Washing a wool half pad

[eponacelt]

I’ve had to start riding my mare in a wool half pad with the wool pad right next to her skin. This is great for her skin, and I know how to take care of the wool (a high-end Mattes half pad) by air drying and brushing on a daily basis. But it still needs to be washed periodically.

Here’s my question: Mattes recommends using Melp for washing their half pads, and I’ve done that in the past. But that was in my old, non-high-efficiency machine. I know that you have to be careful about using ONLY “he” detergent in these fancy front load machines, but can you use Melp? Or Woolite?

Any advice or experiences are welcome!

[WNT]

I don’t know about using which detergent in an HE machine, but please do not use Woolite! I worked at a farm that used a lot of Fleeceworks products, and the owner told us to use Woolite. Well, we started getting chunks of fleece falling off the sheepskin. It turns out Woolite is TERRIBLE for the sheepskin base. You do need to use a cleanser that conditions the skin as well as cleans the fleece.

Melp, Pepede, Leather Therapy all make leather-friendly detergents.

https://www.pharmakausa.com/pepede-leather-wash-400765

https://absorbine.com/products/leather-care/leather-therapy-leather-laundry-solution/

And last, but not least, a CotH thread on Melp and HE washers: https://www.chronofhorse.com/forum/forum/discussion-forums/hunter-jumper/145517-using-melp-in-a-he-washer