Help!!!

[bec]

I have several quilts stored in my cedar chest. I have them in zippered pillow protector cases. Some of them have been in there for 6 or 7 years. I get them out from time to time to refold them. Today I took them out and when I unfolded them I noticed little orange spots on two of my baby quilts. Whatever it is has happened while in the cedar chest and within the folds of the quilts. I don't know what could have caused them.
Has anyone had this experience and if so were you able to find a way to remove the stains without damaging the quilt fabric?
Thank you so much for any help you can give me.



orange spots on quilt.jpg

orange spots on quilt 2.jpg

[LauraP]

Re: Help!!!

I know they say you should never store your linens or quilts in a cedar chest because the natural oils of the wood are harmful to the material. I don't know if that is what happened since they were in plastic or if maybe there was some damp in the bag and you got some type of mold. I think the first thing I would do is paint a baking soda paste on the spots and then lay them in the sun for a day or so.

[auntstuff]

Re: Help!!!

Looks like bug poop.

[bec]

Re: Help!!!

Looks like bug poop.

Hmmm...I don’t think so. The quilts were in a cedar chest. Bugs don’t like cedar. Also, I didn’t see any bugs, dead or alive in the folds of the quilt or in the zippered pillow cases. I could be wrong, but it’s not likely.

[ktdid]

Re: Help!!!

How old are your quilts? When I had my cat, she slept at the foot of the bed. After grooming herself, there were little specks similar to these on the quilt, they were from her nipping at herself, they were tiny specks of blood. I knew it was blood because I had wet my finger and dabbed at them, you'd be surprised how the enzymes in saliva take out a lot of stains. There is a product at Anniescatalog.com that takes out anything and not harm the fabric, you might check that out.

[MHG Winnower]

Re: Help!!!

Good old hydrogen peroxide works wonders on blood stains and others. Always test an area first, but it is my go to for blood stains on anything. It does get old, so if you've had the bottle for a very long time, you might want to toss it and pick up a new one.

[BarbaraB]

Re: Help!!!

Well the spots don't look like blood to me; they almost look linear too. Would you be willing to try and wash the area in mild soap and water before doing anything drastic?

[bec]

Re: Help!!!

Well the spots don't look like blood to me; they almost look linear too. Would you be willing to try and wash the area in mild soap and water before doing anything drastic?

In the pictures they may look somewhat linear, but one quilt in particular it is sprinkled all over. I've tried several things that I've found on line. So far the only thing that has touched it is Amodex and then topping it off with liquid oxyclean. Then soaking it in the washer overnight with a little detergent and some more oxyclean. It has gotten the lighter stains out, but the ones that were darker are lighter but still there. So now I just did the whole thing over again and the quilts are in the washer soaking. I'm hoping that I can eventually get it all out.

[nativetexan]

Re: Help!!!

Wow, i can only wonder what really happened? No plastic touching, zippers can rust i guess but not touching quilt in those spots. some sort of insect perhaps. were the quilts washed before storing them? perhaps it was something in the fabrics or even spray basting or starch. Good luck in getting all the little stains out. hope you figure it out though.

[bec]

Re: Help!!!

Wow, i can only wonder what really happened? No plastic touching, zippers can rust i guess but not touching quilt in those spots. some sort of insect perhaps. were the quilts washed before storing them? perhaps it was something in the fabrics or even spray basting or starch. Good luck in getting all the little stains out. hope you figure it out though.

The zippers are nylon and I did wash and dry them before putting them in the cloth pillow cases. I didn’t see any bugs, dead or alive. I’ve never known bugs to get in a cedar chest. I’m beyond baffled.