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You are planning to make 29 quilts?
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I would toss it. We live in the country and have had problems with rodents in the past with stuff stored outside or in the motor home. I toss.
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Originally Posted by sweetpea
jut wash and dry it and be done.
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This won't apply to your fabric because I'm sure you don't want to take a chance gettin debris or smell on or in your machine - but if you have a serger - I always serge the cut ends of my fabrics BEFORE I wash them - NO RAVELING - neat and easy to press. Worth the minute it takes.
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This won't apply to your fabric because I'm sure you don't want to take a chance gettin debris or smell on or in your machine - but if you have a serger - I always serge the cut ends of my fabrics BEFORE I wash them - NO RAVELING - neat and easy to press. Worth the minute it takes.
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Originally Posted by SheriR
I am finely in my new house enough that I can start on my 29 quilts.
My problem is, my Mother-in-Law's fabric had mice so it must all be washed. 18 boxes full..... Do you think just Tide and Downy is good, or do I need to use something stronger? It's disgusting....... Also, I only want to wash it on gentle so I get the least amount of fray possible... |
Are these quilts for charity or for someone you know. If it's for someone you know, I wouldn't be talking about the mouse stuff too much because they will never use the quilt if they know...sounds kinda gross
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Just Tide in hot water
& a good drying should do the trick. No need to disinfect. J J |
I saw on one of the posts that we should not use fabric softener when prewashing. The fusible will not stick to fabric washed with fabric softener. That is important to me since I use fusible stabilizer for my machine embroidery.
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Whatever you use, use it in a laudramat!
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Recently read somewhere to use 1 cup white vinegar and 1 cup baking soda in laundry tub to soak one hour to remove cat/dog urine and think it might work in your case too.
vinegar is a natural disinfectant. then rinse and launder as usual. Let us know how it goes |
Add Lysol liquid to the wash.
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Just regular washing and drying will do the trick. The friction in washing agitator kills germs. I would run the rinse cycle twice. I wouldn't put it in the dryer. I would air dry (out of the sun). Don't go overboard on chemicals. Simple detergent will handle the germs.
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I would wash it in warm water at least with Tide, and then in the dryer. To help prevent the fabric from fraying, cut off a corner of all 4 corners of the fabric. For whatever reason it seems to work well and you won't get all those threads, just stip a triangle off each corner. For darker colors, I would add vinegar to the water to set the colors.
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Add about a cup of vinegar to the water to help remove smells from fabric. Since you want to wash in mildly to reduce fraying try soaking it for a short time and then finish the wash
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Time to update.
First thanks to everyone for all your advice and imput. I aquired this fabric from my 88 yrold. mother-in-law's stash of 50 years or more. The plan is to make a quilt for each of her 29 grandchildren, "like grandma would make." They will be from grandma. This material was stored in her basement in her "fabric closet." As I was packing it up, I noticed mouse droppings on the shelves. No nests, no large amounts. But just the fact that there were SOME dropping...I decided to wash all the fabric before I use it. After all your help earlier in this post. I went to Walmart. I am washing it with laundry soap and OxiClean and Downy. (I'll stop using fabric softener as per suggestion.)I am drying it on lines outside at our new house I strung on a gazebo. It's been 110 degrees outside so that, I feel is also adding to the cleansing of the fabric. Then I am folding and stacking it in piles according to color in the cupbords of my office/sewing room. |
To prevent fraying, straight stitch on the ends. It works.
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serge or zigzag the edges and then wash the heck out of them...I would use a good detergenbt and borax...Good luck
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serge or zigzag the edges and then wash the heck out of them...I would use a good detergenbt and borax...Good luck
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Originally Posted by wraez
Recently read somewhere to use 1 cup white vinegar and 1 cup baking soda in laundry tub to soak one hour to remove cat/dog urine and think it might work in your case too.
vinegar is a natural disinfectant. then rinse and launder as usual. Let us know how it goes |
Originally Posted by SheriR
The plan is to make a quilt for each of her 29 grandchildren, "like grandma would make." They will be from grandma.
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Originally Posted by SheriR
I am finely in my new house enough that I can start on my 29 quilts.
My problem is, my Mother-in-Law's fabric had mice so it must all be washed. 18 boxes full..... Do you think just Tide and Downy is good, or do I need to use something stronger? It's disgusting....... Also, I only want to wash it on gentle so I get the least amount of fray possible... |
I am glad to hear it is not as bad as some of us, me included, imagined it from your first post and that you are mostly being proactive and playing it safe by washing. Can't wait to see the quilts.
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Do you have a serger? We have found that if you serge the 2 ends of your fabric together making it into a tube - 1) you eliminate fraying and 2) it is easier to manage and doesn't tangle up so bad if it is a very large piece. Perhaps this will help regardless of how you decide to wash.
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Has anyone heard of Odoban? I buy it at the Lowes Home Improvement store. It kills 99.99% of germs. Laundry refresher and air freshner, too. Maybe this is something you could use and it comes in different scents.
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i would use the tide and some baking soda in with the soap , i use it in my laundry and gives my clothes a fresh smell
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Originally Posted by Annaquilts
I am glad to hear it is not as bad as some of us, me included, imagined it from your first post and that you are mostly being proactive and playing it safe by washing. Can't wait to see the quilts.
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I would sure as heck disinfect it with liquid Lysol concentrate, about an ounce per load, with hot, hot water & a good detergent. If you do a second rinse with Arm & Hammer baking soda, it will take all the Lysol odor out of the fabric & soften it at the same time. Good luck!!!!
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You know the hantavirus is serious! We had a friend who incountered this when cleaning a cabin. He was wearing protection as well. A long story short he spent a week in ICU. Please protect your self. I'd don a mask and rubber gloves even if the virus is not prevalent in your area. Good luck.
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Don't think I would use fabric softner, and would dry the pieces just short of dry, still damp for ironing ease.
delma |
Sorry, but I would throw it out!
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Originally Posted by bearisgray
I'm from the country -
If - as far as you know - the mice are healthy in your part of the world - and you are reasonably healthy and not pregnant - I would take the fabrics outside - (I might consider a mask and gloves at this point) Shake the loose stuff off - ********************************** This all sounds good - one concern came to my mind since I had lived in a small town where everyone had their own septic system, hopefully you have city sewer and won't have problems other than higher sewer bill - in out small town, the children of one of my friends got the dreded "head lice" at school, everything - EVERYTHING in her house was washed, lots of loads of laundry, and her septic system couldn't handle it and collapsed. Wouldn't want that to happen to you . . . Good Luck... Sort according to colors - wash the fabrics in HOT water with almost any detergent (maybe for 10 minutes) - on the most gentle cycle you have available. Don't overload the washer. I would rinse the fabrics twice. Then dry - either on a clothesline or in a dryer. I think it's agitation and abrasion that makes fabric look old before it's time. So - just fill the washer about half full of fabric - use maximum fill for water - and off you go. Unless you are in a water restriction area - then just store everything in covered plastic bins until water is available. I still would shake the loose stuff off first. |
Originally Posted by winter012
I would sure as heck disinfect it with liquid Lysol concentrate, about an ounce per load, with hot, hot water & a good detergent. If you do a second rinse with Arm & Hammer baking soda, it will take all the Lysol odor out of the fabric & soften it at the same time. Good luck!!!!
If someone gave me a quilt washed in floor mopping lysol, I would have to pass. I have emphysema, and border on environmental illness. Can't handle scents. |
Mom was a home midwife in the 80's. I assisted.
To sterilize baby clothes, we had the family wash (not new) cotton clothes in hot water, soap (not detergent), place the clothes in a very clean brown paper bag. Bake it in the oven at 200 for an hour. Maybe this will help. Wash it all up, store it until it is cool enough to run the oven. |
Originally Posted by SheriR
Originally Posted by Annaquilts
I am glad to hear it is not as bad as some of us, me included, imagined it from your first post and that you are mostly being proactive and playing it safe by washing. Can't wait to see the quilts.
Measure your fabric as you finish washing, and label with the length as you fold it to store. You'll be glad you did when it comes time to pick out what's needed for your quilts. |
Originally Posted by QuiltE
Originally Posted by SheriR
Originally Posted by Annaquilts
I am glad to hear it is not as bad as some of us, me included, imagined it from your first post and that you are mostly being proactive and playing it safe by washing. Can't wait to see the quilts.
Measure your fabric as you finish washing, and label with the length as you fold it to store. You'll be glad you did when it comes time to pick out what's needed for your quilts. |
No reason why you can't start now ... I wish someone had nudged me to do so when I started my stash! :) Would make life so much easier when I go "stash shopping"!!!!!
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And if you are curious/obsessive - measure your fabrics before and after washing - you may find the results "interesting"
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My feelings are that there is NO one who hasnt had a mouse or two in their cupboards or house over their lifetime.
Think about people using cloth napkins in nice restaurants, cloth tablecloths, and they launder them and they are reused. Sheets in Hotels, and towels. You use cloth diapers and let them sit a day or two and launder in the machine with gentle detergent, and toss over your shoulder for a burp cloth. You either believe that laundring things gets them clean, or you dont. If y ou dont, you would have to be living in total isolation in a rubber suit if you went outside. Everything you touch in public places has been touched and h andled by people with every kind of virus and germ poossible. Cats in th e house catch mice and chew on them, lick their behind, then lick themselves all over and come lick your arm, and we cuddle them and no one runs to wash the arm or bathe the cat 3X a day. Same for dogs. I personally believe laundering things gets it clean. Otherwise, most of us would die before we ever got school age. |
P.S. Quilt shops and all stores have mice too. We just dont see them before they are trapped.
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