Wool blankets should either be washed by hand, or taken to a professional dry cleaners under most circumstances. Do not use a washing machine to clean them because doing so can either ruin the blanket, damage it and/or make it shrink considerably. Wool simply doesn’t respond well to washing machines and should just be avoided. Fortunately you can wash them by hand so you don’t have to pay the extra money to get them dry-cleaned. Here are the basic steps you can use to clean your wool blanket.
It’s going to take about an hour to an hour and a half. It’s not too difficult so you don’t need to be an expert to get the job done.
Step 1. Fill up your bathtub or a big enough bucket to fit the vintage wool blanket in with room to spare, with luke-warm to warm water. Make sure it’s not hot because that can shrink the wool blanket.
Step 2. Add in a mild soap like dishwashing liquid or specialty soap for washing declicates.
Step 3. Put the wool blanket into the tub or bucket. Make sure it’s fully immersed.
Step 4. Let it sit for about one hour.
Step 5. After you let it soak, look for any trouble areas and gently scrub them. It’s best to simply use the wool blanket to scrub it self.
Step 6. Compleletely empty out the bucket or drain the bathtub. (It’s much easier to use a bathtub for this specific reason)
Step 7. After you’ve drained it, refill it with luke-warm to warm water again. As it’s refilling, make sure the running water is not spraying or coming down directly onto the vintage wool blanket.
Step 8. Let the wool blanket sit in the new water for about 10 minutes.
Step 9. Drain the water once again.
Step 10. Gently squeeze excess water from the wool blanket.
Step 11. Hang the wool blanket out to dry, or hang it over a rod in the shower or other location where it can air dry. Make sure you have a towel under it to catch any drips. If you do hang it outside, make sure it’s not directly in the bright sunlight or this cane damage the blanket by causing it to felt.
You are done! After your wool blanket completely dries it should be back to normal and should keep you warm and safe once again.