How to Clean Vintage Quilts The Whippoorwill Way
Hello friends! For years now we have been cleaning and caring for vintage textiles before we sell them! Our feedback and most consistent comment from every customer is how clean each quilt is and how lovely it smells! We have decided to share our process with everyone in hopes that the individuals whom do not buy a quilt because of hesitation in caring for quilts, no longer have to worry about the care of their quilts!
We have tried countless tips and tricks (and had a few major failures!!) and it comes back to the tried and true method of TIME and EFFORT in cleaning aged, soiled textiles. We are certain that each seller of textiles has their own methods, processes, and opinions; but below is what works for us! :)
Disclaimer: When washing and soaking vintage quilts it is important to keep in mind that there are no guarantees. The same method may work on one quilt to remove a stain, but not another. Or may clean one quilt but cause another quilt to have color bleed. Every old textile and fabric is different — so please use the following method, or any other quilt washing method, with caution.
Please note that hand washing is always going to be the best option. Even soaking quilts is only done by us when it is absolutely necessary to remove staining. Once the staining is removed, we proceed with washing our own quilts in the most delicate ways that we can. Continuing to clean your quilts with care will help with the longevity of your special textiles. Handwashing quilts absolutely takes more effort, but when a quilt is special to you, it is worth the extra effort!
Here are our step-by-step instructions for soaking, washing, and air drying your quilts.
The first step we use with any potentially “suspect” colors (think deep reds, dark browns, green, etc.) is to test the colorfastness.
Test for colorfastness instructions:
Take Q-tips and get one end wet.
Test each suspect color/fabric with the wet Q tip by rubbing the Q tip on an inconspicuous part of the quilt.
If any color comes off the quilt, you must decide if you’re ok with potential color bleeding into the rest of the quilt.
After testing, you can then go to the next step.
Bailye for the next step uses her spare bathroom’s tub. Brynne uses large storage totes in her laundry room (she does not have a bathtub in the guest bathroom). Please Ensure your tub or totes are clean.
Soaking the quilt instructions:
Fill the tote with room temperature water
Add a small amount of a mild liquid detergent - it is also okay to use whichever detergent you would normally have in your home. Any sensitivities to detergent in your own family should be considered.
Then add a ball jar amount of distilled white vinegar.
If there are a large number of stains or dark stains, we make the water, detergent and vinegar mixture in a spray bottle and spray it on the stains first. Let set for 10 minutes, then proceed to adding it to your large tote/tub of water, detergent and vinegar mixture
Please note that vinegar can dry your hands out, so wearing gloves can help or rising your hands after.
If you see that the water is getting extremely dirty, then change out the water as needed
After the soak, you proceed to washing the quilts.
Totes can be extremely heavy. I use a jug to remove as much water as possible from the tote, then lift the tote to place the quilt into the washing machine. If you are like Bailye and use your tub for soaking, you can use a flat sheet to lift the quilt from the bathtub. Lifting the quilt from the tub soaking wet, without some kind of assistance (like the sheet), can rip or weaken the fibers.
Machine Washing Quilt Instructions:
Set your washing machine to its gentle cycle.
Select the cold-water setting.
Use the household detergent.
To prevent dye bleeding, you can throw a couple of color catchers into the wash.
Shout Color Catchers will catch dye that may bleed into the wash water – minimizing the potential color bleed on the rest of your quilt.
Once your quilt is washed, it is time to move on to the drying process. We recommend that you follow the air-drying instructions for quilts, so that you prevent fabric shrinkage and damage. We never machine dry quilts.
Air Drying Quilt Instructions:
Use a flat rack to safely dry your quilt. Clothing line or even laying it flat on a clean surface.
This prevents threads from snapping and causing damage to your quilt.
We prefer to lay our quilts flat when drying them. If you do not have the space, you can line dry them. I rotate the line drying quilts to prevent extra stress being applied to just one area of the quilt/fabric.
Many quilters like to finish their quilts in the sun; however, we will leave that up to you. This is because all light sources fade textile colors. So, be mindful if you decide to use this method. This method works, but I would only use it when necessary.
As a side note: If stains are being stubborn, you can always go back and repeat any of the steps listed above.
Every quilt that passes through our hands, we send out knowing they are as clean and as cared for as we would want them to be in our own homes. You can be confident in knowing that the quilts and textiles in our shop will arrive to your home ready to use and enjoy! We hope these steps help you care for your beloved textiles and help you to continue enjoying them for years to come!
May each of us find the balance between using our quilts and also ensuring their longevity for future generations! <3
Here is a link to the products we use: