My childhood blanket was used recently (well, a few months ago) as a kennel cover for a friend's puppy and my husband has left it outside in the rain since then. My grandmother made it to be able to fold into a pillow as well (hence the extra fabric piece at the bottom). There is also places missing that were there before he left it outside. Is there a way to salvage it and remove the mold without further damage? (P.s. he's already upset with himself about it)
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You could try soaking it in a large bucket, tote, kiddie pool, or even your bathtub, in a water and oxi-clean solution. If that doesn't take out all the mold, next try a water and bleach mix. While it soaks, slosh it around every so often. Once the mold is gone (or faded as much as possible), squeeze as much water out as you can. Then rinse the same way as the soaking, followed by hand squeezing out all the water you can. Then place onto a clean sheet draped over a flat surface such as a picnic or patio table, and let dry flat. As far as the cloth itself, it is pretty far gone as to repairing, but you could sew up another whole outside covering and baste the layers together to hold old blanket to new fabric (or sheet). If you don't sew, maybe ask a friend that does. Good luck and let us know what happens.
Kill the mold, then remove the stains.
I'm not sure but it really looks like you may not be able to save this blanket due to there being so many missing pieces and I feel sure the material has been badly compromised by the outside weather - evening & morning dew/sunshine/rain - all of this will have had a deterioration effect on the material.
If you wish to salvage any of this memento I would suggest you handle it very carefully and handle it as little as possible. Do not do anything to it that would cause any friction or it may come apart even further.
The following site has several suggestions for removing mold but do not do any of the things that call for washing in a machine (I would not even try it in a lingerie bag as I believe it is much too fragile.
You can try something like white vinegar/water and leave in sunshine to dry as the sunshine will help to remove the mold.
www.persil.com/
You may have to make a backing for the blanket if you wish to preserve any part of it. If you attach it a backing you could also mend the holes by sewing around the edges of the hole attached to the backing. maybe even a decorative stitch.
Here are a couple of links that may offer more suggestions:
www.thriftyfun.com/
www.thriftyfun.com/
Mold spores spread easily and multiply quickly. Keep this blanket outside in the sun and fresh air. If the mold stains are fresh, this may be enough to kill the mold. Then you can use this: make a paste from 3 parts baking soda and 2 parts white vinegar (mix), then apply this paste into the mold stain and allow the blanket to sit for at least 30 minutes.
It seems to me that your blanket is a little old and trying to bleach stains could damage it a lot. So it's better to sew a new cover for him like quilt, for example, using patchwork technique. Here you can learn how to do it www.thriftyfun.com/
And don't be upset. It's just a blanket. It's time to turn it into something original.
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