How do you keep your white saddle pads white? Any hacks? I can’t ever keep mine a nice bright white. The saddle stain doesn’t bother me so much but the overall whiteness i struggle to keep bright white.
Any tips
You’ll get a ton of answers. Wash in OxyClean before they get really dirty. Or…save your white pads for showing only. That’s what I do. My horse is super clean, show pads are pretreated with ScotchGard or something similar and rarely need washing as they are used briefly on a clean horse. Schooling pads are any color other than white. YMMV 
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I have red clay AND hard water - and horses that live out 
Following for tips, but I’ve managed to keep things white with the following:
- wash before they get gross. This may be every ride in the summer
- mix blue Dawn and peroxide and scrub into boot marks and bigger stains.
- spray and wash stain spray on top of that - the stick was the gold standard but they discontinued it
- wash on hot with Tide + Oxi detergent. Repeat if necessary, but usually it’s not necessary
I’ve heard that baseball parents swear by Fels Naphtha sticks for scrubbed on grass and dirt stains. I’ve had zero luck with oxiclean itself.
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I’m honestly curious if anyone has tried purple shampoo 
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Laundry blueing maybe? That was the OG purple shampoo I’m told
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I have used the purple stuff that comes out of the Mane’n Tail Spray’n White shampoo bottle. I just pour a bit of it into the washing machine and wash the saddle pad by itself. Saddle pads are washed after every ride.
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Keep a pad aside just for shows. Pretreat stains immediately and wash asap.
Laundry blueing works great, and borax.
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@Annie10 has the best idea in my opinion. We had two or three “show pads” that were used just for showing. These went on when the horse was tacked for the class and came off immediately after. If possible, the pad was sprayed with Oxyclean or some other concentrated soap, dunked in water, and squeezed out dry as possible then put into a garbage bag securely tied, tossed into the trailer. Once home the three pads that were used, were immediately put into the wash on a soak cycle, then if possible dried in the sun. Since the pads went on a clean horse (washed before a show) and a clean kid, the biggest challenge was saddle marks and boot rubs. Sometimes scrubbing would make those less noticeable. We did the same with the two or three pair of white show breeches --wore only to the show, and treated, bagged ASAP after. Washed when home.
There are some whitening products I have used, the really strong ones work well, but weaken the fabric, FYI.
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Easy: wash every time you use them.
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Napisan from Australia!
For those who said wash every ride, do you feel like this dulls the brightness of the white?
That one I can’t answer I use colored pads for everyday and the nice white ones only for shows.
Not at all.
Add a couple of spoonfuls of Bicarbonate of Soda (as used in cooking) and a couple of spoonfuls of white vinegar (such as wine vinegar) to your usual wash. Both food ingredients because it was a restaurant owner who told me how to preserve white tablecloths. It seems to work on my bed sheets and towels.
