I consistently have problems keeping blankets closed at the chest – the buckles hold fine but the velcro on the underside fails so the blanket gaps open under the buckes. Anybody found a foolproof way to keep the velcro on the underside of the blanket front working? Or figured a way to replace the velcro with another type of fastener. I am not much of a seamstress 
It might be a little bit obvious, but keep the velcro clean. Special brushes are available. One reason I dislike velcro on rugs is that it only takes a bit of hair or a piece of hay for the velcro to fail.
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Have you found blankets that use an alternative to velcro? And yes, your response is too obvious. But, I confess that such things as cleaning velcro just seem to be beyond my grasp! I can see the promise of a better patent here somewhere.
I do have a 25 yo jacket with velcro at the wrist and it has worn out. So would need replaced.
But do find like an earlier poster said, that hair getting in there is the problem with my horse blankets.
One of those inexpensive dog grooming brushes cleans them right up.
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“Hook and loop” brushes a couple of $$ on Amazon etc. Can’t say “velcro” as trademark protected. I can’t think of a particular brand of rug but there are several that do not use velcro because it is well recognised to cause problems. Lovely when it works.
I a saw a video on YouTube
a person used a bot knife to successfully clean their velcro. It looked quick and easy. I’ve never tried it though.
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Any stiff brush - like a Dollar Store nailbrush would work.
Also good (if you can find one) the small wire-bristled brushes they sell to clean scuffs or salt marks off suede shoes
Check the welding or plumbing aisle at your local hardware store for these, they’re just a buck or two.
https://www.lowes.com/pd/Lincoln-Electric-Wire-Brush/999971568
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Pin brushes for dogs work really well, and they’re plentiful and cheap. I have two, in different sizes, and used regularly they keep velcro fresh and fully operational.
I pretty much hate velcro on horse rugs, as it almost always fails eventually and it’s not strong enough to resist much pressure.
I use these clips to fix many problems. I just use thin webbing that is easy to get a needle through, melt the ends of the webbing to stop fraying, thread it through the clip and sew it in place by hand. You don’t need to have any special sewing skills.
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Velcro doesn’t like to be wet. It won’t stick as well. I got a couple of little brass brushes from the shoe repair person that are pretty good. He had just finished returning my boots with new zippers. He said I didn’t need them - my boots aren’t suede. I told him it’s for Velcro.
I send the blankets to a place in New Hampshire that launders and waterproofs them and makes repairs. The Velcro always comes back perfect.
This is brilliant. I also have a number of these laying around from worn out items. Yeehaw!
