MOLD

OK here I am posting. I just bought an old quilt at a garage sale and
when I got home I found spots with mold on them. (spots or mildew? Guess
I don't know the difference.) Anyway is there any way I can get rid of
it? I put it out in the sun but sun with any warmth in it is now gone
for the year. I washed it with bated breath as it looks quite old and
I'd sure hate to wash it again unless necessary. Can I save it?

Yes you can save it, Twila. My choice would be sunshine and ours is
year-round always. Stay calm. Someone here will know what else works.
Lemon juice, 'very' diluted bleach... there is a solution; I just don't know
what it is. Once upon a time, DD splashed a hand smocked red dress. It got
rolled up in the diaper bag in an emergency change and forgotten. I had to
rinse it in very mild bleach solution - expecting the very worst. It came
out just perfectly fine - but I'm reluctant to recommend such for an old
quilt. Polly


"Twila P" wrote in message
...
OK here I am posting. I just bought an old quilt at a garage sale and
when I got home I found spots with mold on them. (spots or mildew? Guess
I don't know the difference.) Anyway is there any way I can get rid of
it? I put it out in the sun but sun with any warmth in it is now gone
for the year. I washed it with bated breath as it looks quite old and
I'd sure hate to wash it again unless necessary. Can I save it?

On Sat, 29 Sep 2012 14:17:55 -0800, Twila P wrote:

OK here I am posting. I just bought an old quilt at a garage sale and
when I got home I found spots with mold on them. (spots or mildew? Guess
I don't know the difference.) Anyway is there any way I can get rid of
it? I put it out in the sun but sun with any warmth in it is now gone
for the year. I washed it with bated breath as it looks quite old and
I'd sure hate to wash it again unless necessary. Can I save it?

Sunshine is good, but the main thing is to make sure it is completely and
thoroughly dry and well aired. If you are having humid weather this is
going to be a problem. It needs to be spread out, preferably on open
side up boxes or something similar that will ensure good airing while
still supporting it. Air and dryness are the enemies of mold and mildew.

That said, look at your spots, if they are dark, you probably are looking
at some variety of mold. If they are rusty looking it is probably foxing
which is a completely different thing.

If it is mold, then after the quilt is dry you can try brushing it off
very gently and then seeing how much damage it has caused the fabric.
The amount of damage will determine how you proceed. Though if it has
lived through a washing already I would have good hope for it.

If it is foxing you are going to have to treat for it and just accept
whatever damage occurs. Foxing is not a mold it is caused by a cellulose
loving bacteria, if you do not treat for it it will just keep spreading
and causing more damage. The standard treatment for it is peroxide,
which will very likely at least damage your color. Nowdays you could try
one of the antibacterial soaps, not the hand gels for they contain great
quantities of assorted alcohols which are bad for delicate fabrics. I
can't say that one of these modern soaps would work to kill the bacteria
or eliminate the foxing, but they would probably be easier on your dyes,
and possibly your fabric. It might be worth the experiment on lightly
damaged fabric.

I generally recommend washing old textiles as you would fine woolens.
Soak in a light solution of gentle detergent, drain, and roll in
absorbent sheeting, do not rinse. Dry flat, well aired, and completely.
To be avoided if you can, but when you have to you have to.

NightMist

--
I'm raising a developmentally disabled child. What's your superpower?

"NightMist" schrieb im Newsbeitrag
...
On Sat, 29 Sep 2012 14:17:55 -0800, Twila P wrote:

OK here I am posting. I just bought an old quilt at a garage sale and
when I got home I found spots with mold on them. (spots or mildew? Guess
I don't know the difference.) Anyway is there any way I can get rid of
it? I put it out in the sun but sun with any warmth in it is now gone
for the year. I washed it with bated breath as it looks quite old and
I'd sure hate to wash it again unless necessary. Can I save it?

Sunshine is good, but the main thing is to make sure it is completely and
thoroughly dry and well aired. If you are having humid weather this is
going to be a problem. It needs to be spread out, preferably on open
side up boxes or something similar that will ensure good airing while
still supporting it. Air and dryness are the enemies of mold and mildew.

That said, look at your spots, if they are dark, you probably are looking
at some variety of mold. If they are rusty looking it is probably foxing
which is a completely different thing.

If it is mold, then after the quilt is dry you can try brushing it off
very gently and then seeing how much damage it has caused the fabric.
The amount of damage will determine how you proceed. Though if it has
lived through a washing already I would have good hope for it.

If it is foxing you are going to have to treat for it and just accept
whatever damage occurs. Foxing is not a mold it is caused by a cellulose
loving bacteria, if you do not treat for it it will just keep spreading
and causing more damage. The standard treatment for it is peroxide,
which will very likely at least damage your color. Nowdays you could try
one of the antibacterial soaps, not the hand gels for they contain great
quantities of assorted alcohols which are bad for delicate fabrics. I
can't say that one of these modern soaps would work to kill the bacteria
or eliminate the foxing, but they would probably be easier on your dyes,
and possibly your fabric. It might be worth the experiment on lightly
damaged fabric.

I generally recommend washing old textiles as you would fine woolens.
Soak in a light solution of gentle detergent, drain, and roll in
absorbent sheeting, do not rinse. Dry flat, well aired, and completely.
To be avoided if you can, but when you have to you have to.

NightMist

That's an interesting! I had another idea: During my cabinetmaker's
apprenticeship one of our teachers at vocational school told us about a
trick to cure antique furniture from woodworms without chemicals. You'd put
the thing into a cool sauna and then heat the room slowly. Mind you, here in
Germany, many folks have a private sauna, so those who have the dough to buy
antique furniture will either have one themselves or know somebody with one.
The sauna heats up to maybe 90 or 100 ° C, not enough to harm the glue or
the finish of the piece of furniture but it's hot enough to kill the
woodworms and their other insects since they can't adapt to the temperature
and their proteins will clot.

For a quilt and in case the bacteria aren't heat-resistant, perhaps the heat
treatment might work, too. I'm sure a sauna won't be necessary; a dry iron
should do the trick. If you are sure the quilt doesn't contain any
synthetics, you could try heating the afflicted spots for a while, perhaps
through a dry cloth, and from the back of the quilt.

Mind you, I never tried either method since I don't collect antique
furniture and never had the good luck to find an antique quilt in a garage
sale. However, the heat method sounds just convincing from a scientific
point of view. If you want to try, I'm sure there there is a less visible
spot near the edge you can try it on. But of that, I'm sure, you have
thought yourself.

Just my 2 c. Hope you can save your quilt.

U.