How to Remove Stains from Quilts

Techniques for Getting Out Blood, Dye and Other Common Stains

© Christine Mann

Jan 8, 2008

Before you try to treat any stain, there are a few things you should think about:

• How valuable or special is the quilt? Really rare, costly, or fragile quilts should be cleaned by a professional textile conservator. Don’t try to treat them yourself.
• What fabric and batting is the quilt made from? Can it be washed and dried? Agitating wool batting, for instance, could felt it and shrink your quilt. Silks or velvets may not respond well to washing. The cleaning instructions below apply to cotton fabrics and cotton or polyester battings.
• Are the colors likely to bleed or fade? If you don’t know whether or not the quilt’s fabrics are colorfast, be prepared for the possibility that washing might cause new stains.
• Could the cure be worse than the disease? There’s always a chance that the detergents, bleaches, and solvents you use to remove a stain might cause new discoloration. If in doubt, take your quilt to a professional.

The Two Golden Rules of Stain Removal

1. Act fast! Fresh stains are easier to remove than old ones.
2. Heat sets many stains permanently. Avoid machine drying or ironing until you've done everything you can to remove the stain.

Techniques for Treating Common Stains

• Blood (also milk, egg, baby food and formula, many fruit juices, urine, tobacco, vomit, mud, or any protein-based stain). If the stain is fresh, soak the stained area in cold water or 3% percent hydrogen peroxide solution, which you can find at the drug store in the antiseptic section. Apply the peroxide, wait until the bubbling stops, then rinse with water. Keep treating until the stain disappears. If the stain has already dried, pretreat it with Ivory Liquid, Orvus soap, or a laundry stain remover, then wash using an oxygen bleach like Stain Solver, Shout Oxi Power, or Oxiclean. You may want to try soaking older stains in an enzyme-based treatment like Biz, Axion or Mary Ellen's Stain Remover.
• Dye (color bleeding from other fabrics, felt-tip pen, grass, Kool-Aid, mustard, tempera paint, felt-tip pen). Dyes can be very hard to get out. The faster you can act, the better. Pretreat the stain with a heavy-duty liquid detergent, then rinse thoroughly. Soak the stained garment in a diluted solution of color-safe bleach.
• Wine (also beer, tea, coffee, soft drinks, berry juice, tomato juice, alcoholic drinks, or any tannin-based stain). Don’t use soap, which makes tannin stains harder or even impossible to remove. If the stain is fresh, wash it with detergent in the hottest water that’s safe for the fabric and batting. For old tannin stains, try one of the oxygen bleaches listed above in the section on Blood stains.
• Ink. Like dyes, ink stains are hard to remove. A dry cleaner may be able to get out or at least fade an ink stain you can’t get out at home.
  • Ballpoint pen: Put a paper towel or clean rag under the stained area, then saturate the fabric with an alcohol-based hair spray. Blot the stain with a clean rag. Repeat until the stain is gone, then wash as usual.
  • Water-based ink: Use the ballpoint pen method, but spray the stained area with a citrus-based cleaner instead of alcohol.
  • Permanent ink: Run water over the fabric to wash away any excess ink, then soak in warm water with one to four tablespoons ammonia per quart of water. Repeat as needed.
  You might also try Grandma's remedy: Soak the stain with full cream milk (not low-fat or skim). Change the milk when it gets colored by the ink, and repeat until the stain disappears. Be patient! This can take several days and as a result might get a little stinky. Those who have tried this method say it won't work if you've already treated or washed the stain.
• Mildew. A form of mold, mildew not only stains fabric, it actually eats away the fibers over time. Take the quilt outside to brush off the mildewed area, so you won’t breathe in the mildew spores. Pretreat the stain by gently rubbing Ivory liquid soap, Orvus soap, or detergent into the stain, then wash as usual. Dry cleaning may help with stubborn old mildew stains.
• Pencil. Rub with a soft eraser – gently, or you might distort the grain of the fabric. After you get off as much pencil as you can with the eraser, pretreat with Ivory liquid or Orvus soap and wash in cool water.

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