How to wash blankets like a professional

[Crazy4aOTTB]

I had mentioned to my trainer earlier this year that I would like to try to wash my own blankets instead of sending them out since they do not need any repairs. She has now offered to let me do the entire barns blankets for $25 a blanket (11 paid blankets (possible 14-15)…but her’s she wants done for free (7 total) So I’m looking at $275 to do about 21 blankets not including my 3 blankets.

First question is should I charge her? she later mentioned that she would give me $10 a blanket for hers.

Next question… How? lol… I have watched videos previously about how to wash and it looks like each blanket will need at least two washes. I think I even saw one video where they power washed the blanket and then took it to the Laundromat.

and last question is what products do you recommend? I’ve looked at the Rambo wash, Schneider’s blanket wash as well as the Nikwax rug wash.

Professionals what are your suggestions and words of advice?

[high_hat]

Not a professional blanket person but no way would I do this. I don’t see it ending well.

[goodhors]

Are these waterproof blankets? The fabric they are made from makes a difference to me, on soap I use to wash them. Some soaps can be expensive, like those for waterproof fabrics. Laundromat is now $7 the load for the biggest, front load washer needed for a very heavy blanket. Two washes to get it clean, that is $14, which might give you some ideas on pricing per blanket. Is this strictly washing blankets or do they need waterproofing too? More expense for you, less profit. All would hang to dry, no dryer costs.

You need to figure all the costs of the job, washer wear and tear with heavy loads, hot or warm water costs, soap. Extra was cycles for cleaning well. Could you use regular detergents, not specialty brands, still come out clean?

For sure call some blanket wash services, learn their wash only prices, before committing to this. Could be a money maker if your washer is up to it, or costly getting your machine repaired from being over loaded.

[Simkie]

SmartPak reviews on the Rambo blanket wash are pretty terrible.

$13 bucks a blanket when all is said and done sounds like you’re paying for the privilege of washing the barn’s blankets!

[pony_baloney]

Here’s the website for a professional blanket cleaning business near my home. Lots of work involved, even with pro machines.

http://www.horsedudsandsuds.com/index.php

I’m really thrifty and wash my own at the barn. I bring a large rubbermaid tub, soak a few times, wash and hang on the fence to dry. Unlined turnout sheets are easy, but a heavyweight stable blanket? OMG! It weighs a ton (and my horse wears only a 66"). Hefting that onto the fence is backbreaking work. Using Oxiclean in that wash really helps; my waterproof turnouts are sufficiently clean, but not perfect and still have a slight horsey smell using a just natural detergentl.

[ladyj79]

Will you be waterproofing the blankets after washing? Because I pay around 25$ once a year to have my turnout blankets professionally washed and rewaterproofed.

I think unless you have an industrial machine, the wear and tear to your machine + time + expense of detergent/waterproofer sounds like pretty terrible deal for you, and honestly, you aren’t likely to produce the same results as a professional.

I do my rider’s blankets at home because literally the horses don’t really go out in rain or mud.

I wouldn’t do this if I were you. Your own blankets? Sure, but not anyone else’s.

[My_Two_Cents]

“…but her’s she wants done for free (7 total)” Ummmm, no. I would do my own but not everyone else’s. Washing horse blankets is a lot of work.

[x-halt-salute]

I did the blankets for my barn a couple of years ago, because I was working an underpaid academic job while living in a rather expensive part of the country so I was hustling for every penny I could find to put into the horse budget. Except for one year, I’ve always washed my own blankets, so doing blankets for a dozen horses just required a little scaling up.

I used the gigantic professional machines at a laundromat. With appropriate hair/dirt removal (and in some cases soaking) before hand I could get them clean with one wash. One very filthy, very urine-soaked blanket required some hand-spotting and a second wash. I also did waterproofing on any turnouts, and with similar pricing I made about $5-10 per blanket when all was said and done (bigger margins on non-waterproof blankets). Since I could do a few blankets at a time this was an acceptable return.

All blankets were air dried, repaired if needed, got hair/lint removed from velcros and seams, were folded meticulously, tied with twine, bagged, and labeled so that they could be put neatly into storage upon return. IMO they came out far better than the service we sent them out to a previous year (which charged more and also damaged one of my blankets during the process), and since I was doing just my barn the turnaround time was far far quicker. I think people were happy with it.

I think the Nikwax wash does as good a job as the Rambo. I’ve never tried the Schneiders. Most horse people I know would NOT be happy to have their blankets washed in a detergent that is not safe for technical/waterproof fabrics, so this seemed like a necessary cost to me. Big heavy turnouts for big horses would never fit properly in a non-commercial machine, so having a laundromat that allowed horse gear was a necessity. A muck bucket or two is very useful for pre-soaking and for transporting wet blankets from washers to wherever you plan to hang them to dry.

This is not a lucrative side gig, but it is doable and might be worth the time if you’re pretty broke. I’d recommend offering to do your trainer’s at cost, not for free.

[Ganesha]

My first thought was - No way! Sounds like a nightmare!

However, maybe you could try doing your own blankets first, then see how you feel about doing 14+ more.
I would worry about people saying the blankets were damaged (lost their waterproofing, closure came unstitched, flocking got wadded up) etc.

Great blanket washing tips on the thread, though. I might try doing my turnout sheet myself now.

[Scribbler]

I’ve done rainsheets and fleece coolers at home no problem, cold water. No soap on the rain sheet.

I also did my heavy winter turnouts, cold water and no soap. They got clean enough for my use, but not enough to charge anybody for the job!

All air dried.

Sprayed after with an aerosol silicone waterproofing.

I might try taking the turnouts to a laundromat this year. My home machine really wasn’t big enough, and bits of dirt remained caught in the folds of the material.

[ryansgirl]

And you want to do this why? You won’t make any money and it’s time consuming. Do you have your own machine (you really need a front-loading one for this) or are you planning on using a laundermat? Most laundermats don’t allow the washing of horse blankets (understandable).

If you decide to do this (& personally I wouldn’t!) don’t use the Rambo Wash - that stuff is useless. It doesn’t clean at all.

[luvmyhackney]

I would do my own blankets and that is it. It is very time consuming and the blankets are heavy and can require multiple washes. For my own Weatherbeeta blanket, I hang over a fence and hose on decent pressure then use a car wash scrub brush to get anything off the hose didn’t. Then I fill up a big Rubbermaid with warm water and agitate the blanket with Nikwax rug wash. Then, hang rinse on the fence and let dry. So far I’ve never had issues with waterproofing. If I did I would use the Nikwax product.

I’ve used their product for years on my husband’s military gear to keep it waterproof.

[chism]

MHO - NO WAY, NO HOW would I do your barn blankets, and the BO is just taking advantage of you. Not to mention that there’s always at least one (or more) hyper critical person in every barn that will find something to complain about, and now that becomes your problem. For your own mental health, I’d walk away from that recipe for disaster.

In regard to doing them yourself, I do mine since I have 6 horses and it’s just too cost prohibitive to pay someone for cleaning 18 ish blankets. I do one at a time with Nikwax and run them through the washer at least twice. PSA…Do NOT use regular soap on turnouts, it removes the waterproofing.

[Man_in_Black]

I’ve had mine done professionally, done them at the laundromat and done them myself. Now that I’m an “adult” with a job I did them myself in my driveway and if I had the chance to make some money off it I would definitely do it.

I soak mine first, then lay them out on my concrete driveway, put some dish soap and some laundry detergent on them and use a push broom to scrub so you don’t have to bend over. Thanks @Personal Champ for that tip!

Then I hung them out to dry, sprayed them with the waterproofing spray from the camping section at Walmart and put them away. Literally took me an hour to do all three.

Edit: Let me add that my blankets are mainly muddy as my horse lives out. His house area is clean since they do their business mainly around the round bale. I have done blankets that are urine/manure soaked and while they are much stinkier, I take the time to soak them in warm water before actually washing them.

[Crazy4aOTTB]

Many have asked WHY I want to do this! I realize that I’m not going to become a millionaire off of this but thought I might make a little bit off the deal as I am a broke Adult Ammy who could use a little extra pocket change. I also clip horses for my trainer and most of the horses at the barn.

I’m still on the fence about this however. I did a little research last night watching videos, reading articles and researching prices of local blanket cleaners. Seems most professionals use the Nikwax so that is what I am going with. The Chronicles actually has a video of a lady who does it professionally. Seems that the going rate is around $20-$25 for just cleaning. Repairs and waterproofing cost extra. None of the blankets need any repairs and I would charge $25 if they want it re-waterproofed. However the Nikwax is supposed to be good for keeping the waterproofing in tact.

So the plan would be to power wash and scrub the blankets first then take to the Laundromat up the road that allows horse blankets, wash once with the NikiWax and then again with the Schneider’s Blanket Odor Eliminator and then hang dry.

As far as cost seems that if I charge $25 a blanket that is roughly a $10 a blanket profit. Not much but its more than I originally had in my pocket! Again I am still on the fence but might consider it!

[luvmyhackney]

@Crazy4aOTTB

Many have asked WHY I want to do this! I realize that I’m not going to become a millionaire off of this but thought I might make a little bit off the deal as I am a broke Adult Ammy who could use a little extra pocket change. I also clip horses for my trainer and most of the horses at the barn.

I’m still on the fence about this however. I did a little research last night watching videos, reading articles and researching prices of local blanket cleaners. Seems most professionals use the Nikwax so that is what I am going with. The Chronicles actually has a video of a lady who does it professionally. Seems that the going rate is around $20-$25 for just cleaning. Repairs and waterproofing cost extra. None of the blankets need any repairs and I would charge $25 if they want it re-waterproofed. However the Nikwax is supposed to be good for keeping the waterproofing in tact.

So the plan would be to power wash and scrub the blankets first then take to the Laundromat up the road that allows horse blankets, wash once with the NikiWax and then again with the Schneider’s Blanket Odor Eliminator and then hang dry.

As far as cost seems that if I charge $25 a blanket that is roughly a $10 a blanket profit. Not much but its more than I originally had in my pocket! Again I am still on the fence but might consider it!

How much time are you estimating to spend on each blanket?

[mountainhorse]

Just remember to add in expenses for your time,…and I would be wary of using a power washer on a blanket-it will rip. Also have enough set aside to replace someone’s blanket if it is damaged.

[Xanthoria]

Do not use a power washer on waterproof blankets - you will destroy the waterproof membrane.

I get some biodegradable soap (ie mild and non polluting) and a dandy brush, spread out the blanket on concrete and rinse, soap and scrub both sides. Then hang on a fence and hose off.

I have Rambos still waterproof after 8 years. Blankets sent to our local wash guy come back sparkling and NOT waterproof.

[Heinz_57]

@Crazy4aOTTB

As far as cost seems that if I charge $25 a blanket that is roughly a $10 a blanket profit. Not much but its more than I originally had in my pocket! Again I am still on the fence but might consider it!

$10 per blanket profit not accounting for your time? Assuming your laundromat has maybe 4 jumbo sized machines, you would have to sit at the laundromat for over 10 hours to run 21 blankets through 2 cycles (42 washes total). And that’s not even including the hours you would spend pre-scrubbing at home, hang-drying afterwards, bundling everything back up, etc. That sounds like a heck of a lot of work for very little profit.

This is why I don’t mind paying the professional blanket lady! :lol:

[pony_baloney]

How would you transport the rinsed, wet blankets to the laundromat?