There are many views on how to clean and maintain quilts and fabrics.

   The best rule of thumb if you are unsure how to clean your quilt or fabric is to research and ask until you are completely comfortable with any cleaning process!  I recommend conferencing with a quilt/fabric Conservator to get more information on your specific quilt or fabric.

DO NOT EVER DRY CLEAN any vintage or antique material!

   Why?  Antique and Vintage Quilts are generally organic materials such as cotton. Organic materials were once alive and made into thread, cloth, and fabric. They have cell structures that can deteriorate with time much like us and chemical treatments and dry cleaning would certainly have damaging effects. 

   Humans are organic and don't take chemical baths, use harsh detergents, or go through the dry cleaning process...  So, why on earth would you submit your quilt or fabric to such a process?  If you clean your quilt or fabric like you clean yourself your quilt or fabric life expectancy will be greatly extended.  Cleaners can only clean and not bring new life back to any material.  However, organic material can be cleaned up nicely if it has been preserved and not exposed to a great deal of improper storage.  Look how well the little old quilter and fabrics are doing in the picture below because they take care of themselves and stay away from chemicals, harsh detergents that leave residue, and don't use bleach.

What is out there that can safely clean your quilt or fabric and do no harm?

   Ever heard of ORVUS WA PASTE made by Proctor & Gamble?  Its been around for over 40 years and is highly sought after and is used by millions of quilters.  (There are roughly 22 million quilters in the USA)  I highly recommend it and have researched this product and spoken with many Quilters and Conservators for years and use it myself because it works!  ORVUS is used by The Royal Academy of Needlework in England.  In the November, 1977 edition of Martha Stewart's Living Magazine it states that if you want to pass your quilts and other antique linens down to your grandaughter, use ORVUS.  The article also states that many museums use ORVUS to clean their valuable quilts and linens.  ORVUS is recommended and sold by the Rocky Mountain Quilt Museum.  The Museum website also offers excellent information on how to care for, display, clean, and store you quilts.

   ORVUS has sodium lauryl sulfate (The active cleaning ingredient) and is a wetting agent.  ORVUS is an excellent choice for washing your handmade quilts and antique linens as it will not strip or fade the colors or weaken the fabric and is organically safe. ORVUS actually makes water wetter and will not leave a residue on your quilt.  An ORVUS water mixture gets into the fibers of the fabric easily to float out the dirt and oils.  When Orvus is warm it has a liquid property and when cool, or cold, it has a paste property and can be used in either state.  Just be sure to mix Orvus into the wash water so it is evenly distributed. 

What are the uses and applications of ORVUS?

• A neutral synthetic extremely gentle and highly effective cleaner which is soluble in hot or cold water and rinses out freely.
• No chemicals, no residue. Unlike Woolite, ORVUS contains no bleaches and doesn't discolor or fade dyes to harm any type of fabric from lace to fine rugs.
• Best high sudsing soap to clean your fine fabrics, cashmere sweaters. quilts or any other fabric. Looks pearly and has a very, very faint fresh scent. Leaves fabrics, clothes and laces soft.
• You only need a scant teaspoonful for hand washing! A little goes a long way and is fabulous for lingerie.
• Is non-irritating and used is used to clean all types of animals by Veterinarians. Is also used on show animals to remove manure stains and clean them for show competitions.
• Contains no phosphates to harm delicate fabrics and the surfactants are biodegradable. What is your $200, $500, or $1,000 quilt going to be worth if you used a cheap or bargain product that faded the dyes, bleached it, left chemicals in it, or did other damage?
• Can also mix ORVUS and water in a spray bottle for spot treating all fabrics and carpet stain cleaning.
• Recommended for people with allergies to soap, detergents, and perfumes.  If used as a shampoo it will clarify your hair!

Tips:

   If a quilt must be wet cleaned it is important to test for color fastness.  Gently rub each fabric type with a cotton swab moistened only with water.  If no color rubs off then the dyes are set.  ORVUS can also safely clean material with indigo dyes from Egypt and Africa.  Once color fastness is determined, the easiest way to wash a quilt is to half fill a bathtub with lukewarm water and mix in ORVUS.  (About 2 Tbsp for half a tub) ORVUS is recommended because it is pH balanced and leaves no residue.  Put a sheet into the tub and then gently lower your quilt in the water in a fan fold fashion.  The sheet will act as a support for the quilt when removing from the tub - particularly important!  A wet quilt should never be lifted by itself as the extra weight of the water could cause the quilt to come undone or tear!  Use your hands for gentle agitation of the water and press the quilt gently up and down to move the water through the quilt and get the water to pass through the quilt layers.  You may soak for 10-30 minutes or up to 6 hours depending on how soiled the quilt is.  Then drain water and allow the quilt to remain in the tub and drain as much water as possible.  Use your hands to press down and expunge water out of the quilt and DO NOT WRING!  Continue rinsing until all soap is gone and water is clean. (Be sure to rinse, rinse, and re-rinse to expel all soils and cleaner.  Repeat process until you are satisfied that quilt is as clean as you can get it.  What you see is what you get.

   If this is the first time that you have washed your quilt or fabric, it may be a good idea to add 1/2 cup of white vinegar to your wash water.  Why add vinegar?  If you have ever dyed Easter eggs and used the Hass dye packs, white vinegar was part of the process...   The vinegar sets the dyes and keeps the colors from running, particularly reds.  (ORVUS will not fade or run dyes)  If you do the swab dye test with a little water you should already know if you will have a problem with just water.

   I always separate my whites and darks when I do laundry.  Before I started using Orvus for doing my laundry my whites eventually started getting a yellow or gray kind of tint.  They just weren't white.  Why?  Soaps and detergents have additives and perfumes that leave a residue.  Just take a pinch of powdered detergent and rub it between your thumb and fingers...  What you feel is residue that eventually will build up in the material.  The residue builds up in the fabric and the fibres eventually hold so much residue that they are contaminated and discolor the whites.  I guarantee that if you use 1 tablespoon of Orvus in a load of whites you will be amazed at how much brighter your whites are!  Just fill your washer, put in a tablespoon of Orvus and mix into the water.  Put your whites in and let them soak for awhile before you let the machine start.  A soak period of 15 minutes or more for the first time using Orvus on your whites lets Orvus go to work and breakdown the old residue.  Your whites will come out sparkling and oderless!  When dried they will be softer and fresher.

   Ever cleaned your carpet and after a month or so see old stains re-appear?  Mix ORVUS and water in a spray bottle and spray  the area for treatment.  Use a white cotton cloth or old white cotton sock to gently massage and wipe out and remove the stain.  Do not soak the carpet as you are only removing stains from the upper fibers and don't need to penetrate the backing.

   Does ORVUS work on all fabrics and linens?  Yes! I have gotten coffee stains out of my daughters white T-shirts! How did I do that?  Put the shirt on a flat surface and insert a sheet of plastic or plastic bag inside the shirt between the front and back to keep the stain from bleeding through to the unstained material.  Use your finger to directly apply ORVUS and gently rub into the stain.  Use a spray bottle of water to wet the stained area and cover and let stand for about 1/2 hour or more.  (Cover with Saran Wrap to keep from drying out for long periods)  Feel free to go back now and then and use your finger and a little extra water to work the stain. Rinse and repeat as many times as it takes to get it out and it will come out!

WHERE CAN I GET ORVUS?

   You can get ORVUS right here on eBay!  I offer 5 different packaging sizes of  8, 12, 16, 32, and 120 ounces.  I sell individually packaged jars at bargain pricing here on eBay and offer wholesale pricing and distributorships to clubs, guilds, stores and shops across the US .   I am an active member and supplier of ORVUS to the Rocky Mountain Quilt Museum in Golden CO.  By the way...  The Rocky Mountain Quilt Museum offers one of the best web sites and information on how to care for, store, and clean your quilt.  Check it out on their home page!

   There are others on the internet that sell Orvus in bottles.  Bottles are easier to knock over and its harder to get the contents out.  All my packaging is in wide mouth user friendly jars.  I am the only source for different packaging sizes that meets all the needs of all the quilters and fabric people.  (Feedback and comments from buyers on over 500 sales has brought about the 4 packaging sizes)

   Thank you for taking the time to read this guide.  It is brief yet says a lot.  Many people are so used to man made fabrics and wash and wear that they really don't have the concept that antique, vintage, and modern day organic fabric can't stand up to some of the modern day cleaners.  Especially the concept that they need to bleach cottons to make them whiter with brighter colors.  I'm sure you've seen what bleach can do to a pair of jeans...  Yep, makes nice white spots and the fabric is eaten away leaving holes.  Even if bleach is diluted it causes damage!  Hey, why not use battery acid as you can get the same results!  I'm not down on bleach as it has many wonderful applications...  Just not in fabric cleaning.  Orvus is the way to go!