I have had a great deal of success with oxiclean, the cheap one from Walmart. Dissolve about a cup in hot water and then add cold. Fill in washer and just gently push quilt down into it. Soak at least 24 hr, gently agitate and spin out on gentle. Then let fill with rinse water, agitate gently again and spin on gentle. I then hang on my deck rail so not all weight is on an end. This has worked several times for me.

Good information! :lol:

I read this about removing tobacco smoke from quilts. Put the quilt in a big trash bag with several bars of Safeguard soap (original scent) for a week. Safeguard is the only soap that would work.

If you have old textiles that you're determined to wash do it in the bathtub not the washer!! The agitation in a modern washer can turn old textiles into shreds! Even just spinning could rip some textiles depending on how delicate their condition is. Line the bathtub with a sheet and gently squeeze the water thru your textiles. Do not wring or twist! After you have rinsed extremely well you use the sheet to lift the textiles out of the tub.

There is a special product made for washing old textiles. I think it's called something like Antique Textile Wash.

We got some smoky pieces of fabric items from Pat's grandpa and it took forever to get them to their former splendor. I soaked the pieces in lukewarm water in the bathtub and I think I used Woolite. I must have changed the water a gazillion times before it was clear and the true color of the pieces showed.

I squeezed out most of the water and then rolled the piece in large bathtowels. Took it outside to dry.

Good luck!

Never use fabreeze or any dryer sheets on anything! They just mask odors and they also collect odors over time that are even harder to get rid of.

I agree that Vinegar and Baking Soda are your best bets. Make sure you dilute each of them well. Both products dissolve the dirt molicules and neutralize the odors naturally, and neither should harm your fabric. Both also soften the water, so that it cleans better. Oxyclean does basically the same thing and uses a stabilzed oxygen to dissolve the dirt molicules and neutralize odors.

If the quilt is off white or white, then you could use 3% hydrogen peroxide well diluted to soak in as well.

Always rinse very well, and dry outside as others have suggested.

Thank you for taking the time to read and respond to my dilemna.

I did bring home some cotton fabric which I will wash with soap and vinegar. This fabric will be for charity projects which a guild makes.

I will take my time before doing the double bed size quilt. I plan to move the dining room table and line the carpeted floor with heavy duty vinyl tarp before placing white sheets on top. I will use gentleness as I am afraid the fabric might shred. If I make a sheet sandwich with the quilt in the middle, I should be able to roll and turn over the quilt for drying.

My husband thinks this is too much work, but he is NOT the quilter in the family. The pattern is unusual and this is something tactile from Grandma :)

Meanwhile, the next few weekends will be taken up with travel back and forth to clean out the apartment. I am grateful that my family is very understanding.

Piecefully yours,
Kay Susan

I use Odor-ban from Sams Club after i wash something i use it in the rinse cycle works for me

I believe you have a lot of good advice as to getting the smoke out (except for using Fabreze) but I sure wouldn't lay it out in direct sunlight. I did that once and some of the colors in my quilt faded BADLY and my fabric wasn't old. The towel idea sounds pretty good.

I'd be very cautious about putting anything damp on a rug, even if there is a sheet in between the quilt and the rug. If the rug has a strong color, it could lose its dye to the sheet AND the quilt.

Or vice versa.