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How are you people getting your saddle pads so clean??

One thing I’ve found that goes a long way to keeping saddle pads clean (in addition, of course, to making sure the horse is spic and span prior to ride :winkgrin: ) is to hose off the saddle pad after - especially if the horse was sweating. It will get a lot of the dirt off if you just hang it on a fence and hose it down.

The sweat drying, along with the dirt, tends to “seal” in the dirt better from what I’ve found.

I will cycle through a few pads a month. Leave one in a bucket to soak with some horse shampoo while I ride, then hose down and hang out to dry. This way I almost never need to bring home to wash. The end result isn’t show/clinic clean, but it prolongs the time between when I need to wash them and also keeps dirt from accumulating to the point the pads get crusty, which is a weird pet peeve of mine.

For getting those show pads like new again, wash only one or two at a time. Put them in ASAP (ideally while still wet), normal detergent, and 1/2 cup of bleach diluted in water. Most washer machines now have a bleach bin, but you can also just chuck it into the wash as it is going.

That works well for me. What also works is getting a pad that is a dark color so it hides all the dirt… :lol:

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Are you talking about staining on the horse side of the pads, or the outside? Our region has lots of red clay and it does not matter how or when you launder a pad - once it touches a horse that is groomed but not freshly bathed, there are going to be permanent brownish-red stains on the horse side. However, for “just” schooling pads, I use hot water, oxyclean, the heavy soil and extra rinse settings on my front loader, and I wash them frequently (as much as after every ride but it varies depending on weather and mud). This at least keeps the outside of the pads presentable for a while.

ETA that I have city water and a pretty decent front loader. As others have mentioned, a non agitating top loader and well water could be an issue.

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There are specific products for removing that iron tint; I haven’t tried them but I think it’s time that I did. One is called “Iron Out.” It’s not safe for colors though.

Since we moved here I basically have avoided buying white clothes whenever possible!

I just take them to the laundromat.

Ours has a punch card so if you prepay it’s really pretty affordable, especially compared to ruining my own washer and not getting anything clean anyway.

I pressure wash them in between when the weather is nice enough.

I had the same problem and I had a top load washer with no agitator like yours. My washer broke and I got a new front load machine. HUGE difference! The top loads don’t use a lot of water so the pads don’t necessarily get into the soapy water enough and with no agitator they don’t get pushed around enough. If a new washer isn’t on the horizon, the laundra-mat might be a good option.

Pro blanket cleaner here, and am oftentimes asked to wash saddle pads.

First off, anything with a mildly fleece texture is going to hold onto hair and some dirt. Especially body clipped hair. I don’t care how long you curry, vacuum, rubber mitt, brush, wash, vacuum, curry, rubber mitt again. There’s just going to be residual hanging onto that fleecy fuzz.

As said before, Curry off anything loose. Then shake out. Then vacuum.

Now, here’s where I have success where others don’t: I have a large drum industrial washer that is ancient. Read: NOT h.e. It uses lots of water. You need that much water to slosh out the debris. It pre-washes, washes, then has 3 rinse cycles and high agitation. For most things I usually run a second “wash” without any detergent.

I use Rambo Blanket wash an just about everything and have not been disappointed. Manure stains get a pre-treatment of peroxide. Urine saturated fabric gets a pre-treatment of vinegar.

I have well water, and so long as things aren’t ancient or unable to endure the hot-hot water necessary to brighten whites, I have had no complaints.

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Thanks for all the replies, some really good tips here I’m going to try next time!

My horse actually has anhydrosis so my pads don’t really get sweaty. I guess one of the few perks of having a horse that doesn’t sweat much! I don’t even know where all this dirt is coming from because I’m a grooming fanatic and my horse is always very clean before I tack up!

And to answer some questions, I’m talking about the outside “pretty” part of the pads, not the part that touches the horse. I usually do two loads, one with my white pads and one with my maroon, navy and other dark pads. Interestingly, the white pads are coming out cleaner than the dark colored ones–the dark ones you can see dirt on the outside but the white ones seem to be mostly clean except all the black hair. We are on city water, not well water so that isn’t a factor.

I’m really wondering if the issue is the top load, high efficiency washer with no agitator. We just bought the washer a few months ago when we got a new house. And for human clothes, I love it!! The agitator stretched and worn out my office clothes with our old one and this new one uses very little water! But maybe these things I love about it for human clothes are the reason it isn’t getting saddle pads clean. :frowning:

I think I will try again with all these tips and if that still doesn’t work, try the laundromat. My old boarding barn had an old washing machine in the tack room for border use that always seemed to get them clean, it was nice to have.

I use a curry brush to get the hair off- I find it works better than trying to vacuum it. Then lots of oxyclean and a pre soak (I also have a top loader no agitator). Then dry on low for 10-15 minutes to get any remaining hair. Im pretty happy with this routine for schooling pads. The bright white pad I totally failed at though.

I like the idea of hosing them down first- i need to start doing that. I try to wash every 1-2 uses in the summer (even after 1-2 uses the sweaty saddle pad smell in my car in the heat is awful).

I have found I have little success in getting some pads “show ring white” and great success with a different manufacturer’s product. I attribute this to the fabric used. Ogilvy pads are now the only whites I buy. Horse is clean, pad is used once, rinsed with hose at wash stall, drip dried and washed when we get home. Hot water, washing soda, and laundry bar soap (not detergent) used as a pre treat to any gross areas.

Schooling pads: LOL, pick grey or black. Hose after each use, wash as needed.

Spray your new, clean pad’s topsides with Scotch Guard. It’s vile stuff to apply but your pads will remain sparkling for years. It can also be used to protect your whites from black stains, and to keep the elastic on your horse’s boots clean.

I learned this on this forum many years ago–I wish I could assign credit because I owe them.

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As far as agitators stretching clothes, I have a bunch of lingerie wash bags, the largest can easily fit a pair of breeches or trousers. Anything nice goes in one.

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I have also had very good luck with this! Especially if you squirt a little Dawn on the dirtier spots first. I did notice after a couple times of doing my white SmartPak square pad that I show in, that the pressure caused small pulls in the fabric. BUT that is not the highest quality pad by any means, and you can’t really tell unless you inspect it super up-close, so I’m good with it!

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Iron Out works! I haven’t needed to go that route on saddle pads where I am, but DS played baseball, and that was the only way to get the ground-in red clay from the ball fields out of his white baseball pants.

I got it at the big box hardware store, use it outside (it reeks) to soak items, then toss them into a regular white laundry cycle.

I use white pads( Toklat) and I use bleach with the detergent. I also have a front load washer but it gets them very clean.

Interesting. I’ll have to try that.

I only have a couple white pads that I only use for special events etc. I have a big front load washer with lots of settings, I can use very hot water, Oxy Clean and extra rinse, and my white pads come out clean.

But I mostly use dark / colored schooling pads. Problem solved.

RE: vacuuming, I just HAVE to share this. My dear husband bought me this: https://www.dyson.com/sticks/dyson-v…E&gclsrc=aw.ds.

Expensive as hell? Yes, indeedy. But it’s like a magic wand for animal hair. It has all these attachments and the suction power of a black hole. Plus it’s small, light, and cordless. It’s amazing.

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If part of the issue is less than the optimal amount of water in the wash cycle, add a bucket of water once the HE washer thinks it’s full. It’s a pain in the butt to hover over laundry, but it can help to dilute the dirt away from your pads.

I don’t let my pads or splint boots or polos get to the point of no return.
If my white boots get nasty in one ride, mud or whatever I immediately put the hose to them and give them a Scrub with a stiff brush…if you leave the dirt on for a week or two, especially clay based footing, they will always look dingy.
if they come pretty clean with the hose I leave them be. If not then into the wash they go…I use the cheapest detergent I can find, double whatever the recommended amount is, a scoop of oxyclean and a little bleach for pure whites. 2 rinse cycles and hot water. Rewash if needed. I’ve also found a big difference in my polos if I put them in the dryer on low…the dryer plucks the little bits off them that makes them look still dirty.

I go through about 120 polos a week, multiple sets of boots and bell boots, this keeps all my laundry perfectly white

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I have that and loved it for a year until it broke. Just won’t charge. I did the online troubleshooting and I have to call Dyson during business hours. Too expensive to be broken already! I don’t even have pets! (I got the animal version because I have kids and I figured, same thing).

This is what I just did and things look pretty clean. The underside of the white saddle pad isn’t 100% white, but it’s cleaner than it’s been before after washing and the two blue ones look great. I have a top-load washer with the bottom agitator (like a Theraplate?). [LIST=1]

  • Removed most of hair and a good bit of underside dirt by rubbing with a Tiger's Tongue that was too ratty for the barn, but I brought home to clean my patio furniture cushions.
  • Used the bedding setting, added a soak cycle plus extra water, and an extra rinse (which I always do for anything that touches the horse). I also dumped in some OxyClean plus detergent.
  • Once a decent amount of water was in there, I stopped the machine and pushed the pads back down [/LIST]