In the last article, we looked at what to do when staining occurs and how to treat oil and grease based stains.
Continuing on from there we will now look at the next most typical type of stain that happens on quilts:
Protein Stains
Believe it or not, this is a big one. Many folks are surprised to find out just how many protein based stains there may be. Stuff like mustard, blood, fruit juice, mud, vomit, wine, coffee, chocolate and coca are all protein based stains.
The rule of thumb is, if it came from a human or something humans eat, chances are its a protein stain.
The best way to remove a protein stain is to get rid of as much of it as practicable by blotting with cloth or paper towels to remove excess fluids or materials. Then mix up some cold water and salt using the ratio of 1 tsp of salt to 1 pint of water.
I cannot stress the importance of cold water enough. Do not use hot water! Hot water will react with the protein and lock in the stain.
For tea or coffee, use borax and water or if you have it on hand, Club Soda works a treat as well , this one actually helped me when I spilled coffee on my favouirte patchwork quilt. For wine and fruit juices, you will need an ammonia based cleaner to get rid of all of the staining.
If the stain does not come out right away, you will need to soak the stained areas for a few hours before putting it through a regular wash.
Permanent Marks
There are a couple of things which cannot be removed. Things like scorch or burn marks won't wash out as these are actual changes in the fibre composition itself, not the colouring.
Tar and asphalt are also not likely to get out as this tends to lock into the fibres themselves and cannot be melted or scrubbed out.
Hopefully this guide has given you a couple of good ideas and aids you in getting out any aggravating or stubborn stains.
Continuing on from there we will now look at the next most typical type of stain that happens on quilts:
Protein Stains
Believe it or not, this is a big one. Many folks are surprised to find out just how many protein based stains there may be. Stuff like mustard, blood, fruit juice, mud, vomit, wine, coffee, chocolate and coca are all protein based stains.
The rule of thumb is, if it came from a human or something humans eat, chances are its a protein stain.
The best way to remove a protein stain is to get rid of as much of it as practicable by blotting with cloth or paper towels to remove excess fluids or materials. Then mix up some cold water and salt using the ratio of 1 tsp of salt to 1 pint of water.
I cannot stress the importance of cold water enough. Do not use hot water! Hot water will react with the protein and lock in the stain.
For tea or coffee, use borax and water or if you have it on hand, Club Soda works a treat as well , this one actually helped me when I spilled coffee on my favouirte patchwork quilt. For wine and fruit juices, you will need an ammonia based cleaner to get rid of all of the staining.
If the stain does not come out right away, you will need to soak the stained areas for a few hours before putting it through a regular wash.
Permanent Marks
There are a couple of things which cannot be removed. Things like scorch or burn marks won't wash out as these are actual changes in the fibre composition itself, not the colouring.
Tar and asphalt are also not likely to get out as this tends to lock into the fibres themselves and cannot be melted or scrubbed out.
Hopefully this guide has given you a couple of good ideas and aids you in getting out any aggravating or stubborn stains.
About the Author:
To get more sound advice about how to make a patchwork quilt, check out Jane Green's how to make a patchwork quilt website now!