As for He detergent I understood it was because it suds up less. My salesman didn't say anything damage to the machine.

When I bought my front-loading washer, I called the company that makes Retayne and asked them what I should do. They told me to use one teaspoon for every yard of fabric, and to set the washer for a hot wash and a cold rinse. I just put the Retayne in the little tray that usually holds detergent. It seems to work fine.

maggieszafranski wrote: Wow! Maggie, thanks. That's good to know. I'll have to go look at the box.

I had a think about this. Becky Goldsmith (Piece O' Cake applique) talked to us about prewashing fabrics. Among the many things that we discussed, she told us that Color Catchers contain both Retayne and Synthropol. Just something to think about!

Maggie in E Central Illinois

Beth, I have a front loader, high efficiency washer. I fail to see how this would damage the washer and void the warranty. My step daughter has the same washer as I do, and had to have hers serviced. The serviceman said the problem was using TOO much detergent (she uses HE detergent). And when you think about it, any detergent is fairly caustic. And then think about bleach! I would think the Retayne in the bleach dispenser would be okay. Perhaps set the washer to do an extra rinse. JMHO!

Maggie in E. Central Illinois

After we got our high efficiency, front-loading washer, I realized that it said to NEVER use anything but high efficiency detergent.

I called the manufacturer, explained that I wanted to use milder washing agents for my quilts and asked if using something like Retayne or Quilt Soap occasionally would harm the washer.

They said it WOULD and it could void the warranty.

OK, I admit that I still sometimes use it, but I make sure that I have a good reason, and I don't use it just to pre-wash fabric or to wash a quilt.

But when I do wash quilts, I use a VERY little bit of HE detergent instead of the recommended amount. So far, everything has worked out fine.

BTW, if I had to do it over again, I would not get this kind of washer. Instead, I would get one of the new, higher efficiency top-loaders which don't have these requirements!

BethMI

Has anyone ever used Retayne to prevent bleeding on a quilt that is already finished? The fabric was not treated with Retayne before sewing.

Ladies, the pleasure was mine. I like things to be easy. . .preshrinking/checking for color fastness are not on the top of my fun list; but I want to know what I'm going to be working with. Retayne and Synthrapol are great products.

Thank you all. I used Terry's method in the end.

Thank you Terry, for a good idea. It's always the rinsing that gets to my aching hands.

I have a front loading machine and I do it the same way Terry does

I am so stingy with the Retayne. I first get my fabric wet to see if it is going to run. . .if it does, then I do the Retayne. . .by then, my fabric is already wet. I also do the process in my sink and will keep the fabric to two yards or less. Once it has soaked for the recommended amount of time (I do walk by from time to time to "agitate" the water), I run it through the rinse cycle in the washer. Terry

Hmmmm......What about adding the retayne with some water in the bleach partition - that way the material will be thoroughly wet before the "bleach" is added.

Handwash???