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Cleaning an
Antique Quilt
by Tracy Crowe |
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If you have just acquired an antique
quilt, there are some things to watch for before you think about
how to clean it. You need to look carefully at the quilt's age
and condition. You also need to think carefully about whether
you should wash a quilt. It is a good idea to seek the advice
of a professional textile conservationist first. You can find
one by contacting The American Institute for Conservation, 1717
K St. NW, Suite 200, Washington DC 20006. It is true that no
matter how careful you are, you may permanently damage a quilt
by washing it. You should certainly never wash a damaged quilt
before repairing it. |
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There might be stains on your quilt,
since old quilts are made of natural fibers which absorb things
like body oils, liquids, soils, and other organic substances
easily and over time these invisible stains oxidize and become
colored stains. That makes it difficult to know how to pretreat
them. Often what we think of as blood stains are really the remains
of a dead bug and these stains are nearly impossible to remove.
Another problem is dye migration. Changes in temperatures will
cause dye migration that results in brown stains in quilts folded
and stored for years. Since, the dye has permanently stained
adjoining quilt fabrics, most stains caused by dye migration
can't be removed. You shouldn't even try because you can do even
more damage by trying than they have already. In addition to
these stains, your quilt might have damaged scattered spots known
as foxing, which is caused by the growth of molds. |
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If your quilt is very stained,
it may be a good idea to spot treat areas with sodium perborate,
the active ingredient in Clorox 2, before washing the whole quilt.
Another way to spot clean is to brush a paste of Biz, Ivory Snow
flakes or Shaklees Nature Bright on the stained spot and then
vacuum it well with the brush attachment of your vacuum cleaner
after it dries. Be careful to have all portions of your quilt
equally clean. Using lemon juice to bleach stains, or laying
linens on the lawn stains is not a good idea as your fabric may
be temporarily brightened, but this usually turns to yellow after
a while.
If you are going to display
your quilt folded over a rack, and there are no holes, rips,
frayed seams, stains, delicate fabrics or embellishments etc
in it, you may be able to just simply air it outside on a nice
warm day to remove dust and dirt and freshen the quilt. You can
lay it on the lawn with a clean sheet underneath it and another
on top of it for protection, especially from sunlight. If you
don't have a lawn, you may hang it over a wide railing with a
sheep protector.
You could also vacuum it with
the brush attachment of a low powered vacuum cleaner, although
you would need to put a clean fine mesh screen over your quilt
first, to prevent threads and yarn from getting sucked away,
if it had elaborate embellishments or damage. You want to vacuum
gently, use a Dust-buster if you have one. Be careful not to
pull loose material from your quilt. Hold the vacuum cleaner
at least half an inch above your quilt, vacuum both sites, and
repeat that if you need to. Never vacuum painted quilts since
you may strip the paint off.
In summary, cleaning an antique
quilt can be a challenge. A lot depends on the age and condition
of your quilt, and whether it has delicate fabrics or embellishments
on it. It is probably a good idea to avoid washing it if you
can, although you do want to get rid of dust and dirt as much
as possible. Always check with a professional textile conservationist
first to see what they think about the advisability of washing
it. |
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Author: |
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Tracy Crowe loves antiques,
including quilts.
For more information about quilts,
visit http://www.quiltinfosite.com |
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ARTICLE POSTED December 7, 2007 |
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