charity quilters - dirty fabrics/flimsies, what do you do?
 

It has been brought to my attention that the charity quilts are dirty. Is their a way to wash then before they go out to be quilted. One of the members with a long arm says that working with moldy, smoky, dirty quilts can make her leaders dirty and that will transfer to other projects she works on. What to do?

I had a really dirty old flimsy once that HAD to be washed. You should have seen the color of water in the tub. I was super careful -----and the back seams on the flimsy turned into a real ravelly disaster.

How can people stand handling the fabric to make the quilts if it is that bad. Moldy, smoky or dirty fabric should be thrown away, not made into quilts meant for people. If it will be bad for the long arm machine it surely can't be good for humans.

I agree, if they are that bad toss them out. If you just can't do that, I would just soak them in a large sink or tub in soapy water, gently rinse and lay flat to dry. No agitation in the washer and no tumble drying for sure.

I refuse to donate anything dirty, smokey, stained. I just don't know how anyone can be so rude. We put a mattress set on the curb but wrapped it in the plastic our new mattress came in. We were very careful and sealed it. I have had mattress pads on my mattresses for at least 45 years and always water proof. I learned when my mother's water broke prior to her giving birth to my youngest sister. Stained her mattress and had to get a new one. Nothing is donated dirty.

It's a tough call, because someone made the charity quilts coming from a loving place. I would wash it carefully in my kitchen sink in cold water with a little bit of gentle laundry detergent. Soak it with soap, rinse, soak again. Drain it and dry it flat if you can.

If you can bear it, sew a stay stitch seam around the perimeter of the top before you launder.

i would fold it in half with seam allowances on the inside and baste it closed before washing it. i'm of the school of saving everything that can be saved.

Mold isn't just gross, it's dangerous...especially to people with compromised immunity and or breathing issues. If it's that dirty, smoky, moldy that it needs to be washed, I'm not going to handle it sewing around it. Sorry.
And I also wouldn't donate anything that I wouldn't use myself.

This is a common problem. There can be other issues, such as items which are badly constructed or need repairs. These things all take time to resolve, and for me, they take a toll on my psychological well-being. My project right now is to inspect and "fix" several dozen double fleece tied fringe blankets donated for children. None have square knots, none have the layers stitched together at any point, most have not trimmed the selvages off, and a few have pet hair on them.

I think that each group leader needs to make a decision as to what is worth spending the time on and what isn't. Although most quilts, blankets, fabric, etc. are donated with wonderful intentions, keep in mind that some things are given in the hopes that "someone can do something with this." If they hadn't found your group to give it to, they would probably have discarded the item, since they didn't want to tackle its "issues".

Education of volunteers and donors is so important, but there are people who are "walk on" one time donors who don't get the message, and face it, there are people whose standards are very low. Do not feel bad if you have to discard donations.

At the risk of sounding heartless, I will tell you that I regularly repair charity afghans made by a sweet blind lady and given to our group.