Washing curtains

[JOHN L]

I'd like to know what is the best approch to washing curtains?

[startrekker2001]

John,

I made the mistake of washing them in the clothes washer. Some of them shredded a little and I had to make new seams on them.

My suggestion would be to do them by hand in Woolite and tumble dry in the dryer.

My curtains are original in my 78 Excella so yours would most likely do the same thing. New sets run over $1,000, so taking care of the old ones is reasonable.

Good Luck

[RichardT]

Do not put in dryer if they are rubber backed, they will stick to themselves and be ruined. I washed some in washer with no problem and hung out to dry.

[InsideOut]

I would not put them in the dryer either and if you do, don't dry them to 100%. The heat shrinks them...hang them up when they are still damp. The less you toss & tumble them, the less stress on the fabric & seams and the better they survive.

Shari

[ParisianCowgirl]

Handwashing curtains in the bathtub is the easiest way for me. I have a springloaded bar that I set up between the two walls of the shower/
bathtub right over the center of the tub, and I drape the curtains over this bar to drip dry.

[Stagehand]

I showed my curtains to my neighbor, she sews for fun.She said to install them up damp so they wouldn't shrink.

[53flyingcloud]

Originally Posted by startrekker2001

John,
I made the mistake of washing them in the clothes washer. Some of them shredded a little and I had to make new seams on them.
My suggestion would be to do them by hand in Woolite and tumble dry in the dryer.
My curtains are original in my 78 Excella so yours would most likely do the same thing. New sets run over $1,000, so taking care of the old ones is reasonable.
Good Luck

John,
My new curtains cost 65$, including all new SS pin hooks for hanging them..
Only took a week to make..
check em out~!
I don't think I'll be washing these babys for quite some time...
http://www.airforums.com/forum...&postcount=160
ciao
53FC

[Mariner]

[quote=JOHN L]I'd like to know what is the best approch to washing curtains?

Hi John,

I just recently started doing mine. M curtains are 87 vintage and in fair shape, but were very dirty. I did the same as one of the other posters, I washed mine in the bath tub.

First I soaked them overnight in water with laundry detergent (liquid type) and some pinesol - between them, they helped the dirt just fall away from the material. I couldn't believe just how dirty my curtains ahd been - the water in the bathtub was a muddy colour the next mrning. I then wrung them out by hand and rinsed a couple of times. I used the spin cycle of the washing machine to get rid of excess water and then left them draped over the shower curtain rod, to air dry. I have done 60% of my curtains that way - still a few more to do ( I am getting fed up with washing curtains), and will do the rest the same way. They have dried fine (I leave a towel spread over the rail and then put the curtain on top of it, to prevent any rust stains). My next task will be to iron the pleats back in. In all, they came out very well and I am pleased with the results.

Good luck with the laundry work!!!!!!!!!!!:>)