How To Clean A Merino Wool Blanket

How to Wash A Chunky Knit Blanket

The chunky knit blanket you made is finally complete!–or you have finally been able to break in the new knit blanket you recently purchased. No matter how you got your chunky knit blanket, taking care of it can be tricky since the material is more unique than other fabrics. If you have merino wool or chenille wool, there are some things to note in its cleaning care, whereas polyester care is simple.

To properly wash your chunky knit blanket, all you have to do is follow this guide!

How to Wash a Merino Wool Chunky Knit Blanket

Merino wool is an excellent material with many benefits, such as being hypoallergenic, eco-friendly, and silky soft. However, because of your merino wool chunky knit blanket's delicate exterior, you have to care for it delicately. That means you have to handle it gently so that the knitting does not come undone and the wool does not lose its texture–especially if the blanket is handmade.

Avoid Soap

It is best to hand wash your merino wool chunky knit blanket, but if you find yourself needing a dry clean, every once in a while is not going to cause harm. When hand washing your merino wool blanket, you should avoid soap and washing powders. These can ruin the blanket's felting.

Remove Pilling with Scissors

Over time, you may notice pilling of the merino wool. This is when the material builds up in one place and does not always look the best. You can avoid this by hand washing your merino wool blanket. If that does not work, you can gently remove them using a pair of scissors. If you use your hand, there is a possibility you may damage the knit fiber.

Use Cold Water and Air Dry

To keep the blanket soft and in good condition:

Wash it using cold water.
Again, do not use soaps or any other chemical cleaning items.
Put the blanket between one towel or two towels and squeeze them gently so that the excess water gets removed from the blanket.

After this, let the blanket air dry, flipping it over periodically to the other side.

Be Gentle

If there were one thing to remember when washing your merino wool chunky knit blanket, it would be to handle it with care. Wear and tear is natural and inevitable. When you see that the yarn comes undone or starts to look rough, give the blanket a gentle shake.

How to Wash a Chenille Chunky Knit Blanket

Chenille fabric is much like merino wool in that it is very soft–so soft that people use it for blankets, sweaters, pillows, and more. Unlike merino wool, the washing instructions are a bit different for your chenille wool blanket.

Machine Wash–But Make Sure It's on Delicate

You do not necessarily have to use your hands to wash your chenille chunky blanket. In fact, using the washing machine is your best bet for a clean, comfortable, and still soft material. When using the washing machine, though, you must select the delicate option on the machine. Use cold water, and make sure you use a mild detergent. The time needed to clean depends on how big your blanket is. Additionally, it would be best if you did not place any other items in the machine with the chenille because this type of wool can shed.

Air Dry or Dryer?

There is a great debate over whether you should air dry your chenille chunky blanket or use the dryer. Knitting experts and more experienced knitters have used the dryer and say that it works fine, but others recommend avoiding it entirely. Ultimately, it is your decision to make based on the strength and durability of your knitted blanket. It may be better to air dry if the blanket is handmade. If not, then the dryer may be a good choice.

If you opt for the dryer, use the delicate option. If there is not one, then you should line dry. It is essential to know that chenille can shed a lot. When drying this knitted material, it may be helpful to put the blanket in a pillowcase to prevent the yarn fibers from being totally removed from the wool blanket. You should also not leave your blanket in the dryer for a long time. Overdrying can ruin the material.

How to Wash a Polyester Chunky Knit Blanket

Polyester is entirely different from wool, and it can easily burn. That just means the polyester needs special care when going through the drying process. Fortunately, you can choose to machine wash your knitted polyester blankets, or you can handwash them. Again, this decision should be based on the strength of the yarn and the knitting job. If the blanket was made by hand, then washing by hand would be best. You could use the washing machine if the blanket was made another way.

Washing Polyester Blankets By Machine

To get your chunky polyester yarn blanket washed by machine:

Place it in a lingerie bag, which protects it as it gets washed.
Gently place it in the machine.
Use a mild detergent and select the option for delicates. If you want to wash more than just the blanket, place only like colors in the washing machine in case the yarn bleeds.

Washing Polyester Blankets By Hand

If you are going the old-fashioned way, then you need a basin full of cold water. Mix in a little bit of mild detergent, and then use your hands to shake up the mixture until you see suds. Then, place the blanket in the water, mixing it around so that the soap works itself into the fibers of the knitting. Let the blanket sit in the water and remove it after about 15 minutes.

After you have washed the blanket with soap:

Drain the basin or tub and then refill it with clear water.
Gently shake the blanket through the water to get the soapy suds out of the yarn fibers.
Drain the basin again and repeat the process until no suds come out of the chunky blanket. This process can take a long time, but it helps ensure that every stitch of your chunky blankets gets washed and super clean.

Once you have made sure that there are no more suds in the blanket, remove the chunky blanket from the water and put it in a white towel. Roll the blanket and the towel up together and allow for the water to drain from the polyester yarns. Be super careful with the blanket, and do not wring it.

How to Dry a Chunky Knitted Polyester Blanket

You probably already know how to dry and care for your polyester blanket since it is a widespread material for chunky blankets. It would help if you did not put polyester blankets in the dryer but rather lay out a tarp or a shower curtain. Then, layout the blanket on top and make sure it is in its original form. Let it dry naturally for about 24 hours. You can always make this process faster by placing blankets next to a fan.

As always, remember to handle the blanket with care.

How to Handle Stains

A wool blanket is super comfortable, and it is really tempting to curl up in it with a nice drink or snack. However, sometimes our hands shake and lead to a stain. The ideal way to handle stains is to keep your wool blankets away from high-traffic areas, especially those with food and staining elements–but we know that accidents happen. No matter the material used in your blankets, whether it is as fancy as merino wool or as standard as polyester, you should try to get the stain out immediately.

For wool blanket and polyester blanket care in the face of a stain, it is still super important that you try to be as gentle as possible. You don't want to disturb any of the yarns. Before starting, you need to get some cold water and some towels.

Use the cold water to rinse out the stain on the blanket. For chunky merino wool particularly, you may notice stains on the pilling. All you need to do is use scissors and cut off the pilling so that it is good as new. Do not extract the pilling with your hands. Once you get the stain entirely removed from the yarns and fabrics, use your towels and, with a gentle touch, absorb the water from the blanket.

Can You Machine Wash Knitted Blankets?

Whether you can machine wash knitted blankets is entirely dependent upon the material of the blanket. For example, a chunky merino wool blanket cannot go into the machine because it is so delicate. The yarns could come undone from the stitch because you have no control over the machine's care for the blanket. However, polyester can go in the washer, but you need to put on the gentle or delicate cycle. Chenille is sort of mixed in that it can go in the washer, and it can also be cleaned by hand. It depends on what the material is like–is it strong? Is each stitch durable to withstand a cycle?

Can You Dry Clean a Chunky Knit Blanket?

You can take your chunky knit blanket to a dry cleaner every once in a while. A chunky merino wool blanket would make the most sense to take since it is very delicate. In fact, there may come a time when you need to take it to a cleaner. Ultimately, wool blankets would be better to take to get dry cleaned, especially if it is new. You may bring your polyester, but it makes more sense to wash it by hand.