Thank you in advance!
I wash the ones that I use as base layers in a washing machine (with appropriate cleaner that is made for waterproof sheets/blankets). The ones (sheets) that I layer on top get a stiff brush and a hose taken to them. I hang them to dry - never put them in an actual dryer. Takes no time at all on a hot sunny day.
I wash my horse blankets in our oversized front load home washing machine with Rambo Tech Wash soap. I used to do an additional cycle with Rambo Rug Proof waterproofing, but I have found direct application to be more effective than the washer cycle method. I hang blankets insulation side up to dry outside or in heated garage over a garbage can or sawhorse.
I have washed them in my top load washer with no soap, dried on deck in summer. But the washer isn’t quite big enough to rinse all the mud off a turnout sheet. So more recently I just took them to the blanket laundry service in the spring
We go to the laundromat at o’ dark thirty and use their industrial sized washers. Our normal home washer just isn’t big enough or heavy duty enough to wash more than our blanket liners.
We use Rambo Wash detergent. The industrial washers are 60 gallon washers, and we can fit a medium + sheet in one load, heavy in another load (all including neck rugs.) If you cram too much in (like a medium plus a heavy) they won’t wash as nicely. The spin cycle is also a lot more intense in the giant washers, so the blankets aren’t 1000 lbs and water logged coming out. We shove them into big Rubbermaid containers and take them home.
We line dry them on saddle racks and hanging them off the deck. We never dry them in a drier because that will destroy the waterproofing. If we had to wash one in the winter, we can drape it over saddle racks in the garage.
It’s maybe $8/load, so it’s a lot cheaper than sending them to a blanket washing service.
2 Likes
Most of the time, I pressure wash them with a small electric pressure washer, plus some diluted Tide. It does a pretty good job, and this is adequate for a few years. When the blankets aren’t coming clean enough with this, I run them through my front load machine afterwards. The trick is to make sure it gets done during the summer when it’s nice and warm.
I hope you clean those washers after you used them. Nothing is worse than taking a comforter to be washed and finding it full of horse hair and horse smell. A laundromat in a horse community installed machines just for horse blankets and animal bedding, because people were being sneaky.
6 Likes
We also use the laundromat. I put socks over the buckles and use rubber bands to hold them in place. Quiets the noise, leaves no marks on the machines. If REAL muddy, I stop at the car wash to rinse mud off before washing.
I use a gortex, special synthetic fabric wash, from the hunting section of Walmart or sporting goods stores. It is promoted as leaving no scent on hunting clothing. Seems to do a good job in cleaning, rinses well. It does not seem to bother the waterproofing at all.
I hang the blankets in the barn, we have a row of hangers on the aisle wall for coolers and blankets. Hangers go thru the necks, allowing blankets to hang full length along the walls, move in any aisle breezes as they dry. Depending on the weather, cold, damp, dry, warm, they dry fairly quickly even on below freezing days. Usually no more than 2 days, even on thick blankets.
Sneak them into my front load washer (when my husband isn’t around) with a small amount of detergent and then hang on the fence, patio or pseudo wash stall to air dry. Otherwise, soak and hand wash in a spare black Rubbermaid tub (aka horse waterer tub) and hang to dry.
1 Like
This is my exact procedure.
I do rinse or pressure wash first if there is caked mud/dirt on the blanket.
This laundromat allows washing horse blankets, and yes we wipe them down after we use them.
Thank you all! Idid end up stuffing his blanket in my front loader it barely crammed in there. Unfortunately we no longer have a laundry mat on where I live. I made the mistake of using the dryer on low heat for an hour then hung his blanket next to the wood stove to complete the drying process. So I may need to re-waterproof his blanket. I Notice my dryer has the option of no heat. Shouldn’t be a problem in the summer but maybe I shouldn’t of tried to wash his blanket in the middle of a snowy winter. I have other blankets that definitely need to be re-waterproofed how would you go about that?
Yesterday morning I pulled a icy blanket off of him He was not wet underneath the blanket but the blanket was wet damp and frozen on top. I put the blanket by the woodstove and ultimately ended up throwing it in the wash because it was so yucky. I had put a fresh stable quilt with high neck rain sheet on top. What do you do with the blanket gets a get damp and freezes on top. I typically change his blankets twice a day when he gets wet or snowy. I’m curious of what others do? He has a stall with attached to a very large paddock But is never locked in so he can be exposed.
@Fharoah you can get a can of waterproofing spray from the camping section at Walmart. I don’t remember the brand or name, but it has a bright orange cap and is really inexpensive. The trick is the blanket must be dry and CLEAN, like really clean (freshly washed) for it to work the best. I did that last year. I draped the blanket over some saddle racks in the garage and sprayed the non waterproofed areas heavily, then let it dry for a few days.
Our facility has a heated blanket drying room. Best thing ever but it’s only for the people in that particular building ( we have 3 barns). When my blankets get wet in winter I take them home and hang in the front hall or just toss over the seat in the car and drive with heat on. Yes, it don’t stinks.I get them washed until spring.
My regular barn is wet but not muddy.
The pasture blanket covered in clay is another thing. I would not take that home.
I think my blanket laundry only charges about $12 per blanket. Maybe extra to waterproof. I’ve decided I can afford to have them do a couple of turnout blankets a year. Laundromats are thin on the ground in my suburb. Single family houses have laundry rooms, condos have insuite laundry and purpose built apartments have a laundry room.
Also with the pasture horses we tend to leave the blankets on as long as the horse is dry underneath the blanket. Sometimes the heat from the horse keeps the blanket dry inside but if you take the blanket off overnight in the morning it is damp through. Certainly don’t change blankets twice a day!!
1 Like
If you haven’t tried it, blankets WILL dry outside in the cold of a barn or garage. The cold will take out the moisture, even with snow on the ground. This is why I hang any wet blankets or damp coolers in my aisle to dry. If real heavy or wet, drying might take a couple days without a breeze thru it, but they DO dry. FREE! I put heavy throw rugs out on my porch chairs to dry even in winter. They dry quickly at 10F or 40F or 60F. Saves on dryer time and wear of fabrics. No cramming blankets into tiny spaces of dryer! I might have started hanging blankets to dry because they are so big here. Nothing under 80". Then the amazing new, treated synthetics are not recommended for heating. I was already used to hanging them with old-time canvas blankets.
1 Like
If they are really heavily soiled or caked in mud I give them a quick hose down and scrub in the wash rack. Then I wash them in my large capacity front load with blanket wash - not detergent. Hang to dry and spray on water proofing if needed.
Most of my rugs can fit in my front-load machine, and get cleaned well in a single load. I use Nikwax Rug Wash and Rug Proof.
At end of season, I take them to the local laundromat because their big washers can wash two blankets in the same load and take less time. And yes, I do run a cleaning cycle in the washer afterwards.
I hang them to dry on my fence line.
When our horses come in with wet rugs, if the barn is above freezing- which it is most of the time with the body heat from all the horses- they’re hung up on high hooks to drip dry. Rugs that are needed in a shorter turnaround time get hung up in the heated tack room, which then becomes rather pungent, but it does the job.
Late to the party here… Had a commercial horse blanket business in my home state.
Start by dry brushing off all the mud you possibly can. A pin brush works well and it will also break up any panels of dried and caked on manure. Be sure to brush off the surcingles as well.
Then, pre-treat any saturated pee spots with white vinegar.
Pre-treat any manure stains with Hydrogen peroxide. Do not allow the 2 to mix.
Let sit 10 minutes.
Use the pin brush to remove any hair from the velcro. Bind the surcingles in socks held on with a hair elastic.
Use at least a 50lb capacity washer (front loader at the laundromat) and cold water pre-wash with warm water wash and 2 cycles of cold rinse… at least. Use Rambo Blanket Wash. Take my word on this… Use the recommended amount. Nikwax blanket wash is good but nothing beats Rambo.
Line dry. If you have no place above 40 degrees for at least an hour to let most of the moisture drip out, hang it over a secure shower curtain rod in a warm bathroom. Do NOT put any waterproof blankets in the dryer.
1 Like
I have a top-load washing machine with no agitator - it is very roomy; it’s also one of those water saving machines. Blankets fit nicely in there. I use the same mild detergent I use on my own clothes - just a little less of it. I wash them in cold water on the “bulky” cycle and then line dry them outside in the sun. Once dry, I fold them and store them in the plastic zipped bag they came in.
This has worked beautifully for me and thus far has not damaged the waterproofing at all.
1 Like
It’s 12 degrees here today and I hung a sheet overnight in our unheated garage and it dried.
1 Like
