Caring for Treasured
Afghans
By Brenda Hyde
I have the afghan my grandmother gave
me when I graduated from high school and all of my children were made
special afghans by their grandmothers when they were born. They make us
feel cozy and give us a connection to the people who made them. How do
we care of these treasured afghans?
If the afghan is made out of wool or wool
blend yarn it can be washed in the washing machine IF you don't allow it
to actually agitate. All settings must be on cool or cold, and the
gentle cycle. Fill the washer with cool water. Dissolve a mild soap or
detergent in the washer water. Then add the afghan. Allow it to soak,
moving it around gently with your hands, for about 15 minutes or so.
Then turn the machine to the spin cycle. After it finishes spinning and
the water drains, stop the machine and add cool rinse water and a fabric
softener if you wish, but do be cautious. Some fabric softeners can
cause colors to run. If in doubt use a gentle PH Balanced hair
conditioner instead. Again, allow it to sit for 15 minutes or so, then
spin out the water.
Dry the afghan flat away from the sun, or
any type of heat source. You can place it on the floor on a large clean
blanket to dry if it's a large afghan. This is just one method of
cleaning. You could also gently hand wash the afghan using a similar
method in the bathtub or a large sink. Even doing this, you should be
careful as far as scrubbing or stretching too much.
For afghans made out acrylic yarns you
can usually wash in warm soapy water in the gentle cycle and dry gently
in the dryer as well. If the instructions are available from the yarn
package it should give specific instructions. If in doubt, use the
gentle method above.
For all cotton blankets or afghans, use
the washing machine with cool water on the gentle cycle. Dry flat or
line dry. However, chenille must always must be hand washed or dry
cleaned.
Of course, no bleach should ever be used
on any of the afghans. Store them out of sunlight and heat sources. The
same goes for displaying them. Use gentle care on all of your afghans
and they will be treasured keepsakes for your family.
From
Brenda Hyde, owner of Old Fashioned Living.com. Visit her for more tips,
recipes and crafts. Sign up for her free newsletters here: http://www.oldfashionedliving.com/news.html |