Well, It was almost over before it started. It was late, but I had just finished one of the first quilts for The Quilted Life, Aztec Diamond, and I was excited to share it with my friends (my partners in this little endeavor we’ve got going). I drove over with the finished quilt. We visited for a while, and then retired upstairs with a glass of wine and some Doc Martin; two of my favorite things. I left the quilt laying on the dining room table.
The Disaster
We were sipping our wine, chuckling, even belly laughing when we heard a small thin hesitant voice say: “there’s a few drops of soda on the quilt.” The downstairs is open to the upstairs and that tentative voice, my friend’s daughter, carried up the stairs. We hurtled pell-mell down the stairs, as fast as we could move. To our horror, a “few” drops of Cherry Dr. Pepper were spreading quickly from the white diamonds strips in the middle of the quilt to about the size of a pie plate!
Quick Action
I grabbed the quilt off the table and raced to the sink. I thought if I could just get water to run through it the soda would wash out the backside. So into the sink it went and wouldn’t you know it my idea kinda worked. My friend started pulling out every cleanser she could find frantically searching for a solution, trying one thing after another. She was afraid the cleansers would bleach the color or raise the nap since the quilt had just been finished and had not even been photographed yet.
Saved
I used a very soft brush, and in the end it was Dawn dish soap, Calgon, Stain Devils, and quick action that saved the day! (I’m not actually sure what did the trick, but that soda didn’t stand a chance.) I took the quilt home, hung it to dry, did a little pressing to freshen it up, and it was photographed the next day! You’d never know :)
Hopefully, you will not have to deal with a Dr. Pepper incident, but you should consider these things when washing your quilt….
Issues to consider
Age of your quilt
Material used
Machine wash or dry clean
Detergent, cycle, and dryer setting
Using a commercial machine
Drying your quilt
How often to wash
Storing your quilt
Amish Country Quilts gives excellent advice on how to wash your quilt
Have your quilts ever been accidentally spilled on, stomped on, or driven over? I’d love to hear about your experience and how you saved your quilt. Please share your stories and your cleaning solutions, I may need them some day… This is risky business ;)