Damp Smelly Quilt, Help

cardiogirl

Hello. I was recently given an old patchwork quilt that my mum thinks was made in the 50's or 60's. It's very heavy, I think there is a blanket inside as well as patches either side. Anyway, as it smelt musty, I put it on the airer outside yesterday to get a blow of fresh air - I then completely forgot about it & brought it in this morning after it had rained all night :eek: It has been on the airer in front of a radiator all day, but is still sodden & very very smelly. Does anyone have any suggestions as to what to do next - should it just be left on the airer near the radiator? Do you think the smell will go when it is eventually dry or should I be doing anything else?

vij

If the smell doesnt go when it is dry give it a good steaming (even a wallpaper steamer will do if you dont have a hand held) with a drop of tea tree oil

valk_scot

If the inner blanket is wool then it will smell very sheepy and wooly when wet, like a sodden wool jumper. This smell will go when it's dry so don't despair yet.

The musty smell will also go with airing and the inadvertant rinse!

If it's dripping wet though, try giving it a cautious spin in the machine just to get the worst of the water out. Very cautious though, in case you felt the blanket or tear the patches. After that the best place for it is back out on the line if it's not raining. Don't steam it, because then the blanket WILL felt, shrink and the quilt will pucker.

I had one of these blanket-lined home made quilts for my bed back in the late sixties and they're lovely and cosy and thick. Still got it actually! The patchwork cover has started to shred with age but I still stich it up and re-patch it from time to time. It lives in the back seat of the car now and the kids cosy up under it on cold drives. Not bad for the 50p my mum paid for it!

rosekitten

if this were me as its smelly and damp
and you run the risk of it getting mouldy
if you leave it too long.Just start again
its tougher than you think

If you have poked through and seen
blanketing its probably the batting
used that you can see,sounds as if its
a cotton/wool mix

I would put it in the washing machine
on a low temprature 30c or less,use
Dreft or Woollite,spin as much water out
as poss.I wash mine & spin on top speed and
then give it an extra spin to get out as much
water as poss .If it can be line dried great, if not
fold in half and hang it over your
sitting room door.turning through out
the day.if you have your heating on
it will dry quicker than you might imagine

cardiogirl

Thank you for all your suggestions. I've just got back in & it is less wet & a bit less smelly - it's been on the airer in front of a low radiator all day, I've turned up the heating so it will hopefully get a boost over the rest of the evening.

babyshoes

If it is still smelly when dry, it will need heat to kill off the bacteria that causes the 'damp washing' smell. Try hanging it near a radiator or a tumble dry on low speed.