How To Wash Knitted Blanket
Feb
How to wash a knitted blanket without damaging your beloved blanket and keep it like new is of great interest. In recent years, warm and comfortable thick-knitted blankets or sweaters are a common trend in society.
On chilly days there’s nothing like curling up in warm woolen blankets, turning on your favorite movie, and sipping a cup of hot cocoa. It’s such a wonderful and comfortable feeling!
But what do you do when faced with stains on the surface of the blanket caused by body lake, dirt, food, pet hair, .. caused. I guess you would throw your blanket in the washing machine to get those stains out quickly.
And after taking it out from the machine, your blanket is no longer the same. It begins to appear ruffled, loose, or rough, which makes you feel very frustrated.
Wondering how to properly wash a knitted blanket? Do not worry! We are here to help you. This article will provide detailed and meticulous blanket-washing steps that are simple for anyone to do. Please continue to read and refer to it.
Contents
1. Know Your Chunky Knit Blanket
The first step that you need to do before you take your knitted blanket to the wash is to determine what yarn the blanket is made of.
If you want to know just flip the back of the blanket and check the manufacturer’s directions for use. It clearly states which yarn the blanket is made of as well as the notes in the washing process.
If you can’t find the manufacturer’s sticker, here’s how to find out what yarn your blanket is made of.
There are two basic fibers on the market, natural fibers, and man-made fibers. Blankets made from natural fibers such as cotton and cotton should be hand washed. And man-made fibers such as polyester, and acrylic can be machine washed.
How to identify which is a natural fiber and which is artificial fiber is as follows. You use scissors to cut and burn a small piece of blanket. If burned, producing fine ash and smelling like burnt leaves, it is a natural fiber.
If the fire flares up with a hot flame and melts as it burns, producing black smoke with a pungent chemical smell and then leaving behind a melted particle instead of ash, it can be concluded that it is man-made.
2. What You’ll Need
2.1. What you need
- Equipment / Tools
- Sink or large bucket (hand wash), or washing machine (machine wash)
- White absorbent towel
- Drying rack
- Material
- Mild laundry detergent or mild detergent
- Wool blanket
- Vinegar
- Tennis ball
- Roller
3. Instructions
Before washing the blanket, soak your blanket in cold water mixed with woolen laundry detergent or white vinegar for about 20-30 minutes. This will cause the stains to gradually dissolve in the water and be removed gradually. Furthermore, soaking with vinegar helps loosen fabric fibers, remove stains faster, and avoid musty odors.
After the blanket has been washed, rinse thoroughly with water so that soap bubbles do not stick to the wool fibers. One of the causes of wool blankets being rough and less smooth is not rinsing thoroughly, soap is still stagnated in the blanket.
Do not use strong detergents or fabric softeners as this will cause the blanket to break down and fray.
Do not wash the blanket at high temperatures and apply excessive force to the blanket. The knitted blankets are very fragile and easily damaged by external forces, so they need to be cherished most gently.
When drying the blanket you may need to rotate it to make sure it is completely dry and should avoid direct sunlight.
4. How to Wash Knitted Blankets
4.1. Machine Washing Your Chunky Knit Blanket
- Step 1: Choose a mild detergent suitable for hand washing used to wash blankets.
You need to choose a mild detergent for both the duvet and your hands so as not to harm the blanket or the skin of your hands during the washing process. This will allow you to wash the blanket without damaging its color or disrupting its original texture or shape.
You can find machine-friendly wool detergents in any supermarket or convenience store. You should choose those that do not contain alcohol. Baby shampoo is a great alternative for delicate fibers like knitting.
- Step 2: Hand washes a blanket made of delicate fibers.
If your knitted blanket has textures of animal hairs such as wool, alpaca, cashmere, or yarns of unknown origin, I recommend that you do not machine it but hand wash it.
- Step 3: Soak the blanket in cold water.
We should gently put the blanket in a large bath or large basin to soak before washing. The solution to soak the blanket consists of cold water mixed with detergent.
Then gently move it around in the pot to make the blanket absorb the water and soap. Be careful not to press the blanket or shake it too much – this can cause the blanket to stretch or collide with other items.
- Step 4: Wash the blanket.
Rinse the blanket with cold, clean water until the clothes are no longer soapy. You should keep in mind not to wring your knitted blanket – because this is what leads to stretching and fraying. Instead, gently squeeze out the excess water after you’ve cleaned the blanket to let it slowly drain away.
- Step 5: Air dry your knitted blanket.
Fine animal hair and cotton fibers need to be air-dried. Gently remove excess water by wringing the blanket, then roll it up in a towel to absorb any remaining moisture.
Remove from the towel and let dry. You can also dry the wool blanket in direct sunlight for a few minutes, as this helps to get rid of the musty smell.
4.2. Hand-Washing Your Chunky Knit Blanket
- Step 1: Put the blanket in the mesh bag
If your blanket is made of acrylic, polyester, or cotton, placing it in a protective mesh laundry bag will help protect the blanket from shifting too much, bumping into other items, or getting caught in anything.
Because during the washing process, the fibers will be rubbed against each other, which causes us to loosen the fibers and damage them.
- Step 2: Install the washing machine
Before starting the machine, add a little mild detergent or washing powder and start the washing machine. 9Blanket recommend that you choose the gentle spin or permanent spin cycle, the lowest spin, and the cold or cool setting.
- Step 3: Dry the knitting blanket
Once the machine wash cycle is over, the blanket can be tumble-dried. Synthetic, linen, and acrylic fibers can be safely tumble-dried.
However, you should set the lowest temperature so as not to cause the wool to melt. The best and most effective way that you should consider is air drying.
5. Some Frequently Asked Questions When Washing Blankets
5.1. Can I shrink an Already Stretched Knit Blanket?
Stretched blankets can be firmed and restored by washing them on a short cycle in warm or hot water, or drying wet blankets in just a few minutes in a tumble dryer on high heat.
During the drying process, you should add a few tennis balls to prevent the fibers from rubbing against each other, leading to a ruffled state. However, be careful because over-drying will cause the item to shrink too much, so it is essential to set the lowest temperature in the dryer.
5.2. Can I Knit The Blanket with Another Laundry?
If you machine wash synthetic knits, you can wash them along with other delicate items in cold water with a mild detergent. You can put hand knits in a mesh laundry bag to prevent damage from the operation of the washing machine.
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