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Best Guide On How To Wash Weighted Blankets With Amazing Tips
Weighted Blankets are the best home-based therapies when it comes to improving sleep quality and treats or reduce the effects of autism, anxiety, depression, or insomnia. if you are wondering How to wash weighted blankets and tips for taking care of weighted blankets, you have come to the right place.
Millions of users and consumers all over the world have been quite satisfied and the research surveys conducted have come out to be positive. It uses deep pressure stimulation techniques to fights your depression like magic at home.
These special weighing blankets have the weight of around 5 pounds to 50 pounds depending upon your age group, weight, and types of issue or disorder you are facing like ADHD, autism, depression, etc that are mentioned above also.
Although, they are costly there are some brands that offer hefty prices for these blankets. Investing in a good blanket only means you are investing in your health. No investment is very big or costly when it comes to your health and happiness.
As this item provides great value to our health and happiness, there should be proper care and a routine for cleaning and drying these blankets. Let’s see different methods and steps through which we can wash weighted blankets and enjoy the amazing benefits it possesses with cleanliness. Now the question is how to wash weighted blankets as they are heavy and bulky to handle.
Why And How To Wash Weighted Blankets?
Since the users use weighted blankets regularly, probably every night while they sleep. If you doing it daily, periodically once a week, or a maximum of 10 days, a quick wash is definitely needed for the weighted blanket.
Weighted blankets in general covered using a duvet or a sheet are supposed to be washed 4 to 5 times a year as per the instruction manual that comes with it. But it is necessary to wash them even more frequently as they are in direct contact with your body while sleeping. Direct contact makes them more susceptible to germs that might enter your body giving an uneasy feeling.
By now we know that the design of weighted blankets and our regular blankets are entirely different due to which the care both require also becomes different. To wash weighted blankets you need to use different strategies or techniques as they comprise many pockets within them. These dozens of small pouches or pockets are filled with pellets that are responsible for the increased weight of these blankets.
Apart from pellets, these pockets may contain rice or glass beads. Based on the type of fillers a gravity blanket contains, there will be different methods to wash weighted blankets.
The design of the upper layer of weighted blankets may be made from simple clothing, flannel, fleece, or polyester. To preserve the amazing quality of the fabric used in blankets, utmost care should be taken before you try to wash weighted blankets.
How To wash Weighted Blankets? Different Tips
Some Tips To Wash Weighted Blankets
- The first and foremost thing to keep in mind while you are set to wash weighted blankets in a washing machine is that wash them alone in normal or cool water. Do not use hot water and fill other clothing fabrics with it.
- The size of washing machines differs, if your washing machine is capable of holding a queen or king-sized comforter, then you can assume that the accommodation of your washing machine is a weighted blanket of 20 pounds or less.
- Larger washing machines are more conductive and super easy to use when it comes to was weighted blankets.
- If you have a blanket weighing more than or nearly 25 pounds, your household washing machine cannot take such a blanket into washing properly.
- To wash weighted blankets at your house, do not invest in products like bleach or fabric softeners. These types of detergents are not fit for use to wash weighted blankets.
- Use of dye-free detergents that are gentle should be opted to wash weighted blankets. You can also make your own detergent at home naturally.
- To dry a weighted blanket, special and utmost care should be taken into consideration. If you are looking for the best results, do not waste time and dry the freshly laundered gravity blanket or you may naturally line dry it. While most of the blankets designed these days are capable of withstanding moderate dryers and their heat without having any harm of melting down.
- The best method to dry is to Hang-dry or hanging the blanket on a strong material as this will allow the life of weighted blankets and it’s fillers to increase. The fabric will also remain intact for very long.
Air-Drying Weighted Blankets
- Taking good precautions while drying your blanket will make it usable for longer and increase its life as said earlier. Even if you are about to skip the dryer, care should be taken.
- If you are going to line-dry your weighted blanket, do make sure the blanket hangs evenly throughout the line so that the weight of the blanket is evenly and proportionally distributed all over the line. If the weight remains unevenly distributed there are chances that your blanket will lose its original shape.
- Consider placing the damp blanket over any drying rack, the edge of a tub, or even a larger chair.
- Most of the washing machines have spin cycles in them that help in drying quickly. You can use the option of spin-dry 2 to 3 times to wash weighted blankets as they take time to rinse and remove excess water.
Things To Avoid To Wash Weighted Blankets
- As mentioned above, do not use fabric softeners or bleach in your blanket. Always go for gentle laundry detergents. The softeners used in a blanket will eventually be built up along with the material of the blanket depending upon the fabric type. This will cause itchiness and an irritating sense of skin after the use of a blanket.
- The bleach used to wash weighted blankets will lead to the breakdown of the fabric material used to build the weighted blanket. Using a diluted bleach powder or liquid can also cause the blanket to wear out in a short time span.
- The use of fabric softeners or bleaches will affect the fillers of the blanket adversely causing accumulation in fillers which will eventually lead to clumping them together or breaking down of poly-pellets.
Should You Iron Your Weighted Blanket?
- There are customers who have a constant habit of ironing all the sheets, bedsheets, and blankets they own. These type of people loves to keep all the products wrinkle-free and neat. If you are one of them, ironing a weighted blanket is NOT a good idea.
- You have to resist this temptation of ironing weighted blankets, as the fabric is undoubtedly safe like other fabrics, but the fillers might get damaged and disrupted which will make the quality of the blanket and its usage no more effective.
- The fillers present inside will get melted and ruined after applying heat through ironing.
- Remember that cotton blends are still allowed to iron. But if you have Minky, polyester, or fleece material, then do not even think of ironing.
Special Considerations Of Fabric Type And How To Wash Weighted Blankets Of That Fabric
Presenting you a list of commonly used fabrics to make a weighted blanket with certain guidelines on how to wash weighted blankets and how to take care of blankets depending upon the fabric of weighted blankets you are using. Want to learn how to wash weighted blankets and take care of them with your desired fabric?
How To Wash Weighted Blankets Of Cotton Fabric
It is the most commonly used fabric all over the globe and also the easiest to take care of. Mostly all season blankets and cooling weighted blankets are made up of cotton material due to the amazing properties they posess.
If you have a cotton fabric blanket, wash weighted blankets of this fabric separately in cold water. Use only a single blanket while washing as some people does the mistake of loading extra cotton materials if space is left due to this agitation occurs and your weighted blanket will tear out faster.
You may use a detergent that is free of chlorine and add half a cup of vinegar which helps in preserving the color of the blanket and skip any bleach to wash weighted blankets.
How To Wash Weighted Blankets Of Flannel Fabric or Material
Sensory-sensitive people are always recommended to use weighted blankets made of flannel fabric which makes it common among the manufacturers.
You can use either cold water or warm water to wash your flannel fabric weighted blankets. Remember to skip hot water as it will wear out the fabric. To dry it, use the low heat option for a limited time. Try to leave it as it is to rinse all the water.
After the spin cycle of your washing machine ends, remove it quickly as keeping it inside the machine in a heat-based environment for more time will cause the fibers of flannel fabric to over dry eventually leading to the decreased life span of your blanket. To wash weighted blankets avoid using softening agents.
You just have to rinse out excess water present in the weighted blankets as flannel material has the property of drying out quicker than other fabrics.
How To Wash Weighted Blankets Of Fleece Material?
Fleece material or fabric again requires warm water to be used to wash weighted blankets. If your blanket contains any stains of any liquid or solid food, you may soak it in a tub filled with water for nearly 45 minutes before you are set out to wash weighted blankets.
Unlike all other materials or fabrics used in making weighted blankets, fleece is the only one that is capable to tolerate fabric softener. You may use fabric softener in this case but always reduce the build-up of softener in the blanket by giving the fleece material extra rinse before drying or spinning. Accumulation of excess softener will lead to a rough or scratchy blanket that you would not want.
Consider air-drying to dry out your fleece weighted blanket.
How To Wash Weighted Blankets Of Minky Material
Some of the most amazing and most-selling weighted blankets are made up of this special material called Minky material or fabric. Minky fabric has been used so much because it is highly durable, easy to maintain, easy to wash, and has a soft texture.
How to wash weighted blankets of Minky fabric? Well, it is easy. You have to use non-chlorine bleach that is highly diluted in water. If there is a strain on this blanket, use may try to scribble the strain using any old toothbrush and drop of any detergent that you use.
Do not use hot water and keep the settings on the washing machine at high temperatures. A Minky material is a type of polyester that could not tolerate high heat.
How To Wash Weighted Blankets Of Rayon-Linen Fabric?
Again a material that is durable and has a medium weight. This material is specially made up of wood that is pulp-treated using chemicals. It is considered to be a semi-synthetic material or fabric.
Sometimes the fabric might shrink when it is sent for being laundered and the color can also bleed. Due to which it is usually dry-cleaned only material and should not be sent in the machines for heavy washing like other weighted blankets.
To be more sure about washing, please make sure you read the instructions given on the label by manufacturers. Wash it separately using cold water and use the air-dry method.
Conclusion On How To Wash Weighted Blankets?
By reading all the information given in this piece of article, you know by now how to wash weighted blankets.
These have very unique washing properties and styles. Always remember that in a home-based washing machine, 25 pounds is the cut-off limit. If you still have a doubt about your weighted blanket whether they will fit your washing machine or not, you may visit a laundromat.
Use duvets to protect your weighted blankets as they are used to wash and protect your weighted blanket.
Use this guide carefully and effectively to maintain and take care of your weighted blanket that is very useful and is a must health investment for those who cannot sleep properly due to anxiety or depression. Keep your blanket in the best shape possible by following this guide.
To know more in detail about the usage and properties of weighted blankets keep reading to gain knowledge and acquire benefits.