Shop sent me stinking fabric - help!
#21
Super Member
Join Date: Aug 2018
Location: Greater Peoria, IL -- just moved!
Posts: 6,168
As someone with a couple of allergies and many sensitivities, I can tell you that a lot of fabric stinks. Fortunately, most cottons can be cleaned. I'm a fan of prewashing anyway, part of that is to take away the scents and treatments applied to new cloth.
Fabreeze is perfect for this sort of thing, even without washing. I've found that when I have bought bags of scraps that turn out to be severely smoke infested, that just spritzing Fabreeze on both sides and letting it dry will help tremendously. If you wash after the spritz, it will take tobacco smoke out completely.
I still haven't found anything that completely removes moth ball odor. Maybe I'm just super sensitive to the odor, but I don't even try to salvage fabric with moth ball smell. I have a lovely shop near me that specializes in fancy fabrics and trims for saris and such, many of it is imported shipped with moth balls. I have to sniff test anything/everything in the shop before I buy.
Fabreeze is perfect for this sort of thing, even without washing. I've found that when I have bought bags of scraps that turn out to be severely smoke infested, that just spritzing Fabreeze on both sides and letting it dry will help tremendously. If you wash after the spritz, it will take tobacco smoke out completely.
I still haven't found anything that completely removes moth ball odor. Maybe I'm just super sensitive to the odor, but I don't even try to salvage fabric with moth ball smell. I have a lovely shop near me that specializes in fancy fabrics and trims for saris and such, many of it is imported shipped with moth balls. I have to sniff test anything/everything in the shop before I buy.
#23
When I first started quilting in 1980 they used formaldehyde to set the colors in fabric. I could barely stand to be in the quilt shop for any length of time. The only solution is to wash them and then air them. I would put the fat quarters in a sink with Borax and color catchers and let them soak for 15-20 minutes. Rinse them with baking soda and then clear water. That should remove the odor.
#24
Power Poster
Join Date: May 2008
Location: MN
Posts: 24,659
As someone with a couple of allergies and many sensitivities, I can tell you that a lot of fabric stinks. Fortunately, most cottons can be cleaned. I'm a fan of prewashing anyway, part of that is to take away the scents and treatments applied to new cloth.
Fabreeze is perfect for this sort of thing, even without washing. I've found that when I have bought bags of scraps that turn out to be severely smoke infested, that just spritzing Fabreeze on both sides and letting it dry will help tremendously. If you wash after the spritz, it will take tobacco smoke out completely.
I still haven't found anything that completely removes moth ball odor. Maybe I'm just super sensitive to the odor, but I don't even try to salvage fabric with moth ball smell. I have a lovely shop near me that specializes in fancy fabrics and trims for saris and such, many of it is imported shipped with moth balls. I have to sniff test anything/everything in the shop before I buy.
Fabreeze is perfect for this sort of thing, even without washing. I've found that when I have bought bags of scraps that turn out to be severely smoke infested, that just spritzing Fabreeze on both sides and letting it dry will help tremendously. If you wash after the spritz, it will take tobacco smoke out completely.
I still haven't found anything that completely removes moth ball odor. Maybe I'm just super sensitive to the odor, but I don't even try to salvage fabric with moth ball smell. I have a lovely shop near me that specializes in fancy fabrics and trims for saris and such, many of it is imported shipped with moth balls. I have to sniff test anything/everything in the shop before I buy.
#26
Super Member
Join Date: May 2011
Location: Pacific NW
Posts: 9,559
#27
I've heard that sometimes fabric is treated with pesticides (especially fabric that is printed overseas). Maybe this is what you are smelling?
Hope you find a solution to your stinky problem.
Hope you find a solution to your stinky problem.
#28
Go to the grocery store and buy a bag of the cheapest clay cat litter you can find. Unfold your fabric and wad it up so there’s plenty of air space in the wad. Put it in a paper bag, then put the bag in a tote bin or box of some kind and cover it with the litter. Leave it for a few days. I have done this with old books and it takes every trace of smell out of them, including smoke.
#29
Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Oct 2020
Posts: 7
Thank you all so much for your helpful replies!
I contacted the shop and they said that I could send back the yardage and they would then send me replacements. However, considering how long it took for the order to arrive, coupled with the fact that we’re moving to a different state in July, I didn’t think that would be a great idea. I might end up with more stress than I need right now.
Luckily, I’ve been having some success with getting that awful smell out. I left both pieces of yardage on a new cutting mat that has a plastic-type smell and covered everything in brown packing paper. The fabric initially picked up some of that plastic smell but after airing it out the next day, seems to have removed the bad odour quite a bit. It hasn’t been eliminated completely but it’s definitely much better than it was before. Like some of you mentioned, I also wondered if it was something from the printing process. I can’t tell for sure. It didn’t smell like chemicals though. It was more like it was stored in the kitchen of a takeout restaurant!?! I’ll repeat the process a couple more times and may try some of the suggestions from the comments. I wrapped the FQ bundle in packing paper and that now smells completely neutral thankfully.
I contacted the shop and they said that I could send back the yardage and they would then send me replacements. However, considering how long it took for the order to arrive, coupled with the fact that we’re moving to a different state in July, I didn’t think that would be a great idea. I might end up with more stress than I need right now.
Luckily, I’ve been having some success with getting that awful smell out. I left both pieces of yardage on a new cutting mat that has a plastic-type smell and covered everything in brown packing paper. The fabric initially picked up some of that plastic smell but after airing it out the next day, seems to have removed the bad odour quite a bit. It hasn’t been eliminated completely but it’s definitely much better than it was before. Like some of you mentioned, I also wondered if it was something from the printing process. I can’t tell for sure. It didn’t smell like chemicals though. It was more like it was stored in the kitchen of a takeout restaurant!?! I’ll repeat the process a couple more times and may try some of the suggestions from the comments. I wrapped the FQ bundle in packing paper and that now smells completely neutral thankfully.
Last edited by sewexcited; 06-14-2021 at 08:30 AM.
#30
When I first started quilting in 1980 they used formaldehyde to set the colors in fabric. I could barely stand to be in the quilt shop for any length of time. The only solution is to wash them and then air them. I would put the fat quarters in a sink with Borax and color catchers and let them soak for 15-20 minutes. Rinse them with baking soda and then clear water. That should remove the odor.