dishwasher and my finger nail for tough spots.
or sometimes I’ll soak them, then just wipe them down.
I think the dishwasher is a great idea, but Mr Sport won’t let the blankets in washing machine. I can just imagine the fit at the bits, spurs and irons in the dishwasher.
Does Mr. Sport do the dishes ? (and if so could he talk to Mr. Jumper? )
my hubby doesn’t go near it unless we are out of clean dishes so he wouldn’t notice. Now blankets in the washing machine…well, lets say there’s a reason he set me up with an old washer at the barn!
Mine take up less then 20% of the top rack. Far less then that if not done all at the same time. No hair or dried sh*t to clog the drain either. It’s just some pieces of metal like your silverware.
I won’t let my horse blankets in my washing machine either. No comparison.
When you put them in the dishwasher, do you use detergent or just the water? Also, for bits, the toothpaste idea sounds very appealing 
Use detergent-and the pot scrubber cycle. It’s stainless steel/almuninum just like your pots and kitchen tools.
BUT TAKE THE RUBBER TREADS OUT and remove rubber or leather bit guards. Or you can go cold water, no heat to dry.
But plain old stainless steel or aluminim is plain old metal. You can’t kill it, shrink it, weaken it, discolor it or ruin it’s shape in a dishwasher.
The kitchen is Mr. Sport’s domain. Every now and then he will let me cook. I think he is afraid I will poison him or something.
Mr. Sport likes the horses, supports the horses, but would be really happy if all things horse related stayed at the barn. 
We are moving and he has mentioned a couple of times that we need a new washer and that he could set the old one up somewhere for the horse blankets.
Thanks for all the great suggestions!! Looks like I need to go find some NeverDull or another good metal polish. I am not sure if I am ready to try out the dishwasher method just yet…
nevrdull, or in a pinch, toothpaste works well.
Stainless steel polish does work well on stirrups
[QUOTE=huntereq1991;6071252]
How do you clean your spurs and stirrup irons? Do you just wipe them down when needed? Any special polishes, creams, etc that you like to use to make them extra shiny?
My spurs tend to get dirtier faster than the irons. I wasn’t sure if I should go to a store and get something to clean them with, or if good ol’ fashion water and a bit of soap would get them shiny and looking new. TIA![/QUOTE]
I use stainless steel polish on my stirrup irons and Spurs. Just try not to get any on the leather! You can either leave the irons on the leathers all attached to the saddle or not. My leathers are very difficult to attach to saddle so I leave everything hooked together.
Also is there an easier way to clean stirrup pads or not. I use soap and water and scrub them but is there another way? I’m not allowed to put them in the dishwasher:(
If your stirrup pads are white, soak them in weak bleach/water solution. After that, a toothbrush with dish detergent works well.
I save the toothbrushes that you get for free from the dentist in my tack cleaning kit and use a cheap regular toothpaste. I use NeverDull on the saddle to get the green gunk off of the metal parts but typically do not use it on stirrups, and never on bits because, yuck.
So I bought nevr dull for my spurs, but they still have a copperish hue in spots. It’s mainly inside not the part against the horse. Am I using it wrong??
