Would you ship your blankets to be cleaned? Repaired? Waterproofed?

[Sansena]

I’m wondering the feasibility of this happening. How realistic is it to expect folks to ship their blankets to a service, one or more states away, given the prohibitive cost of shipping. I know there’s the USPS “If it fits its ships”-box, but that’s what-- $30 just to ship your item to and from the service? And, given that most blankets can be purchased for <$120… I’m not sure how many people would do this.

Unless there’s absolutely NOBODY in your area that offers that service…

I appreciate your opinions. Thanks…

[SugarRush]

Not me, personally, that’s extremely pricey :eek:

It would probably be more cost effective to just buy your own horse blanket washing machine once you add up the cost of shipping, washing, and shipping back each individual blanket every year…

[AKB]

I have a nice, big, $960 GE washing machine that washes blankets effortlessly. That is cheaper and easier than shipping blankets somewhere.

[Sansena]

Yes, AKB. I agree. And a $3,000 Industrial walking-foot sewing machine to do the repairs.

I’m curious to see what those who have one or two blankets might think.

I still don’t think it’s realistic though to ship horse blankets for repairs/ washing and waterproofing.

[ryansgirl]

No sorry - too expensive. I’ll lay them out on grass come spring and hand scrub them with a brush then let them air dry over a fence or something.

[Casey09]

I do have my blankets laundered, repaired, and water proofed. I’m paranoid about them breaking my home washer, and I have no sewing skills at all. I am willing to drive them for this service (which is about 30 minutes one way), but I wouldn’t pay for shipping them there and back.

[keysfins]

I don’t know if anyone has tried this, but those space-saver bags that you can vacuum out all the air out might make shipping feasible.

And FWIW, I find FedEx Ground to be the best pricing for shipping. Can take several days to get to destination, but that would not be an issue for something like this. Those USPS Flat Rate boxes for “if it fits, is shops” are tiny.

[Halt_Near_X]

Not worth it just for washing. There are always laundromats if there are no services and you can’t wash them at home.

For repairs… maybe. I can’t repair my own blankets. If I were in an area where I didn’t have access to someone who could… $100 to get a high-quality blanket back in working condition (shipping + repairs) is much more appealing than spending that same $100 on a junk blanket.

I have access to plenty of people locally who can do it, though.

[Bogie]

No, I wouldn’t. It’s not just the expense of shipping (which is also a deterrent), it’s also the hassle of wrestling the blankets into a shipping container and bringing them to UPS or the post office.

I do have my expensive blankets cleaned & repaired. Some of the lesser ones (I live near SmartPak so buy on clearance) I just use until they’re damaged and buy new ones. I picked up a Kensington Mid Weight blanket for $60 this year. Certainly wouldn’t ship it for $30.

[DarkBayUnicorn]

I’m very lucky to have a fabulous blanket service company within a 30-minute drive.

And even then, my barn pals and I coordinate and consolidate. Anyone heading up there will take a load, then someone else picks up.

We tried a vendor who did pick-up/drop-off service for a few seasons, but after six weeks and multiple calls last spring with no dice, we went back to our tested and true provider.

Meanwhile, I do have my youngster’s ski jacket drying over a chair in my tiny condo…

[Gestalt]

I used to. There was no one in my area that repaired blankets. I shipped in a heavy duty plastic bag, it cost about $22.00 one way. I sent my expensive blankets, not the cheapo ones.

And I also found they could get the blankets much cleaner than I could by hanging them on a fence or sneaking into a laundry mat. Now there is a local guy that will pick up at the barn and wash, but I think his repair service isn’t as good.

ps I don’t have the space to put a commercial washer in just for horse stuff, but jolly good to people that do. Those suckers are huge!

[Renn_aissance]

I take my rugs to the laundromat with Rambo wash for laundering.

We have repair options locally, but I did once ship a rug out of state for repairs. It was an exceptional case. My horse shredded his Rambo turnout sheet into strips. The Clothes Horse gave me a quote for repair that was less than what I would have paid to replace it, and I stuffed it in a flat rate box. They did exceptional work on a difficult job- a partial replacement of the lining plus making a patchwork quilt of the outside, and re-waterproofing. It was not an easy repair job, which is why I was willing to send it out. Other, less complex, repairs I’ve kept local or done myself.

[Foxglove]

Don’t know if this would work for you but our hunt club has an arrangement with a blanket repair/wash/waterproof woman (it’s her business). In the spring, the entire club brings all blankets needing service to the club house. She drives down, picks them up, sends quotes/estimates to individuals then returns the blankets in about six weeks to the clubhouse. We all save on shipping and she has a guaranteed 30-40 blankets to service. Win-win. Her wash/waterproof cost is about (within $5) of what I would have to pay to take mine to the laundry mat and then buy water proofing. I’m older and yanking around wet heavy blankets is not easy for me --even moving from washer to dryer or into car to hang on fence. And all blankets are returned in a nice plastic bag for summer storage. Can you set up a group and contact the closest blanket service to pick up?

[Larkspade]

I highly recommend learning hand sewing skills (atleast the overhand and back stitch) and it would probably be cheaper to wash them yourself, just find a routine that works for you and your horses.

[c0608524]

Locally we have a dry cleaner that does horse blankets for $10 per blanket. Can’t beat that!

[fordtraktor]

I bought Kevlar thread on Amazon and can hand sew enough to do the repairs I need. A $8 spool of thread will last for a decade. I sew when watching movies with my kids or whatnot. I wash in my front load. Cold water with tide Free and clear. Works here.

I have a few older blankets I waterproof using silicone spray, after they are washed. Buy it on amazon too. There is no chance I would ship blankets off–I do my year’ worth of blankets for 5 horses for less than shipping and cleaning a single blanket would be! Pro tip: do a load of towels with bleach after you do horsey things to keep your non-horsey SO happy.

[macmtn]

I know the shipping companies are not enamored with shipping stinky smelly boxes full of…

[Xanthoria]

I have never had any luck paying to have blankets cleaned and reproofed locally, let alone far away: they come back UNproofed, so I DIY the wash. Even when my local service does pickup and delivery after for free!

[sophie]

The one rain sheet that I washed came out very clean and…not waterproof anymore. I tried to re-waterproof it with (supposedly) great products, no luck.

So, I just don’t launder my horse’s turnout blankets anymore. I wait for summer to hose the mud / muck off, and hang them to dry in the sun. I have kept a Rhino unlined sheet for 15 years that way. It is still waterproof to this day. Never been washed with soap or repaired.

[clanter]

some of our Baker blankets are sixty years old, if hosing them off doesn’t work we take them to the quarter car wash