I put a bedspread in a trash bag, tied it up, and stored it in the attic.

[raccoon]

Some years later, I opened the bag and part of the bedspread had turned sort of tan.

Luckily, I was able to bleach it. My question is, why did this happen? Can anybody give me the scientific explanation?

[JaneyVee]

1. Was probably mildew from being in the attic.

Sheets should be stored in cool dry places.

[jberryhill]

2. What, no image of Jesus?

[rug]

3. It slippped out every Thursday for the last two years to hit the tanning beds.

[MFM008]

4. probably

interaction with chemicals of what you stored it in. Ive noticed it in stuff we srore here to. Usually bags or boxes.

[Phlem]

5. Sounds like a chemical reaction.

Just a stab something on the bead spread or on the bag might have oxidized it over time.

Animals
Air
Detergent

That would be my guess.

On edit I see another good suggestion about mildew.



-p

[mike_c]

6. oxidative darkening?

This is apparently retarded by alkaline buffering agents added during fabric production that slow the rate of darkening. I turned up a couple of papers that discuss this:

Hmmm, having trouble linking them. Do a Google Scholar search for "Kerr Hersh Tucker cotton" and you'll find them. One is apparently Nancy Kerr's PhD dissertation and another is a conference proceeding, it looks like. They look hard to get, offhand.

[Orrex]

7. Was iit afflicted with boils?

If so, then it might be Job's comforter.
That would explain it.

[dem in texas]

8. Answer from an old antique quilt collector

I don't know the science of it, but I have heard it called cotton mildew. I think it is caused by the sizing and soaps that are in the fabric, but I don't really know. Bleach works well to remove, but you have to be careful that you don't damage the fabric or the colors in the dye. The old fashion way to remove it was to lay the wet item on the green grass. The sunlight plus the chlorophyll in the grass has a bleaching effect. I have done this before on really old antique fabrics and it works, although you might have to do it more than once.

[Hekate]

16. In addition, I would never store fabrics in a plastic trash bag, but an old bedsheet.

Periodically take them out to air a bit, then refold but not on the old lines. Even in my cedar chest, I buffer the fabrics from the wood with a sheet.

[seveneyes]

9. Heat

I've seen attics get above 180F and that much heat can damage many items.

[KT2000]

10. my guess is laundry soap

the chemicals in the laundry soap react with the chemicals in the bag.
It happens often with fabrics stored in boxes too.

It could also be cotton rot from mildew. Is the fabric weak and brittle? Does it tear easily?

[raccoon]

18. The fabric seems to be as sturdy as it ever was. nt

[K.O. Stradivarius]

11. Made in China

Probably has asbestos and mercury laced insulating material as well.

[adirondacker]

12. The plastic gases off...

"Fumes from petroleum-based polyurethane plastic boxes and wood acids can yellow or weaken the fabrics."

http://laundry.about.com/od/storage/a/storinglinens.htm

I was warned about this from a seamstress friend years ago.

[KentuckyWoman]

13. acid off gassing from the plastic

it can happen within a month or two in the right environment

[haele]

14. It was the trash bag.

Sounds as if you had a cotton/poly bedspread. There are two things that happen when you store cotton/poly in plastic. The first; there is a chance of a chemical reaction between the polyester fibers and the trash bag if the trash bag got wet or even damp - which it can do if it ever got humid in your attic. It's kind of like wicking. The best thing to do in those cases is a good pre-soak in a quality detergent and then hit the stain with as much stain remover as you can (and make sure the stain is gone before you put it in the dryer).
The wicking between common fibers is why you have a tan mark in one particular spot where the damp trash bag touched the bedspread.
I had that happen to costumes that friends had borrowed for a two-week event; they thought that packing them in trash bags and a Rubbermaid tub would keep them dry on site and cut down on the weight of items they were hauling. Boy, was I pissed - especially over the stains on the chemises. What I couldn't clean, I had to patch or embroider over.

Back in the old days, it was recommended that when storing winter or summer bedding, you got a non-acidic paper or tissue, fold the bedspread or linens in that (ensuring you'd have paper between layers of fabric), then store in a lined wood chest or pack in straw. That way, the fabric would breathe and any moisture that could cause mildew or any other type of staining would have less of a chance to develop.

Haele

[demigoddess]

15. it could also be the detergent, dryer sheets

etc. These products leave a film on fabric that is essentially a type of wax that is imbedded with perfumes, formaldehyde and other chemicals. Add plastic off-gassing (which gives me a headache) and the high heat of an attic and you are doomed. Use some Oxyclean when you wash it and try BiOKleen detergent. And never store fabrics in attics or basements!!!

[Tanuki]

17. You already have some excellent responses, but this might interest you:

http://www.fibre2fashion.com/industry-article/9/815/yellowing-of-textiles1.asp

[KT2000]

19. thanks for posting this!

great information here.

[B Calm]

20. Heat and plastic. . .