Washing wool blankets, safe?

[JohnH]

I have a conundrum. I found two WWII issue wool blankets in the basement of a roadside junk store. Wife and I love stopping at those places, ya never know what you'll find. These two were made June 1942 and Nov 1944, they are in very good condition, I walked with 'em for 10 bucks each. Being a bit on the musty side and not wanting to pour out 40 bucks a pop for having them dry cleaned I ran 'em through our washer on the delicate cycle using woolite and hung 'em on the clothes line to dry. We used to do this with an OD green blanket my Dad would nap under and the dog nawing on it did more damage than the washing. I also have a Pendelton which we picked up at a yard sale for 3 bucks which is tagged "no pill" and labeled "machine washer safe". I went to Pendleton's website and it gives the basic instructions I used on the WWII blankets. When I washed those blankets they showed no sign of pilling (neither did my Dad's, daughter has it now) but I don't want to damage the old fellas. I sleep under the three of them; our house is cold on a warm day and it gives cold nights a new meaning. Between them and heavy flannel sheets the weight and warmth are most comforting.

All that said, I figure if there was anyone who would know about the safeness of running these blankets through the washing machine you guys would know. I don't want to damage them and would almost rather dry clean them at the end of each season rather than washing them every couple of weeks and damaging them. Any help?

[ShooterAZ]

I have a collectable Pendleton wool blanket from the 1970's, it came to me slightly motheaten and covered with cat hair. I also have an US Marines marked wool blanket from WW2, I keep this one in my truck in case of emergencies. I hand wash both of them as needed in the bathtub using Woolite and hang to air dry. It's not too awful bad doing it this way, and doesn't seem to harm them in the least.

[beemer]

Can't help on the machine washing. I have a couple military blankets and some throws and blankets I found at estate sales, I use Woolite and hand wash in the bathtub with cool water, rinse and hang on the line to dry. I do this to be on the safe side as wool blankets are expensive and nice used one are hard to find in good shape.

[beemer]

Shooter AZ, I have a throw that had some moth holes. I went to Hobby Lobby and found some wool yarn and bought a couple darning needles. You can actually weave a hole shut; it'll give that Pendleton blanket sone character.

[lancem]

I have several I use on the bed like you. I throw them in the washing machine as needed and line dry with no problems. I'm pretty sure one if not both came from my father after he passed and I'm sure my mother washed them that same way for years before I got them.

[blackthorn]

I don't know about washing them but my mother used to "dry-clean" stuff using some sort of solvent in a galvanized wash tub. She would place the items to be cleaned in the tub, pour in the solvent and agitate with a wooden paddle. Worked well. When she was finished she would filter the solvent through layers of cloth of some kind and store it in glass jugs for future use. She continued to clean un-washables this way even when we finally got electric power in 1048.

[Wayne Smith]

You got electric power in 1048! That's amazing, both that it was available, and that you are that old!

Com'on, guys, how did the military wash them back in the day? I'm willing to bet dollars to donuts it wasn't hand washing! Use Woolite and have at it.

[Nueces]

My front loading washer has a wool cycle, which I have used on occasion. The front loader 'works' the load much less than does a top loader. The 'hand wash' cycle just sloshes the cloth back and forth at the bottom of the barrel.

If I did not have this front loader and wanted to wash a vintage wool blanket, I would seek out a laundromat with front loaders.

[Winger Ed.]

how did the military wash them back in the day?

They ran them in big giant washing machines and dryers like everything else, and still do.
After a few runs in the dryer, they got real thin.
Then they were replaced. That's where the thin, faded ones in the surplus stores came from.

Depending on where you were, you could send your uniforms to the same base laundry.
It was cheaper than taking them 'out in town', it took longer to get them back,
and you'd think they'd been pounded on flat rocks.

[jimlj]

You got electric power in 1048! That's amazing, both that it was available, and that you are that old!

Com'on, guys, how did the military wash them back in the day? I'm willing to bet dollars to donuts it wasn't hand washing! Use Woolite and have at it.

You beat me to it. I can't imagine the military collecting the blankets every few weeks and having them dry cleaned. What about wool uniforms? Off to the dry cleaner??
My wife has several Pendleton shirts that belonged to her dad that she is making teddy bears for our children. All said dry clean only. All went through the washing machine with Woolite on the gentle cycle. All came out looking good as new.

[Mk42gunner]

I don't remember just how we did it on a ship, but whenever I was on shore duty I just ran them through the washer and dryer, both the green and the slightly thicker gray ones.

Don't use the high heat setting on the dryer, unless you want it to shrink.

Robert

[15meter]

My 38 year old Hudson's Bay woolen blanket has been washed several times a year since it was received as a wedding present.

Woolite, gentle cycle. Dryer on lowest setting.

I think that blanket is in better shape than I am.

[trebor44]

The military cleaned blankets? WOW! Not during my tour.

[Shepherd2]

We wash wool blankets fairly often. Some are Pendletons. We use Woolite, gentle cycle and dry on low heat.

The military has been know to clean blankets. My father had a dry cleaning plant and back in the 50s he bid on an Ohio National Guard contract to clean blankets. I forget how many now but it was a bunch. Maybe 1000 or more. The blankets had to be picked up, cleaned, folded a certain way, string tied in bundles of 5 and returned. It was labor intensive and not very profitable so he never bid on the contract again.

[blackthorn]

You got electric power in 1048! That's amazing, both that it was available, and that you are that old!



Yes! Old, fat fingers will get you once in awhile!