# Washing wool Hudson's Bay blankets?



## Lisa in WA (Oct 11, 2004)

I have a wool HB blanket and I really don't want to take to the cleaners as I have in the past. I hate the smell of the chemicals they use. I'm thinking about putting it in my front load washer on delicate and using a special wool detergent I use for my daughter's wool saddle pads and then hanging it on my clothes line. What do you think?
I could put fabric softener in the rinse water. It helps the fibers regain their original shape.


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## TurnerHill (Jun 8, 2009)

Use cold water. Heat + agitation = fulling. Which you don't want.

We use old wool German army blankets at the camp, and wash them in cold water and hang them to dry, and they come out fine.

BTW, cool avatar.


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## Danaus29 (Sep 12, 2005)

Cold water and Woolite. My grandma washed many many wool blankets that way. Some are over 50 years old and still nice.


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## grannygardner (May 4, 2005)

I wash my wool blankets in my front loader on delicate. I put it on the lowest spin cycle with no problem. Cold water only.


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## mpillow (Jan 24, 2003)

We hang them out on a rainy day at camp and let the weather have them 'til dry...often a week or more. Some ZOTE on the dirty spots....


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## Wis Bang (Feb 20, 2009)

Mom always cold water washed army blankets & the occasional woolrich shirt in her machines as I was growing up.


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## Lisa in WA (Oct 11, 2004)

It worked!
I washed it on ultra delicate with Melp detergent (specially made for sheepskins, so I figured it would work well) and used fabric softener, tehn hung it on the line in a stiff breeze. It didn't shrink and it smells clean... not like dry cleaning chemicals. 
We'll use it tonight..our night time temps are going down into the 40's. I love being under a wool blanket on a chilly night.


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