Saddle Pad Washing Secrets??

[50ShadesOfHay]

I had a conversation with a barn mate and she seems to have the same issue as me. What are you saddle pad washing secrets for white square pads?

My horse is fairly clean when the pad goes on. I vaccuum her before and use pads one time before I wash them. And despite what detergent I use, oxy clean, shout, soil love; and regardless if it’s washed alone or with other pads etc, they never get fully clean. I’ve tried every wash, soaking, pre-rinse, whites, mixed, casual, delicate, but still never fully white.

What is the your saddle pad magic?

[mountainhorse]

Interesting…
Are you washing in hot or cold water? I wash my white cotton saddle pads (Dressage pads, but same principle, nonetheless) in HOT water. I use bleach, then air dry, and they come out WHITE.
I also use high quality cotton pads,…(PRI and similar brands), so perhaps that makes a difference in staining and wear?
The other thought might be something that is on your horse’s coat (fly spray, etc??) that is oil-based and permanently staining the pads.

[50ShadesOfHay]

I wash in cold water and haven’t used bleach since a lot of the pads have a colored border and or piping. Most are Smart Pak or Dover brand.

[IPEsq]

Powdered detergent. Some can be used in HE machines if that’s what you’ve got. Makes a big difference for most of my horse laundry!

[mmeqcenter]

You can typically use bleach safely with a little color, as long as you use a small amount of bleach and put it in the water and let the washer fill completely up to dilute the bleach before you put the pad in. It depends on what kind of dye was used. I have a white pad with navy piping I have bleached, and the navy is fine.
Hot water does clean better than cold, but I imagine you use to cold to prevent bleeding of the color. Perhaps try warm water?
Try a bluing agent.

[Scribbler]

Cold water really doesn’t get things clean. Hot water. I would expect that on a saddle pad, the colour border ought to be sturdy enough that it won’t run.

[Brutus614]

My secret is bleach (yes, even with colored piping!). If you have a top loader, open the lid and on the left-hand side there will be a divet. Pour a few tablespoons of bleach in there, wash with hot water on a regular or heavy cycle and VOILA! Your whites will be white, but your colors won’t get any bleach spots. For extra-tough stains, like black boot rubs, I put OxyClean gel stain remover on the spot before throwing it in the wash.

[luvmyhackney]

Hot water, bleach, and tide or Arm and Hammer keep my stuff sparkly white. I do make my own stain remover for the tough stuff.

[Dewey]

As has been said above, hot water and bleach will work wonders.

[Man_in_Black]

@50ShadesOfHay

What is the your saddle pad magic?

Buy black lol or a cheap pressure washer.

[HJdaydream]

@Man in Black

Buy black lol or a cheap pressure washer.

Right there with you MiB! I typically stick to black pads because I have never been able to discover the “secret” to cleaning white pads :lol:

[Personal_Champ]

Yep. Black pads = less laundry time. I can get white ones white, and do have them for showing, but for schooling and clinics, a nice black pad is just as tidy and professional (or more so, if your white pads are stained)!

[lys]

@luvmyhackney

Hot water, bleach, and tide or Arm and Hammer keep my stuff sparkly white. I do make my own stain remover for the tough stuff.

what’s this secret DIY stain remover??!!

[StormyDay]

I think 90% of the battle with pads is choosing the right saddle pad. I show with the ogilvy baby pads in jumpers. I tend to get about 10 show days out of one pad before I retire it… and even then I could keep showing with it if I was in a pinch. They wash up beautifully. My 10+ show one looks the same as my new one except for some black staining from my boot under where my leg sits. I wash and bleach them after every show.
I also have ones for schooling in colors and those get a lot of use, probably 5 rides a week per pad and they look amazing too. So amazing i could show in them if I was using colored pads in the jumper ring.

[50ShadesOfHay]

Thanks! Next wash I’ll try hot water and a small amount of bleach. Also thinking I might just get some navy and black pads, lol

[mountainhorse]

Color-safe bleach then. Definitely go with hot water.

[luvmyhackney]

@lys.

what’s this secret DIY stain remover??!!

1 part blue Dawn dishwashing liquid

2 parts 3% hydrogen peroxide

Cheap and easy. Keep it in a spray bottle. If it’s a really bad stain, sprinkle some baking powder on the stain, spray with concoction, Brush in with an old toothpaste, let sit for 10-15 minutes wash in hot water. You can let sit up to a few hours or if you are like me overnight because you forgot to start the wash. It works really well removing wine and grass stains.

[lys]

@luvmyhackney

1 part blue Dawn dishwashing liquid

2 parts 3% hydrogen peroxide

Cheap and easy. Keep it in a spray bottle. If it’s a really bad stain, sprinkle some baking powder on the stain, spray with concoction, Brush in with an old toothpaste, let sit for 10-15 minutes wash in hot water. You can let sit up to a few hours or if you are like me overnight because you forgot to start the wash. It works really well removing wine and grass stains.

awesome! thanks for sharing!

[PoochPaddock]

I wash mine in hot water with Arm & Hammer detergent and bleach. Mine are all white square pads with no colored trim but they are all monogrammed with blue or black thread. The bleach does not disrupt the color in the monogram at all and my pads are always super white. I wash after each use (I have a weird pet peeve about dingy pads).

I should note that I ALWAYS run them thru an additional cycle with no detergent or bleach to give an extra rinse so as not to cause a skin reaction on my horse if there is any detergent/bleach residue left on the pad.

[seabreeze]

I use Nikwax rug wash to wash all my saddle pads (besides blankets. I wash in cold water, and they come out clean all the time.