Cleaning your own blankets

[Miranda_and_Oscar]

Hi all,

In the past I sent my blankets off to get cleaned in the Spring. Last year is cost me more than I had expected and this year, I have added 2 new blankets to my guy’s wardrobe (now he is field boarded and needed alternates in case one got wet).

I am trying to be a little more money conscious this year as I have had some unexpected animal expenses

For those of you that clean your own, how do you typically do it? I know some people use a laundromat but I doubt they would be thrilled about me washing his gross blankets there. I also had a friend tell me that she scrubbed with some detergent at home and just hung it up outside and sprayed it with the hose.

Just looking for suggestions. I only have 1 that needs a repair so hoping I can save some $$ and do the rest myself!

[Obsidian_Fire]

Use Nikwax or some other cleaner specifically designed for horse blankets. Regular detergent will wreck your waterproofing.

Beyond that I’m not much help.

[2DogsFarm]

I have always used my Heavy Duty washer at home & dried in the dryer if it was not nice enough to hang outside.

20yo Weathabeetas never lost their ability to have water bead on them, so whatever detergent I used (generally what was on sale) never harmed them.

If blankets were especially nasty I’d brush the worst of the mud/gunk off, then wash & always did a load of barn towels after to pickup any hair left in the washer/dryer.

[saultgirl]

For really heavy blankets that won’t fit in the washing machine, I usually lay it out on the grass, spray with hose, then scrub with a brush or even a broom with soapy water. Rinse, flip over, repeat. Then I hang it on the fence and give it one more good rinse on both sides, and leave it on the fence to dry.

[chestnutmarebeware]

@saultgirl

For really heavy blankets that won’t fit in the washing machine, I usually lay it out on the grass, spray with hose, then scrub with a brush or even a broom with soapy water. Rinse, flip over, repeat. Then I hang it on the fence and give it one more good rinse on both sides, and leave it on the fence to dry.

This is my method, too. When I have to. Just know, you can get them clean-ish with this technique, but a good portion of the dirt/mud that seems to have been scrubbed away in the washing process re-emerges as the blanket dries. Again. And again.

I prefer to go with the cost of professional laundering. I get fluffy, clean blankets that have been re-waterproofed, and all tears and broken straps have been repaired. Then they arrive in a nice clear zippered bag that is great for storage. Or just buy new ones!

[mlb722]

I have a regular top loader and wash my own. First I remove any caked mud with a brush. Then I do a rinse in the washer. Next, I do a regular wash with detergent and borax. I hand to dry outside and waterproof with camp dry. If washer has dirt/hair in it I run it empty when done. I have small horses and none of the blankets are super thick. I wash one at a time as a large load.

[reignthealarm]

Sheets and light blankets I can fit in the washer, then hang them on the fence to dry. Anything that won’t fit in the machine I lay on the ground, scrub with a brush and laundry detergent, rinse, then hang on fence to dry.
Spray some Nixwax or similar on it to keep up waterproofing.

[warriorhorse]

Lay blankets on deck use garden hose with a nozzle. Get blanket wet put blanket wash on scrub with brush. Do both sides then rinse till water runs clean. Hang to dry.

Have all 7 blankets washed dried and put away till up coming winter. Was lucky had several really nice sunny days ,blankets dried in a day and half.

[BoyleHeightsKid]

The big heavy weights I’ll take to the laundry mat and wash in the big front loader. The others I can do in my Speed Queen at home.

[skipollo]

24/7 laundromat at 5-6 am. $7/load for the giant washers. I can fit my heavyweight plus neck rug in one load, lighter blankets in one load.

We use big Rubbermaid containers from Walmart to transport them in and out of the laundromat, never see through ones.

I sound like such a criminal typing this.

We line dry them at home in the backyard.

[milestogo]

I have also used a trash can filled with blanket wash and water to soak the blankets and fill again to rinse

[Scribbler]

I live in a townhouse and horse is at a barn without a lot of common space to do your own thing and spread out. I find everything goes in my washer and dries on my deck but the turnout blankets really fill the washer and bits of dirt stay in the folds. I have never tried a laundromat, they are getting fewer as folks have in suite or at least in building laundry mostly these days. I have also thought that the DIY carwash would work great, you could spread out the blanket on the hood and blast away. But I sent my own dirty blanket out for washing this year.

[NorthernHunter]

My newer “efficient” washing machine sucks at cleaning my horse blankets so I went to the laundromat… $6.00 for the industrial size washer… I felt so sneaky but no one said anything… and I wiped the washing machine after and there was no hair or gunk left (I would have paid to run it empty if there was). So my vote is laundromat lol

[Kottbulle]

I took to hand spraying my on the lawn last year. scrubbed the majority of the poo and mud with a bucket brush. Then Soaked In a 35-40 gallon rubber trough. I have access to hot water outside the house, so i would dissolve a tide pod in the water first. Then sort of stomped sound on the blanket for a while to agitate it, and get all the air out of the puffy parts ( on the heavier weight blankets).
Lightweights I did the same, unless not too dirty, then i would just put them in my washer at home.
I have my horses at home, so all cleaned blankets I hang on the fences to dry. If its a sunny day I can usually get them dried in a day, I start inside out first, so that is really dry and then flip.
As for re waterproofing them I was getting fed up with Camp Dri and other waterproofers not lasting all winter. So i went out on a limb and tried stuff for boats, and was thrilled with the results. Only downside is it isn’t aerosol, comes in a trigger type spray bottle, but the results were amazing. Costs a little more, but blankets stayed dry and beaded right up even in a torrential rain. I am going to buy it by the gallon once I get everything cleaned and do everything. I used Boater’s Edge brand, since it best reviewed on Amazon.

[HiJumpGrrl]

I use diaper detergent (which does not have additives and won’t hurt the water-proofedness). Have a max-sized front loader. Run a load with no detergent first, then with detergent and extra rinse, the one more run with just water. Hang dry.

[IPEsq]

If fairly light weight and not too gross, they go in the washer at home with Rambo Wash and hung to dry. The really gross ones and/or ones in need of repair go to the local blanket wash guy, who does a fabulous job and charges a very reasonable price considering the state of the blanket when turned over to him, but too much for a lighter job that I can handle myself.

[DMK]

I’ve washed mine at home for years, although I generally do not use detergent (even nikwax), just an extra long soak followed by cleaning on the bedding setting (super large no-agitator top load). Then in the fall I rewaterproof with the walmart suff posted above for good measure.

Two years ago I used blanket approved soap and deoderizer… followed by a rewaterproofing with an (admittedly old) bottle of nikwax waterproofer. No lie about 7 sheets/blankets completely lost their waterproofing. Most were Schneiders, but there was a Rhino sheet or two in there as well. I rewaterproofed a couple of the sheets about 4 times that fall before I gave up and bought new sheets/blankets (I found out about the failure to be waterproofed when I pulled the drenched sheet off my horse in 45 degree heavy rains, so you know that was not fun for either of us) Some were old blankets, others new all were solidly waterproof before being washed. I have NO IDEA what was the cuplrit here, but it was an expensive fix* and I’m not messing with soap again since that was the one thing that killed waterproofing in the past.

• the only thing that kept it from being even more expensive was that I was doing a final clean/storage on 80" blankets for the retiree I had recently lost and the next year when I discovered the blanket failure had a new much smaller equine so I was buying some new blankets anyway. Just not THAT many.

[Amy3996]

The owners of our local laundromat have caught on to the horse owners who bring in gross blankets in the spring, so that option’s out. I tried scrubbing my horse’s light sheet myself, but I couldn’t seem to get it clean enough, so I caved and sent them out for washing. Found an industrial laundry place that has a giant washer and dryer set aside specifically for horse blankets. The prices are pretty reasonable - cost me less than $100 to wash and waterproof three turnouts, light, medium, and heavy.

If you have access to a machine, though, go for it! Definitely use a detergent made specifically for blankets (Rambo or Nikwax). It might be worth it to call a blanket laundry place and ask what products they use, and see if you can get them to do it yourself.

[IndysMom]

@skipollo

24/7 laundromat at 5-6 am. $7/load for the giant washers. I can fit my heavyweight plus neck rug in one load, lighter blankets in one load.

We use big Rubbermaid containers from Walmart to transport them in and out of the laundromat, never see through ones.

I sound like such a criminal typing this.

We line dry them at home in the backyard.

This is what I do also. Not that early, however! Sunday morning at the local laundromat is pretty quiet. Sheets I do at home.

[pony_baloney]

I usually wash my light turnouts at the barn. Soak in a large rubbermaid container, then use Sal’s Suds and sometimes OxiClean to wash, then rinse, rinse, rinse and hose some more. This year I sent out one of them to be professionally cleaned and rewaterproofed.

My horse’s heavyweight stable blanket is a challenge. It’s only 66" but weighs a ton when soaked. I do the same routine but it needs a lot more scrubbing for the scurfy stuff on the inside. Flipping it onto a fence takes a lot of strength, but it comes out really clean and dries in a few hours on a sunny day. I also do a vinegar/water rinse at the end to remove any remaining soap.

A laundromat a few towns away has a washer/dryer specifically for horse stuff. Haven’t priced it yet but it may be worth doing the stable blanket there.