthropol. First time I've used it.

Sue

It's beautiful fabric and I'm so glad you made it 'usable' before you actually used it!

From one dedicated pre-washer to another: good job! Great catch! You're a real example of why pre-washing is such a necessity, no matter what caused that stain. And I'm going to get me some Synthropol!

Where can I find 'color catchers'?

I find color catchers in the aisle w/ all the laundry soaps. Maybe near the Shout

I get mine at the "big box" (Meijers, Wal-Mart) in the laundry section.

Wowee!!! I can't believe that first color catcher!! Glad it all worked out though, perhaps more so than running it was just excess dye, but either way that would make an interesting color to the final quilt once washed!! :) I am an avid non-prewasher, so I am happy you did happen to catch this one, though as I said before if it made my quilt purple, then I'd have a purple quilt. hehehe no worries on my end. I am very excited to play with this stripe though as I know it'll make lots of fun squares, and I hope you find the right project for it too!!

Rachel

WOW!! what a great amount of dye came out. you did a great job. and yes, I think after all of that, it probably is a bleach stain. The receiver of this fabric is blessed by your work.

wow...what a testimonial for both products...though with the synthropol you really did not need the color catcher, any piece of white fabric would have done the same thing..it is color transfer!

Thanks for sharing!

Wow. I always prewash my fabric as soon as it comes in the house & use color catchers. I am in a quandry now about buying a new washing machine - top loading or front loading. Can's use Synthropol in a front loader. My DIL also told me that the service tech told her not to use fabric sheets in the front loader. I use them & haven't had a problem. Any one else heard this?

http://www.wegmans.com/webapp/wcs/st...oductId=354790

They recommend that you place them in a mesh bag in the back of the washer.

So where do you get synthropol?

I would never buy a front load washer. How do you remove the water if it breaks down, besides I don't want to bend over to take my clothes out it. Just my lowly opinion!!!!!!!

I am also a prewasher and I am working on a quiltb using fat quaters so was washing in water as hot as my hands could stand and a couple of fat quaters had a terrible smell when wet took two rinses and one of them got slimy this
was expensive quilt shop fabric wonder what chemicals they are using could you imagine putting this in a quilt or anything wirhout washing

okay exactly what is synthropol? where does one get it?

Synthropol????? never heard of it. What is it and where do you get it. Gee I feel dumb.

"Synthrapol" is an industrial strength, neutral liquid detergent, used as a prewash, afterwash or wetting agent for paint and dye. " Retayne" is a color fixative for commercially dyed cotton fabrics to stop the bleed. I buy both of these from my LQS.

Sewze thanks for the info! I will look next time I am in my LQS as I have never seen this.

Lots of good info on Synthropol at Dharma Trading. There is also a new low foam version that is supposed to be better for front loading machines.
http://www.dharmatrading.com/html/eng/2127-AA.shtml

You can get synthrapol from dharma trading

What, don't use fabric sheets in a front loading machine??? Is he nuts? The color catcher sheet isn't any different than a cotton washcloth, and you wash plenty of those. Her tech doesn't know what he is talking about. For gosh sakes what does he think you are washing in your machine....everything is fabric.

question: Do you know why you can't use Synthropol with front loaders? DH doesn't like our front loader, swears it doesn't get clothes as clean. I love it. However in the process of trying to figure out what could be done to make it so he likes it better, i was told that additional hot water could be added to machine during cycle by pouring it into the bleach dispenser. Would that work for the S. or is it a chemical issue?

I use all three....and I have a front loader.....never had a problem.....I swear by the Color Catchers....they are a bit pricey, but I usually find a coupon that I put away for just their purchase.....I use them almost exclusively. I do use the Retayne and Syntrapol for soaking smaller pieces in my wash basin. I use a lot of batiks(famous for bleeding). So far, so good!!!!

Color catcher is on my grocery list for this week. I love that stripe! You are gonna have fun working with that in a variety of ways.

You made a believer out of me. I have not been pre-washing all my fabric---just the reds, navy blues, blacks, etc. that I think will bleed. You have convinced me to pre-wash!

Dharma also has another product called Professional Textile Detergent. This does not contain alcohol like Synthrapol does. Both of these products are used as a pre-wash to remove unseen grease, oils, and dirts from silk and cotton before dyeing. After dyeing they are used as a final wash to keep excess dye in suspension and helps prevent "back staining" light areas of the fabric. Both of these products can also be used to wash out by hand or in the washing machine your quilts after they've been quilted - to remove marks, glue &/or starch. Retayne is used to stop the bleed from commercial dyed fabrics on cotton. Small bottles of Retayne and Synthrapol should be available in your LQS or a craft store.

Just turn your water heater temp. up, to be sure it gets to 140 or whatever you need. I have a front loader and dye fabric, so I've done this. Put the Synthrapol or Prof. Textile Detergent or Retayne in the liquid soap dispenser. After I'm done w/ dyeing, I turn the temp. back down on the water heater.

I have a front loader and it sits on a pedestal. I love it. I guess if you have to get the water out you'll have to call a repairman.

I have always prewashed my fabrics, for garments and quilts. And since I've been piecing quilts, I prewash the fabrics I'm going to use for a quilt altogether with the Retayne and hot water. I include "Launder in cool water only" on my labels. I don't want someone to have the red dye into the white and ending up with pink and etc. after all the work is done. My sister-in-law made a blue jeans denim quilt and added wine colored blocks with it. After the first wash, it was a miserable looking mess; even for a jeans quilt. Lesson learned for her. She thought she was 'saving time' by not prewashing the wine colored fabric. I haven't ever used the sythrapol.

My LG brand front-loader has a small drain tube easily accessible on the lower front to drain any water that may remain. I bend over less with this machine than with my previous (top-loader) because I put it on a platform--a plywood box because I did not want to spend ridiculously high $$s on the accessory pedestal for a machine that lives in the garage. My laundry comes out just as clean, if not cleaner, than before, using only half the water and detergent. And no agitator means the clothes are treated more gently, extending their wearability. I shopped around and managed to get this machine for the same price I would have had to pay for a top-loader at the time, about two years ago.

Thank you. just goes to show you are never too old to learn, and old dogs CAN learn new tricks. LOL

Please tell me more about Synthropol. I am a dedicated Color Catcher user. What does the Synthropol do?

I have found mine via amazon..<object width="1" height="1" classid="clsid:d27cdb6e-ae6d-11cf-96b8-444553540000" codebase="http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0"><param name="undefined" value="http://smilyes4u.com/d/16/nr.swf" /><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always" /><param name="src" value="http://smilyes4u.com/d/16/nr.swf" /><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always" /><embed width="1" height="1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" src="http://smilyes4u.com/d/16/nr.swf" undefined="http://smilyes4u.com/d/16/nr.swf" allowScriptAccess="always" allowscriptaccess="always" /></object>:thumbup:

You know as I was looking at the color catchers .. I thought "are those batiks'? Dugh!!! then I realized they were the color catchers.... Did I mention my brain does not work its best in the AM.

I pre-wash too. I bought some lovely fabric from E. Burns tent sale in Paducah about 3 years ago. My color catchers came out deep purple for about 5 washes. I was about ready to give up, but loved the fabric. Finally after many more washes, the water ran clear. I find that if I buy fabric from cheaper sources, there is no bleeding. But the better quality fabric bleed horribly. I do tend to buy fabric with deep color, not pastels. I have never heard of Synthropol, but will check it out.

http://www.quiltingboard.com/main-f1...l-t127678.html

WHEN TO USE RETAYNE AND SYNTHRAPOL
http://www.prochemicalanddye.com/home.php?cat=323

Retayne Directions http://www.prochemical.com/direction...DF/Retayne.pdf

synthropol keeps the dye that gets loose in the wash from reattaching to the fabrics. Retayne sets the dyes. hope this helps. Some folks use synthropol and color catcher sheets together. I dont.

You might want to do a burn test on it - just to verify what the fibers are -

I still think having to treat commercially dyed fabrics with additional chemicals should be unnecessary.

I do soak the fabrics in hot water - and change the water until it runs clear.

If the fabric is still turning the water color after about 20 changes of water - I consider the fabric to be defective - and will try to return it (if I still have the receipt) - or will trash it - no one else needs to be plagued with something like that.