How to remove bleeding from red fabric......How to wash a quilt!! And....Homemade Spray & Wash

Katie made the most adorable Grinch King sized quilt.  When she washed it the red bleed onto the white and was a total mess.  She called me quite upset that she had ruined her new quilt.  She had even dried it in the dryer.  I was doubtful but I started researching the web and this is what she did to fix it......it was a miracle!!!  These pictures don't show just how bad it really was. 


How to remove bleeding from red fabric......How to wash a quilt!!  And.....Homemade Spray & Wash

Recipe to remove fabric bleeding.
Soak the quilt in the bath tub in cold water to get it all wet. 
Then she put it in the washer with 1 Tablespoon of DAWN blue liquid soap and 4 Color Grabber sheets and washed it in HOT water.  Yes the HOTTEST water the fabric can stand, at least 140 degrees.
She was amazed at how well it worked. 
Then she sprayed the quilt with my homemade Spray and Wash**  and rubbed it into the quilt.
She  repeated the HOT water wash with the Dawn & Color Grabbers.  Amazing enough it is good as new!!! 
Then she rinsed the quilt in 1 cup of white vinegar to set the colors.  NOTE:  THIS IS HOW SHE SHOULD HAVE WASHED THE QUILT IN THE FIRST PLACE!  NO LAUNDRY SOAP JUST 1 CUP OF WHITE VINEGAR IN A COLD WATER WASH. 

Quilts are a ton of work and should be washed carefully.  I always wash my quilts just with vinegar water.  Vinegar sets the color and is a gentle disinfectant.  If the quilt is really dirty you might want to add a little laundry soap.  And hang them up to dry.  I rarely put a quilt in the dryer. 


** Spray and Wash recipe:  1 part Dawn and 2 parts Hydrogen Peroxide.  Shake together in a spray bottle. 

Thru this process we discovered this list of uses for Dawn dishsoap.  It is really good stuff for lots of things! 

 https://www.onegoodthingbyjillee.com/uses-for-dawn-dish-soap

 Almost as good as new!!!  Definitely a mireacle!!! 

There is a product the web recommended called Synthrapol.  Katie went everywhere we could think of to find it and never found it.  So we reverted to using Dawn.  This hint left by a lady was helpful to us.    https://www.quiltingboard.com/main-f1/dawn-detergent-good-synthrapol-t236974-2.html

"neither Synthrapol nor Dawn will set dyes. All they do is suspend unset dye particles in water so they are rinsed away instead of settling into fabric fibers.

Most fabric that "bleeds" has had dyes correctly set by the manufacturer but have not been rinsed sufficiently. Fibers can absorb only a limited amount of dye particles. Excess dye particles that are not rinsed away by the manufacturer end up in color catchers (such as those in your test run). Most of these excess dye particles come out in the first wash, and subsequent washes have color catchers that come out pretty clean.

When the manufacturer does not actually set the dye properly, the end result is a "bleeder" fabric that never stops bleeding. It's not just a problem of excess dye particles (more dye particles than the fibers can absorb) not being rinsed away; it's a problem of all dye particles not being permanently set into the fibers. Synthrapol and Dawn will prevent these loose dye particles from settling into other fabrics, but they will not stop the fabric from bleeding in future washes." 

This site has good information too:    http://www.quiltersclubofamerica.com/forums/t/19977.aspx

Laundry Detergent

Make Your Own Laundry Detergent - 6 ingredients, cost you about $28 a year, this recipe makes a batch that will last a year! Works in HE washers and with cold water too!

Ingredients -

1 (4 lb 12 oz) Box of Borax- Found in the detergent aisle

1 (3 lb 7 oz) Box of Arm & Hammer Super Washing Soda- Found in the detergent aisle

1 (3 lb) Container of OxyClean- Found in the detergent aisle. (This is optional but I highly recommend adding it)

2 (14.1 oz) Bars of Zote Soap- Found in the detergent aisle (we chose to do pink for the scent but the white would be just fine. You can also use Fels Naptha)

1 (4 lb) Box of Arm & Hammer Baking Soda- Found in the cooking aisle (You could also get two 2 lb box, we couldn’t find the larger 4lb box when we went)

1-2 (55 oz) Bottle of Purex Crystals Fabric Softener- or use 3-4 bottles of Scentsy Washer Whiffs. Scentsy washer whiffs are my top choice, (they smell out-of-this-world amazing – my favorite is Quiver), but when in a hurry, I opt for the Purex, (which can be found in the detergent aisle).

The hardest most time consuming part is grating the cheese soap. It looks like pink cheese….has anyone ever seen pink cheese? If you do not have a food processor you will need to use a typical hand grater. We would recommend using a large mixing bowl to grate into and using the fine side of the grater. Another option is to microwave the soap before hand. First, cut the bar into chunks or slices. Pop it into the microwave for about a minute. It will expand… a lot…but then it is dry and just crumbles into tiny bits! The hardest part is now over and all that’s left is to mix everything together. Use a very large bucket and take a layering approach to mix it easier. Take a small amount of each ingredient and layer it on top of each other, then grab a large mixing spoon and mixed it together. Do this about 5 times. This is so much easier than dumping all the ingredients in at once and then trying to u it well. This batch makes A TON! Now for probably the best part…you only need 1-2 Tablespoons per load depending on the size. Now here comes the stroke of genius, if you opted to put the Purex Crystals in your batch, you can scoop the detergent right into your bottle and use the cap as your measuring spoon. There are 3 lines on the side and the middle one is approximately 2 Tablespoons…genius right?

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Laundry Stain Remover

This one is especially great for saying goodbye to those yellowed under arm stains. Finally!!!
For normal stain removal simply wet the stain and rub with a bar of Fels Naptha.  This is all I have used for years.  It works wonderful and is so much cheaper than all those expensive strays and sticks that don't really work anyway.  But I haven't been able to remove those stubborn arm pit stains no matter what I've tried.


Laundry Stain Remover
1 part Dawn Dishwashing Liquid
2 parts Hydrogen Peroxide
Pour directly on to the stain and watch them disappear.  For especially stubborn stains.....Scrub solution into stains with a scrub brush (can sprinkle on some baking soda for added scrubbing power).  Let sit 1 hour.  Wash as usual.

Laundry Detergent.....

Lisa & I have both been interested in making our own laundry soap because it is so expensive.  I think Lisa may have found the perfect recipe......Lisa says,  "Hey I found this recipe for homemade Laundry soap. I thought you might be interested because it works on Front Load machines. I am going to try this because I think that the other detergents are much too hard on the fabric and make your cloths wear out much quicker? So I will be getting the stuff to make it on Friday when I go to Wal-Mart. I am giong to make the recipe on the bottom because it is much easier but you would want the top recipe."   Here is the website I got it from http://duggarfamily.com/recipes.html
This site also has many other recipes....especially great for large quantity recipes.....as this is a LARGE family!!!
Homemade Liquid Laundry Soap- Front or top load machine- best value
4 Cups - hot tap water
1 Fels-Naptha soap bar
1 Cup - Arm & Hammer Super Washing Soda*
½ Cup Borax
- Grate bar of soap and add to saucepan with water. Stir continually over medium-low heat until soap dissolves and is melted.
-Fill a 5 gallon bucket half full of hot tap water. Add melted soap, washing soda and Borax. Stir well until all powder is dissolved. Fill bucket to top with more hot water. Stir, cover and let sit overnight to thicken.
-Stir and fill a used, clean, laundry soap dispenser half full with soap and then fill rest of way with water. Shake before each use. (will gel)
-Optional: You can add 10-15 drops of essential oil per 2 gallons. Add once soap has cooled. Ideas: lavender, rosemary, tea tree oil.
-Yield: Liquid soap recipe makes 10 gallons.

-Top Load Machine- 5/8 Cup per load (Approx. 180 loads)
-Front Load Machines- ¼ Cup per load (Approx. 640 loads)

*Arm & Hammer "Super Washing Soda" - in some stores or may be purchased online here (at Meijer.com). Baking Soda will not work, nor will Arm & Hammer Detergent - It must be sodium carbonate!!

Powdered Laundry Detergent - Top load machine
1 Fels-Naptha soap bar
1 Cup - Arm & Hammer Super Washing Soda*
½ Cup Borax
-Grate soap or break into pieces and process in a food processor until powdered. Mix all ingredients. For light load, use 1 Tablespoon. For heavy or heavily soiled load, use 2 Tablespoons. Yields: 3 Cups detergent. (Approx. 40 loads)
*Arm & Hammer "Super Washing Soda" - in some stores or may be purchased online here (at Meijer.com). Baking Soda will not work, nor will Arm & Hammer Detergent - It must be sodium carbonate!!

TIPS FOR LAUNDRY SOAP: We use Fels-Naptha bar soap in the homemade soap recipes, but you can use Ivory, Sunlight, Kirk's Hardwater Castile or Zote bars. Don't use heavily perfumed soaps. We buy Fels-Naptha by the case from our local grocer or online. Washing Soda and Borax can often be found on the laundry or cleaning aisle. Recipe cost approx. $2 per batch.