Retayne
06-28-2011, 07:30 AM
#1
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Join Date: Mar 2011
Location: Southern California Desert
Posts: 27
Can anyone tell me how you go about using this product on a queen size quilt......With a front opening washer??! I have a black, white, and red BB2 that I would like to use it on, but........
06-28-2011, 07:51 AM
#2
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Join Date: Jan 2010
Location: at my sewing machine
Posts: 1,916
go to the laundry mat and do it in a top load machine.
be sure to follow directions completely regarding how much fabric to how much retayne - you might need more then one bottle depending on how heavy this is.
be sure to follow directions completely regarding how much fabric to how much retayne - you might need more then one bottle depending on how heavy this is.
06-28-2011, 08:10 AM
#4
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Location: Western Wisconsin
Posts: 12,930
Originally Posted by Skid
Can anyone tell me how you go about using this product on a queen size quilt......With a front opening washer??! I have a black, white, and red BB2 that I would like to use it on, but........
Most likely what you want to use is Synthrapol, which suspends unset dye particles in the water so they can be rinsed away instead of settling into other fabric.
Ordinarily, to wash a queen-size quilt, I would take it to the laundromat and use their largest front-loading washing machine. However, when you are using Synthrapol, you really need as much water as possible in order for all of the unset dye particles to stay in the water. For that you need a top-loader. However, you also need to be able to skip the agitation cycles; I'm not sure you can do that in a laundromat. You might need to find a friend or relative with a top-loader.
With a top-loader, what you want to do is half-fill the tub with water, add the Synthrapol and mix it in, then add your quilt and the rest of the water. Stop the machine so it does not agitate (hard on the quilt), and hand agitate instead by pushing down on the quilt. (Because Synthrapol requires hot water, you may need rubber gloves for this.) After you have hand agitated, skip forward to the spin cycle and spin out the wash water. Fill with rinse water, again stop the machine and hand agitate, then skip ahead to the spin cycle. You want two rinses and spins.
An important thing to remember is that you do not want damp fabric sitting on damp fabric for any length of time, as this will encourage "crocking" (movement of dye from one fabric to another). It's important not to let the wet or damp quilt sit in the washing machine. When done, immediately spread it out to dry (or tumble dry, preferably in a large laundromat dryer).
That is how I would do it, anyway.
Do you have any scraps of the original fabric to test? If so, I would do a test wash on the fabrics all together to get an idea of how much bleeding there may or may not be. You could have anything from a combo that does not bleed at all to a never-ending-bleeding red. A test would give you a lot of information about how careful you need to be. The more bleeding there is, the more water you need with the Synthrapol (and the more Synthrapol you need).
06-28-2011, 11:38 AM
#7
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Join Date: Mar 2011
Location: Southern California Desert
Posts: 27
Thank you all very much. And thank you Prism99 for taking time to give me further info so I do not ruin my quilt. Yes, I have scraps and will take your advise. I did wash the red a couple of times before cutting, etc. so hopefully any bleeding it had in it is all out of it's system!! That would be the best case senario.
06-28-2011, 02:08 PM
#8
Junior Member
Join Date: Oct 2010
Location: Massachusetts
Posts: 219
I spoke with the rep from ProChem( company that makes Retayne, synthrapol, etc.) at MQX, and she was very specific that it is a bad idea to use any high-efficiency washer, whether top or front loading. She said a bathtub would work though..seems like a lot of physical work, I would rather borrow a regular washer from someone!
06-28-2011, 02:16 PM
#10
Super Member
Join Date: Apr 2010
Location: Illinois
Posts: 9,312
Originally Posted by Prism99
Originally Posted by Skid
Can anyone tell me how you go about using this product on a queen size quilt......With a front opening washer??! I have a black, white, and red BB2 that I would like to use it on, but........
Most likely what you want to use is Synthrapol, which suspends unset dye particles in the water so they can be rinsed away instead of settling into other fabric.
Ordinarily, to wash a queen-size quilt, I would take it to the laundromat and use their largest front-loading washing machine. However, when you are using Synthrapol, you really need as much water as possible in order for all of the unset dye particles to stay in the water. For that you need a top-loader. However, you also need to be able to skip the agitation cycles; I'm not sure you can do that in a laundromat. You might need to find a friend or relative with a top-loader.
With a top-loader, what you want to do is half-fill the tub with water, add the Synthrapol and mix it in, then add your quilt and the rest of the water. Stop the machine so it does not agitate (hard on the quilt), and hand agitate instead by pushing down on the quilt. (Because Synthrapol requires hot water, you may need rubber gloves for this.) After you have hand agitated, skip forward to the spin cycle and spin out the wash water. Fill with rinse water, again stop the machine and hand agitate, then skip ahead to the spin cycle. You want two rinses and spins.
An important thing to remember is that you do not want damp fabric sitting on damp fabric for any length of time, as this will encourage "crocking" (movement of dye from one fabric to another). It's important not to let the wet or damp quilt sit in the washing machine. When done, immediately spread it out to dry (or tumble dry, preferably in a large laundromat dryer).
That is how I would do it, anyway.
Do you have any scraps of the original fabric to test? If so, I would do a test wash on the fabrics all together to get an idea of how much bleeding there may or may not be. You could have anything from a combo that does not bleed at all to a never-ending-bleeding red. A test would give you a lot of information about how careful you need to be. The more bleeding there is, the more water you need with the Synthrapol (and the more Synthrapol you need).
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