How to Wash a Fleece Blanket (Without it Pilling)

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Fleece blankets are really nice and many people like to use them as throw blankets for their living rooms. You might own several really comfortable fleece blankets that help you to stay as cozy as possible during movie nights.

You might be sort of nervous about washing these blankets because of pilling issues, though. Basically, fleece blankets run the risk of pilling up and getting ruined when you wash them using standard methods.

Is there a good way that you can wash a fleece blanket without having to worry about pilling? Read on to get all of the important information about how you can safely wash a fleece blanket.

After you’ve gone over all of the details, it will be a lot easier to figure out how to proceed safely. You can wash your fleece blankets so long as you’re able to do so carefully using the proper methods.

Why Pilling Happens

Pilling is something that happens when your fleece blanket starts to unwind and become rough. Fleece blankets are made using polyester and some of the fleece blankets on the market are not going to be as well made as others.

For example, a low-quality fleece blanket is not going to be made to be as durable as one that is high-quality. One of the low-quality blankets might not be woven as tightly as it could be and this will cause it to come apart a bit when you try to wash it.

Knowing this, the best thing that you can do for yourself is to buy a high-quality fleece blanket that is tightly woven and more likely to stand the test of time. Fleece blankets such as this will have an easier time being washed without being ruined and it’s going to be worth it to spend a few extra bucks.

That being said, you should still be able to wash any type of fleece blanket while getting pretty good results. It’s just about being careful and following the right directions.

The Blanket Might Come with Instructions

It’s very possible that your fleece blanket came with instructions of some kind. These instructions are meant to tell you how you can wash the blanket as safely as possible.

Sometimes you’ll find these instructions on a tab that is connected to the blanket itself. It could also come with the blanket as an insert or little piece of paper.

It’s always best to follow the instructions that were given out by the company that made the fleece blankets. If you lost the instructions, then keep reading to get a good idea of what you should be doing to clean fleece blankets.

Treat Stains

Treating stains before using the washing machine is going to be ideal. You should be able to get rid of most stains by placing soap on the stain itself.

You just let the soap sit for around ten minutes before blotting the soap up with a towel. This should help you to lift the stain so that you can continue enjoying the fleece blanket.

Just don’t rub the fabric because you could make the stain worse by rubbing it in. If the stain doesn’t come out after one try, then do the soap trick again and see if you get more of the stain up.

Washing a Fleece Blanket

Now it’s time to figure out how to wash a fleece blanket as safely as you can. The best thing to do is going to be to wash the fleece blanket by itself so that it can come out better.

Place your fleece blanket in your washing machine by itself with no other clothes or blankets. You’re going to want to wash it using the cool or cold water setting on your washing machine as well.

Set your washing machine to “gentle” to get the best results. You want to wash the fleece blanket very carefully and this is going to be something that needs to be approached the right way.

It’s also going to be better to use only a little bit of soap and you should be able to get good results even with just a bit of laundry soap. If you normally use things such as fabric softeners, then you should forego them this time since they aren’t going to be helpful.

Once the gentle cycle is done, you should be able to take your fleece blanket out of the washing machine to see how things turned out. Ideally, you should have a clean blanket that has not experienced any pilling.

Drying Your Fleece Blanket

Drying your fleece blanket needs to be approached in the right way as well and there are two basic ways that you can go about it. You can either choose to air dry the fleece blanket or you can use a standard dryer.

If you want to throw your fleece blanket in your dryer, then you need to be sure that your dryer has a gentle setting. So long as it does, it should be possible to get your fleece blanket dry without having to worry too much.

Many people find the idea of air drying the fleece blanket to be much safer overall. You can hang the fleece blanket on a clothesline and let it dry over the course of a few hours.

Too much heat can cause your fleece blanket to experience pilling issues so it would be good to be able to avoid the dryer if you’re able to do so.

However, being that most people use fleece blankets during the winter months, it isn’t always going to be practical to hang a fleece blanket somewhere on a clothesline.

If you do decide to utilize your dryer, then you are just going to want to try to do things as safely as you can. A gentle setting should give you the best chance of success and you’ll have fewer issues if your fleece blanket is made from high-quality materials.

Just be very careful with what you are doing and your fleece blanket should wash up really well. It can be a bit annoying to have to be so cautious with fleece blankets but they’re so comfortable that most people find that they’re worth the extra bit of effort.

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