Cleaning blankets can be quite troublesome, especially if you want to do so at home. Blankets have down or feathers inside them, and this can get really messy if you don’t know how to wash them properly.
There is also the big risk of permanently ruining the blankets if you are not careful with the cleaning process.
Thankfully, you won’t have to worry about washing your blankets frequently; most people usually clean their blankets and wash them thoroughly at least once a year. If you are a regular blanket user, you will have to clean yours more frequently.
But, instead of sending the blankets for a wash each month, you should consider cleaning them on your own.
Washing the blankets in your washing machine is not going to be easy, so it’s important that you think about other options. In most cases, the best thing that you can do is send the blankets to a professional dry cleaning store.
However, blanket cleaning is costly, and you will find it difficult to maintain throughout the course of the year, especially if you are living on a tight budget.
However, you should know that properly cleaning the blankets doesn’t always mean that you have to send them in for a wash. Instead, there is a way to clean the blankets without washing them altogether or running the risk of damaging the fabric.
In the following few paragraphs, we will talk about some of the best ways to clean the blankets without washing them at all.
1 – Spot Cleaning
Spot cleaning is the best way to freshen up the blanket without using any kind of water. All you need to do is use a bit of detergent and apply it closely on the spots where the stains are.
Then, leave it be for a while and allow the detergent to loosen up the stains in the fabric. Once that happens, you can just use a conventional hair dryer to clean up the stains.
If you want, a little bit of water can quicken the process, but you will have to sprinkle it with care on the stain to ensure that it doesn’t seep elsewhere.
2 – Waterless Cleaning Method
Apart from this, there is another excellent cleaning method that you can use that doesn’t involve any kind of water use. Here’s how it works:
First of all, you need to lay the comforter on a flat surface. Putting it on the bed only isn’t a wise move, especially if there’s a urine stain on it. You should lay it down on a firm surface in your house and then blot the stains with a few paper towels.
Ideally though, if it’s a urine spot, you will want to get it washed as thoroughly as possible.
Most people make the common mistake of rubbing on the stains. That’s a terrible idea, and it’s only going to cause the stain to spread to other parts of the blanket as well.
You need to employ a gentle blotting technique and then make sure you get rid of the soiled paper towels too. But, if it’s a normal stain, you can just follow the steps given below.
Sprinkle a little bit of baking soda over the stains on the blanket, and let it rest. You will need to let the baking soda rest on the blanket for at least an hour. Make sure that the fan is turned off so that the specks of the baking soda do not spread. Then, use a vacuum cleaner with a proper hose attachment and get rid of the baking soda.
Baking soda is an extremely effective cleaner that is capable of removing the most stubborn of stains. So, instead of using harmful substances with chemical compounds that could cause discoloration or damage your blanket, using baking soda is a fantastic idea.
Then, you just need to blot out the stain and you will notice the stain becoming lighter. Obviously, without any water, it’s going to be virtually impossible for you to remove the stain altogether.
Similarly, you can also repeat the process on the other side. The best thing about using baking soda is that it acts as a natural deodorizer.
3 – Getting Dust Out
If the blanket was kept in an open space, there is a pretty strong chance that it is going to attract a lot of dust in the process. Getting the dust out of the blanket is actually much easier than getting the stains out.
There are two conventional methods that you can use for this: the traditional, older method, or a slightly easier and simpler method.
If you want to go the traditional route, the best thing to do is to put the blanket on a clothesline. Then, take a stick and beat it strongly to get all of the dust out.
It would be best to cover your face properly with a mask to ensure that you don’t inhale all of the dust. If you don’t have anything to beat the blanket with, you should just shake it properly.
It’s going to require a bit of effort on your part, but you should know that a considerable amount of dust will be released from the blanket as a result of this. It’s a pretty convenient method of getting all of the dust out from the blanket.
Then, you have the simpler method, which does not require any sort of effort on your part. You just have to lay down the blanket on a flat surface, take your vacuum cleaner and set it to the highest setting. Then, all you have to do is to run it on either side of the blanket.
As long as the vacuum cleaner is set to the highest setting, it’s going to be able to pull out all of the dust that has gotten lodged in the fabric over the passage of time. These are just a few ways of removing dust and stains without washing your blanket.
I have a bachelor’s degree in Film/Video/Media Studies, as well as an associates degree in Communications. I began producing videos and musical recordings nearly 15 years ago. I am a guitarist and bassist in Southwest MI and have been in a few different bands since 2009, and in 2012 I began building custom guitars and basses in my home workshop as well. When I’m home, I love spending time with my three pets (a dog, cat, and snake) and gardening in my backyard.