Monday, April 22, 2013

Getting those winter blankets clean and ready to store for summer


As winter is coming to an end we are all putting our winter blankets away and bring out our spring sheets.  We are thinking about getting them clean and how to store them until next year.  There are so many options for cleaning and storing blankets.  Me being a thrifty mom wants to get the biggest bang for my buck so I started doing some research on the easiest way to wash a horse blankets.  You’d be amazed at the different ideas on washing blankets.  Some take them in to professionals, others wash at home, some just brush off the dirt and shake out the hair.  There are also others that have different ideas on whether to use at home laundry soap or to get expensive stuff from the tack store.

With all these different ideas out there I wanted to give everyone a chance to decide for themselves.  Below are a few articles I found on this subject.  Some just make sense.  Obviously fabric softeners can cause irrigation to your horse skin.  Also if it’s not dry when you go to store it for the summer it will rot.  But I didn’t think about how soap can break down the waterproofing on a blanket.  I’d be curious to know if this is true.

 



 

Now for how I do it (please note I hum the Mission Impossible song the entire time):

How to wash a horse blanket Summer style...

Step 1:

Wad messy muddy blanket into a ball of ick, put in back of my car.

Step 2:

Drive by laundry mat... scope out any witnesses.

Step 3:

Drive by again. Drop off  Maddie who will load the supersized industrial washer with needed coins.

Step 4:

Park, unload icky wad of smelly horse blanket... run to said washer and stuff it in. Have Maddie standing at doorway ready to fake an illness if spotted.

Step 5:

Hit Start, make sure it locks... and run back to car, go for 30 minute coffee.

Step 6:

Arrive 5 minutes before washer finishes. Have Maddie at car/doorway opening back of car.

Step 7: Once it finalizes the last Spin and unlocks... Grab damp blanket and run like hell! Stuff it in the car and DRIVE!

Step 8: Take blanket home, Toss over fence to dry in sunlight.


19 comments:

  1. LOL I can you doing this.. and the theme song playing...lmao tofunny..Love it!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. When I was a teenager, the trainer I worked for would load up 5-10 large garbage bags full of blankets/sheets/wraps, hand me several rolls of quarters and some laundry soap and send me to the laundry mat for an all day washing/drying/folding/rolling extravaganza...grumble, grumble...now I also do the laundry mat trip, but go to the 24 hour one, under the cover of darkness.

      Delete
    2. Haha! I just love the drama behind it. I feel like such a rebel...LOL!

      Delete
  2. A facebok read wrote:
    I take my blankets to the car wash where you wash you car yourself. Then Hang it at home. I have the trunk of the car pre-lined with garbage bags. Im fortunate that the trunk of my SUV is not carpet...

    ReplyDelete
  3. It is always a good idea to double rinse things that go on horses' coats.

    A little fabric softener can help keep them cleaner longer. Though, don't use softener on towels, as they won't absorb so much.

    I think the trick to storing blankets is to have a marker near the front buckle so you can easily tell whose blanket it is. A piece of masking tape will do.

    Another issue is to bundle them. Fold and tie them up in baling twine.

    They definitely need to be dry before storing them. Hanging them over a clean fence or bushes works great. It is a common site to see 10 sheets or blankets over a fence line here in Wellington, Florida. Some barns wash horses' clothes every 2-4 weeks.

    Clean clothes make for healthy coats. Don't put mud ridden clothes on horses. You'll get rubs. At the very least, use a stiff brush to knock them off everyday. Be sure they are clean before storing.

    Run bleach through the machine after any horse stuff. Germs stay in the machine. So, you want to sanitize it.
    ~Ruthann

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
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  4. I use this when I need to give my blankets a quick wash (at the unattended 24 hour laundromat so I can get the super big machine) http://www.sstack.com/Horse-Blankets-And-Sheets_Blanket-Accessories/Natures-Blend-Blanket-Wash/ But I do send all my blankets out this time of the year to be thoroughly cleaned/repaired and packed away for summer.

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  13. I`ve read so many articles about blankets I could scream. the average tells me no blankets for heavy coated horse blankets because it flattens the part that insulates. I do put them in when windy or wet. But NO blankets.Lots of hay and water . I`m not sure if it`s right.

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