How to Clean/Wash Very Special Quilts

Follow Tanya A.'s suggestions and do not put them into a washing machine! Ask advice from people who are experts with quilts. A quilt is very delicate and should be handled with care!

I would use a dry cleaners. If you don't want to go that route, then use a front loader washer (without the agitator) on an extreme gentle cycle and use a very mild soap.

B.

DO NOT put them in the washing machine or the dryer. I am a quilt maker and Quilt Guild member. Have someone with experience look at them and see how best they should be cleaned. There are special soaps made just for quilt cleaning. Take them to your local QUILT shop NOT Jo Anne's and ask the owner or someone who is experienced to look at the condition of the quilts, what they are made of, how they were constructed, ect.. They would be glad to instruct you on the care of those precious heirlooms. Quilt makers cringe when they give a gift of a quilt to someone and they throw it in the washer and dryer! If you need the names and addresses of your local quilt shops I would be more than happy to give them to you.

If you are not careful you could easily ruin these air looms. Vintage quilts don’t take well to washing. It really depends on the shape they are in and what they are made out of (especially the batting). And NO NO NO to dry cleaning! The chemicals are probably too hash. First you must examine the quilts to see if they have worn spots or tears. These must be repaired before you put any water on them. You have to ask yourself it the problem could be taken care of by airing the quilt and or vacuuming the surface of the quilt. If no, then you have to cautiously consider hand washing. You need to test the fabrics for colorfastness first. You can wash them in the bathtub with cold water and very mild detergent. Drying should be done on a flat surface not in direct sunlight. Don’t use a clothes dryer or throw them over a clothesline. Take a look at the website googobits.com. They have good instructions there. If the quilts are in good shape and not very old you might get away with washing them in the washing machine on gentle cycle. However, if these quilts mean a lot to you I would not risk it. There are professional quilt cleaning places you might consider too.

I have a quilt that was made for me by my grandmother when I was born that I will be hanging in my baby's room. I had a family member suggest Quilter's Paradise in Escondido. She lives in Orange County and comes down here for her quilting supplies!!! I guess they carry a special wash and suggest hand washing in a tub. Just take in what you have and they should be able to suggest what's best for what you have.

Although I have not tried this on my quilts (I'm too scared) - but it was recommended to me to handwash in the bathtub with the special soap. Then press dry in between towels and lay flat to dry. Cover it with a sheet if you put it outside - don't want the sun to bleach any of the color. Good luck. Let us know how it turns out!

Handwash gently in the bathtub with Orvis soap. Gently agitate it. Don't wring it. Press the water out of it. Can roll it between two dry towels to get the water out. Dry it flat in the backyard with a sheet beneath and covering it. Don't dry clean it and don't put it in the washing machine. Best of luck. Those old quilts are treasures

I would wash in cold on the delecate cycle. w/ delicate soap. No dryer.

BUT the correct way to wash a quilt is in a bath tub swishing it w/ a broom handle.

If you have a front loader the gentle cycle should be fine. If not you could hand wash the quilt in the tub and spin it out in the washer. After that if your dryer is large enough you could dry it otherwise hang it to dry.

Use a good dry cleaner. A dry cleaner that does wedding dress cleaning and preserving is a clue that they are very good at their joband know how to handle fine/delicate materials. Don't risk hand or machine washing...you are likely to irreversably ruin the quilt.

I would suggest that you try to find a shop local to you that specializes in quilting. Take the quilts in to them to see what their recommendations are. They'll take in to consideration the fabric type, the condition of the quilts etc. and they should be able to give you directions on how to care for the quilts. I've seen a certain type of soap that is sold for washing quilts in our local shop. Good luck!

If they were mine, I would have the family heirlooms dry cleaned by a reliable dry cleaner. Make sure the dry cleaner says they can handle them.

You may want to visit a fabric store like JoAnn's Fabric (not sure the spelling) or another like store since they deal with quilting all of the time. I'm sure they can tell you the most successful way to get a quilt clean!

Best of luck!

There is something called 'quilt soap' that is suppose to be very gentle on quilts. My mom and grandmother are finishing quilting my greatgrandmother's quilt tops, and they use the quilt soap and the gentle cycle. some of the square's might still disolve, especially if they have been badly stained, and depending on the fabric, but that is the best way to get them clean. I think you can get the quilt soap at like joanne's or hancock's or micheals.
Good luck
R.

I just washed my 20 year old quilt in the washer on a hand-wash cycle. It survived.

I have quilts like this too that my grandmother made for me. Throw them in the washer on gentle. Use woolite or another gentle detergent. If you can, line dry them or lay them flat to dry. I only put mine in the dryer on air dry if it's the last resort.

It depends on the quilt. My mom and my aunts make quilts constantly and they are very practical people so they can all be machine washed with no problem. However, my grandma isn't so practical and when I put the quilt she made for my kid in the washing machine, things started falling off and my mom had to fix it. Since you don't know how its made, I would presume that it is delicate and wash it in a tub in cold water with woolite only. Also, be careful if the colors are not similar. Sometimes if you have a bright red it will run and ruin the entire thing. If you have such a quilt, I would just take it to a professional and have it dry cleaned. But if you are not concerned about the colors running, just wash it by hand in cold water.

My grandmother-in-law also has made special quilts for all her grandchildren. MIL took hers to the dry cleaners and it got ruined (it was wool inside). I'm under strict orders not to dry clean my husband's quilt, but it stinks and I can't stand it! The word out there is that vacuuming is the only way to safely clean them. I have also layed mine out in the sun to freshen up the smell. It made me feel better, but it still smells bad.

http://museum.msu.edu/glqc/quiltcare.html

I would suggest handwashing it in the tub with Woolite.

I would find a dry cleaner, the threads are to delicate to wash and its to big for the washer, buy insurance at the dry cleaners some have it, if they don't ask the policy first make sure its in writing if they mess it up they pay for it, I know its either or you take the risk..