Specifically, a Pendleton wool bedspread. What are my viable options other than drycleaning?
Wash it alone then line dry. I’ve got one of these navajo wool blankets that I wash in a gentle cycle by itself and then I line dry it, though this time of year that would be done in the Laundry room and not in the 20 degrees outside here in CT.
Here’s mine. Do you use detergent?
I also have one from Pendleton’s limited design series that has a 3 x 4"-ish leather patch at the corner. Any idea how well that would wash?
ETA: You can see the patch in the lower right corner.
I agree. I wash my blankets using a wool-wash detergent and then put them on the clothes line.
I use All Free & Clear, no dyes, hypoallergenic etc…etc… and I use gentle 20 minute quick cycle. Then line dry. I’d be careful with it and personally I’d bring it to a trusted dry cleaner those are great blankets, mine is easily 20 years old.
If you wash it in cold water with Woolite or Eucalan (Woolite’s less expensive, I think) on gentle cycle and line dry it, it should be okay. I’m not sure what your best bet is for the one with the patch.
The leather should be fine, they didn’t skimp on the leather quality on these blankets. It’ll dry, but that patch will probably be the last thing to dry.
There’s a special dry-sheet like product that lightly cleans and removes any bad scent from an item by placing it in the dryer at low heat.
I hand wash most wool and hang to dry, but that dryer-sheet thing worked great on a sportcoat with some smoke stench.
I dry clean mine; I figure with what those blankets cost, I’m not going to take any chances with it in the washer and I’ll stick with what the manufacturer recommends. (I have the Yavapai in blue; it’s gorgeous)
I am probably being overcautious, but I have nowhere to line dry mine, and it’s a queen size, besides. If I were going to do it in the washer, I wouldn’t chance it in anything but a front loader on delicate/handwash only. If you only have a top loader, I wouldn’t try.
I do a lot of knitting with wool, cashmere and other fine fibers, so I’m familiar with how wool takes to washing. Wash it on the gentle cycle in cold and line dry, or lay flat. The less agitation, the better, or it could “felt.” You could even wash it in the bathtub (to reduce agitation) and put it in the spin cycle to get rid of excess water, then hang or lay to dry. You should be fine.