As much as your kids love their blanket, you need to pry it away from them to wash it.  Blankets, like other pieces of bedding items, have to be cleaned regularly and correctly.  Dust and dirt accumulate in those things, and they can pose a threat to your family’s health.  Blankets have to be washed at least once a month to keep the dirt from building up.  If you have a washing machine, you can just quickly throw the blanket into the machine- and that’s it.

However, if you are unsure about what to do and how to wash a blanket properly, here are fail safe tips on how to get your sheet cleaned.

Washing by Hand

1. Fill a tub with cool water.  It should be large enough for the blanket to fit in.  Fill up the tub with lukewarm water.  Add mild detergent into the water.  With hand washing, you control the amount of pressure and the way you’d want to have the blanket washed.  Every part of the blanket could get cleaned when you wash the blanket by hand.  Make sure to avoid filling up the tub with too much water.

2. Drag and swish the blanket through the soapy water.  Grab a section of the sheet, and knead the blanket with soft strokes.  Smooth out the blanket, and wash a new section.  Continue doing this until every part of the blanket has been cleaned.

3. Take out the blanket and press excess water.  You can fold the sheet in half, and then apply pressure on the blanket to remove excess water.  This is better than twisting or squeezing the blanket.

4. Rinse the blanket using plain water.  This will rinse away the detergent.  Continue swishing sections of the sheet through the water to remove all traces of soap.  Keep draining and refilling the tub with plain water until the water remains clear.  

Use a Washing Machine

The washing machine has to be able to handle the blanket.  You need to consider the capacity of the machine before you stuff the blanket inside.  The best washers for blankets are front loaders and top loaders without agitators.  The drum has to be considerably spacious in order to give room for the sheet to swish around and move.

1. Give the blanket a good shake to remove dirt or dust.  Blankets that tend to run have to be wash by hand.  They tend to lose color when they’re washed in the machine.

2. Set the machine on gentle and fill it up with cool water.  Washing machines tend to be rough on clothes.  This is how they get things cleaned.  The beating and agitating can stretch the blanket out of shape.  Don’t use hot water because they tend to shrink threads.  They also cause the colors to run.

3. Pour the mild detergent into the water and let it spread before you place in the blanket.  Detergents, when poured directly onto the sheet, can cause wear and tear.  It is best to use soaps that are suitable for delicate items.

4. Distribute the weight of the blanket evenly.  The weight has to be distributed evenly inside the drum.  This will help clean the surfaces of the blanket equally.  If your machine has an agitator, make sure to coil the blanket around the agitator as you put it in.

5. Wash the blanket.  If the blanket is heavy-duty, let the machine finish a full wash cycle.  Take the blanket out, and drain the machine.  If the fabric is delicate, you don’t have to let the blanket finish its complete cycle.

Machine Drying

You can use your clothes dryer to low heat setting.  Make sure to keep the setting on low or medium.  Too much heat will shrink the blanket.  It can also burn polyester sheets.  When you use the dryer, make sure to set it to tumble.  This method takes longer than hand or machine washing.  Cotton and synthetic fabrics are best for dryer approved machine.

1. Load the dryer with the blanket.  Make sure to load the dryer evenly.  Load it in loosely.  The blanket shouldn’t bunch up.  Make sure to clean the lint trap before putting in the blanket.

2. Thick blankets can go through the full cycle.  Just make sure to set the dryer on low heat.  Delicate sheet should be placed in the dryer in short bursts.  Configure the dryer for the desired time.  It might take a long time to tumble dry a delicate blanket.  Reset the dryer, and then repeat the process until the blanket is dry.

3. Remove the blanket and hang it dry.  Remove the blanket while it is still damp.  Smooth it out, and then hang it or drape it over something flat.  Let is dry completely.

Air Drying

If you prefer to air dry your blanket after hand washing or machine washing it.  Make sure to remove excess water or as much moisture as you can.  This will help cut back on the drying time.  Make sure to press the blanket.  Avoiding wringing the blanket.

1. Hang the blanket.  You can hang the sheet on a clothesline, or you can just use the iron board.  Make sure to straighten out the blanket and suspend it to allow it to dry.  Of course, hang drying is always better especially when you do it outside.  Smooth out the wrinkles before you hang the blanket.  Make sure it is stretched out completely, so it will dry faster.

2. Sandwich it between two dry towels.  Here’s another way to dry your blanket.  Roll it up and place it between two dry towels.  The towels will absorb the wetness from the blanket.  Place something heavy on top of the folded blanket to apply pressure to the roll.

3. Lay it out.  If you can’t use the above options, you can always just lay out the blanket on a clear flat space.  Place dry towels underneath it to absorb the moisture.  Flip the sheet to air out the other side.  Of course, this method takes time, but it doesn’t take a lot of effort to do.

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Image Credit:

How large should a washer be via reference.com
How to Use a Washing Sink via gringainelsalvador.wordpress.com
GE® RightHeight™ Design frontload washer and dryer via pressroom.geappliances.com
Bunny Mummy: Easter Holidays via bunnymummy-jacquie.blogspot.com