yarn issues

[kiwikitti]

I finally decide to try one of these round ripples for a baby afghan for a friend of mine. However, when I go to get the yarn, it's all tangled in parts. I think I forgot to pull the end out. No big deal. I can handle tiny yarn tangles since the majority of it is still in the skein. However, I think the evil cat we have peed on some of it! I am really really hoping it washes out. Any ideas on what to do with that? Granted at this point I'm just waiting till it's finished to wash it and thankfully, it's acrylic (Caron 1 lb.) but ugh! Like it's not annoying enough to have to figure out a new pattern but also to have to deal with this!

[purlwise]

Welllll, if it's just the one skein, I'd probably just buy a new one since it's for a baby. They have urine cleaners that are enzymatic, but that's usually for carpets and I don't know what chemicals are in them.

[karebear]

Wash it in vinegar. That is what a friend told me to do. She says that is will get the smell out.

[kiwikitti]

Yeah. I would prefer to just but a new skein but I am out of a job right now so I can't afford a new skein. Granted, I have another color I could use... but I'd really like to save this yarn also! It's almost a full pound of yarn.

[OzRebel]

I had that happen and was in the middle of a shawl. I put the skein in a sock and washed it and it was just fine.

[Wyndfire]

I second the vinegar suggestion. White vinegar - just a splash in your wash - does wonders! It gets rid of nearly every smell I've come across, kills mildew, freshens up the colours in your clothes, AND it keeps your washer clean too! Good stuff!

[kkms]

i don't know if i would give anything that a cat peed on to a baby or a child! no matter how many times you wash it and swear the smell is out! it is not! unfortunatly. been there done that!

[happy stitcher]

I hate to admit it, but our cats pee on our dirty clothes all the time. They'll climb into the hamper just to pee on the dirty clothes.

 

I rinse the clothes before I wash them - just put them in the washer and set it to rinse, and then wash normally. I've never tried vinegar, but I've never had to. Granted, our water bill is a lot higher than it should be, but I figure that if I don't rinse them first, I'm just washing them in the pee. How would that help?

 

If you want to be extra sure, rinse it, then soak in vinegar or oxygen, rinse again, and wash with a baby detergent. That's what I'd do.

[Barbara]

Note to self: Don't keep a cat in the house. LOL

[snugsmontreal]

Note to self: Don't keep a cat in the house. LOL

ditto to that!

[cherrypicker]

I have washed yarn in the leg of a pair of tights, or if you have one, a stocking...I poked down into the toe and then tied a knot above it, in fact, I loaded the whole thing in both legs! I washed it on a 30 degree wash and it came out fine! (mine smelt bad as it was given to after being in a cupboard on a houseboat, it was dirty, musty, half moldy and smoke tainted!)

[OzRebel]

Just an FYI... a washer repair man told me once when I was using vinegar that it is very hard on the porcelain tub and may void any warranty you have. When I washed dirty diapers I used Borax to get the smell out after that. And I say nix the baby detergent... too perfume-y and also harsh on clothes... every resource I read on laundering cloth diapers said a huge no to those detergents.