mzsooz

I had a major disaster happen in my sewing room and I need your expertise to help me get a stain out. Somehow a jug of distilled water leaked all over my cutting/drapery table and I didn't know about it. I think it must have happened months ago.

Anyway the table was covered with stuff and one of the things was a quilt that I had on my fake flynn frame awaiting an opportunity to quilt it. I had stipple quilted half of the quilt on my sewing machine and was going to finish it on the frame.

So...1/4 of the back of the quilt has a huge water stain (see picture) and some little dots of black mold. Do you have idea how and if I can get this stain out? I'm going to have to recover my table but the quilt is another story. I don't have any of this fabric left so I can't piece it.

Any help is greatly appreciated!

rushdoggie

Hmmm, maybe finish sewing it and then wash it with some Oxiclean?

connie d

I think I would take it apart and then clean it, but I'm totally not sure.

BETTY62

Put the mold side up outside in the fresh air and bright sunlight and the mold may go away.

Prism99

For the quilt, you would have to baste closely all around the edges if you want to try to get the stain out before continuing the quilting. It is probably preferable to finish the quilting first.

For the stain removal, I would probably try RetroClean first (http://www.retroclean.com ). If that isn't enough, then I would try soaking it in a top-loading washing machine for a day in powdered, colorfast bleach. If that still doesn't do it, I would use Synthrapol in hot water in the washing machine -- several times.

I have never been successful in removing dots of mildew from fabric, but here is a website of tips:
http://home.howstuffworks.com/how-to...ew-stains2.htm
By oxygen bleach, I think they mean Oxyclean.

earthwalker

Mould/mildew spores can be removed by using pure lemon juice (from a fresh lemon). Squeeze the juice from the lemon and apply to the mouldy spots, then put in sunlight for a couple of hours and wash normally. Hopefully one or two treatments will do the trick. I have successfully used this treatment on antique linen. Bleach will remove the odour, but I have never successfully removed the stains using bleach (plus I worry about fabric dyes fading) but I am not familiar with the oxycleans/bleach in the USA, yours might work.

When you recover the table, make sure no mould spores remain on the surface that needs recovering...so out in the sun with it or gently rub in a mix a solution of oil of cloves and water - oil of cloves is a mould inhibitor. You should be able to get it at the pharmacy...a little goes a very long way. Let it dry thoroughly before recovering.

Let us know how you get on. Don't stress it happens to everyone somewhere along the line.

PS. Mould can have disasterous affects on human health, wear a mask when dealing with mould/mouldy areas. Mould spores are invisible. That in mind I would be inclined to wash the quilt before doing any more work....especially if you have allergies or asthma.

Rose L

To remove mold from fabric and hard surfaces wash with ammonia. Use a cup in your washer and a quarter cup in a bucket of warm water to clean hard surfaces. It will remove the spots and the mold will not return. Works great in bathrooms and damp basements etc. also.

Shelbie

Buttermilk is also suppose to remove mildew without taking out the colour. I haven't tried it but I know it is an old remedy.

quiltmaker

I so agree that mold can have disasterous effects on your health. It is awful. Is that mold on your floor in the last picture or your table top? I would finish quilting that quilt as fast as possible and then call the dry cleaners to see what they could advise for mold. I would be scared to death to take it off the frame and wash it for fear of it falling apart but that's just me. I certainly would use a mask while finishing the quilting or try methods to remove the mold while on the frame.

Wish I had a good solution to offer you, I am so sorry this happened and hope you can resolve the problem immediately.

quilticing

I've found Oxydeep by Woolite better than Oxyclean.