… Actually, Saturday, which began so well, ended up being the terrible beginning to a terrible day.
I was feeling splendid, a bit of a chill in the air had perked me right up. The prospect of sleeping under covers more than a sheet, filled me with glee. And so to the wooden chest I went, to select from my collection of light-weight, pretty quilts.
Fuck. Really, there is no other word that fits. Mold and mildew had invaded my quilts. The smell was dismaying and the weather, well ... what I really needed was one of those red-hot days with a prevailing westerly. What I had was grey & sporadic rain. It was, at least, quite windy. I hoped it was enough.
Washing, washing, washing. Sven, not being an industrial fellow, merely domestic, it was one quilt per load. A few required more than one go, in order to make that smell go away.
Canesten came into play (and I’m not one of those anti-bacterial everything people but really, the strong stuff was required). They mostly dried, and did overnight in the house, draped over everything we own. Most of the staining seems to have come out, thanks to Orange Power.
All the luggage has been evicted from the airy wardrobe space and stuffed into the wooden box (after a mighty Lampe Berger treatment) so the quilts will have a new home. And the last quilt is drying as I type (the pale-yellow satin, antique, hand pierced one), in the strong breeze, but I am keeping a wary eye on that sky, I don’t trust it, not at all.
This has never happened before, where did I go wrong???
Monday, April 20
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11 comments:
Oh no, that would've been very upsetting. I hope you are able to make the most of the winds today. Not that they are dry winds. If it was just a little later in the season and the heating was on the task of drying those quilts would've been a little easier.
M, I was SO tempted to put the heater on, but we'd have boiled a horrible death.
It wasn't just the smell, it was the SPORES, I've been coughting, iching and wheezing for days.
Nasty surprise! Maybe they weren't bone dry when you put them in storage? Or, just humidity sometimes can do that... glad the stains came out!
Zoomie, I don't think I put anything away damp, I'm pretty careful about that sort of thing, but you never know. I shall me most careful in future.
Damp and mold and mildew are dreadful!
We have our own challenges with it in the summer months and my Mom in Rhode Island (nearer to the ocean) has periodic all out wars with it.
Around here they advertise big vacuum sealable bags (Space Bags https://www.spacebag.com/spacebag ). While I don't have any antique quilts, we do put our mostly down and feather winter and summer quilts from IKEA in one of those during their respective off-seasons. But I don't vacuum every last bit of air out. I just gently press it flat and seal it shut.
I know there are all sorts of rules about how to properly store antique linens, some of which include not putting them in plastic. But if the wood has been "infected" by the damp, my feeling is that in can lie dormant and re-bloom. Just a feeling, but based on experience. We have one stitched section on the side of a leather chair, which every summer suddenly sprouts a small cloud of mold. Argh! And my Mom had a panel on the back of one of her dressers which did the same thing.
BTW, that Canesten sounds absolutely vital to this operation! Mold and all fungal things can be dangerous to ones health!
Good luck!!!
;o)
- Lee
Lee, I may well look into the bags, for the down stuff. And if need be I'll paint the wood with something antifungal if Mr Lampe didn't do the deed!
Vacuum bags - way to go! We use them on big jumpers, summer/winter duvets, ski gear the works, and they are brill. Just make sure your hoover sucky up nozzle fits the bag end!
"hoover sucky up nozzle"
Good to know the proper technical term!
;o)
- Lee
Roo, darling, it's a Dyson ;)
Lee, it is best to know the jargon, especially when speaking to repair chappies.
OOOOo big Dyson or mini Dyson - I've got the dinky upright ball thingy one and it's brill - I could so be a repair man, I know all the techy stuff...
Roo, a pull along, not huge but big enough - we call it Jimbo.
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