I have a few quilts made by hand by my grandmother and my husband's grandmother. Would you wash them in a front loading washing machine with water and soap or dry clean them?
2006-11-09 09:22:01 · 9 answers · asked by a_delphic_oracle 6 in Home & Garden ➔ Cleaning & Laundry
I would suggest taking them to a professional for laundering. You don't want to dry-clean them, but a washing machine may be too violent and break the threads in the quilting. An alternative would be to fold the quilt and put it in the bathtub with some warm water and Woolite, and with CLEAN feet, walk back and forth over the quilt for about 20 minutes to saturate it and move the soapy water thru the fabric. Let it drain well, then repeat with cool water a few times to rinse it. Roll the quilt up loosely, and press down on it well to sqeeze out the excess water, then line dry. My mom washes all her quilts this way, and some of them are Amish quilts that are 75 years old...
2006-11-09 09:27:14 · answer #1 · answered by Angela M 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Quilts made today can be machine washed, but your quilts could be 50 years old or more so they need to be treated differently. It depends on the condition of the quilts, and the materials used. Be sure that you don't have fabrics that will bleed. You can test them by blotting each fabric with a wet white cloth and checking for color transfer. This isn't a guarantee that it won't bleed, so if you do wash it, throw in a Shout Color Catcher to help trap loose dye in the water.
If you feel the quilt is in good condition - no weakened fabric at the seams, no tears or worn spots, no frayed binding - you can try washing it by hand. Put it in a washing machine but use your hands to agitate it. You can also try using a bathtub or a child's swimming pool. Use a gentle detergent like Ivory Soap Flakes, Fells Naphtha, etc. If you decide to wash them in a machine, use a slow speed. They should be dried flat - if possible, spread a sheet out on the grass and spread the quilt over it. If that isn't an option, put several towels down and direct several fans at the quilt to speed the process. You can even spin it partially first to get the majority of the water out.
Do NOT dry clean them. Dry cleaning is done by saturating the fabric in chemicals. You do not want to do this to an heirloom quilt. Check out the links below for more details.
2006-11-09 11:03:10 · answer #2 · answered by swbiblio 6 · 2⤊ 0⤋
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2016-12-24 05:59:06 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
it really depends on how well there made and how old they are if you think the stitching might get loose you should could dry clean but I think you can get the same results if you hand wash it and hang it to dry . Some washers can handle the capacity of a large quilt and still do a gentle wash but others cant so if you cant a suggestions is to hand wash it in your bath tub but it will take a long time to dry if your not good at wringing it out. But you probably should clean it if it's used often cause thats a lot of old skin all over it. Dry cleaning can be done but I think you will get the same results from hand washing and dry cleaning a quilt can get very pricey.
2006-11-09 12:50:08 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
This Site Might Help You.
RE:
Does anyone own handmade quilts? How do you wash them? Washing machine or dry clean?
I have a few quilts made by hand by my grandmother and my husband's grandmother. Would you wash them in a front loading washing machine with water and soap or dry clean them?
2015-08-18 19:04:26 · answer #5 · answered by Bianca 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I have several hand made quilts from the early 30's. They we're so stained from storage. I placed them in the washing machine and used the delicate cycle with Woolite. Then I placed them in the dryer on the air fluff cycle. I had to run the cycle more than once to completely dry. They turned out so wonderful. Good Luck... with your quilts.
2006-11-09 11:29:06 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
I wash an valuable heirlooms myself. That includes military uniforms, quilts, and clothing.
The way I look at it I will be MUCH gentler and more caring about cleaning the item. I will take special care to be very careful handling it. I handwash on gentle cycle or in the bathtub, depending on size of item.
No cleaners will guarrantee not to ruin the heirloom. They release themselves from any damage that may occur. For this they want me to PAY them? Don't think so!
I'll make my own mistakes, thank you!
2006-11-09 12:41:57 · answer #7 · answered by momwithabat 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋
HI!
My mom quilted. SHe washed them at the laundromat in a large washer. She did not dry them. I guess you could dryu clean also. A Treasure, so be careful
2006-11-09 09:26:31 · answer #8 · answered by -------- 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
I wash them on gentle cycle with dishwashing soap, then line dry. Just before they're completely dry, I put them in dryer on low heat.
2006-11-09 09:26:05 · answer #9 · answered by beez 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
You can wash them in the machine on delicate settings use w/ mild detergent. They should be ok.
2006-11-09 09:46:13 · answer #10 · answered by alananavarro22 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋