Rug Washing - DIY or Professional Cleaning???

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Karen/Folly

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Apr 19, 2004
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I have just started to sort out the many many many rugs my little girl has!!!

Any summer sheets/fly rugs/fleeces/show sheets/light/medium weight stable rugs have all been washed in the washing machine at home and dried on the line - great costs me zilch!!! :D

However, that leaves me 3 heavy stable rugs and 8 turnout rugs that need cleaning and reproofing!!! After phoning round a few places, its looks like its going to cost me aroundabouts £100 :eek: :eek: :eek:

Is it worth it? Or do you guys clean them yourselves and how? Does the re-proofing sprays actually work? Or shall I just power-jet them? (Dad has a car power washer!!!!) And re-proof myself?

Anybody else in the same dilema? - seems a lot of money - and could buy me a couple more for that amount!!!!! :)
 
Do you really need 8 turnout rugs professionally washed? I have 4 heavy weight rugs and I would only ever have 2 professionaly washed as the other aren't worthit. In saying that my old Kingshead rug (retails at £70ish) was taken away to get washed, reproofed and repaired and I was lost for word. I've never seen it so clean!!!! £32 btw

So I would say get your best rugs prof washed/repaired etc but if you can do the rest yourself it just gets so expensive.
 
thats true, I could pick some to be cleaned and not others.....I may try and blast them myself with the powerjet first, see what kind of job that does!

Some of the turnout rugs, have only had for one winter, would they really need re-proofing yet?
 
No I doubt it would need reproofed. You can do that yourself but I hear it's a bit messy. My rug had been through two winters and Charlie likes rolling.

There are some tips on this site about rug washing at home actually.
 
i bought a power washer specifically for washing my heavyweight rugs. i'm doing the first load this weekend (weather permitting!) so will let you know how i get on. reproofing is easily done at home, just make sure you get the right proofer stuff.
 
Karen/Lady said:
I have just started to sort out the many many many rugs my little girl has!!!

Any summer sheets/fly rugs/fleeces/show sheets/light/medium weight stable rugs have all been washed in the washing machine at home and dried on the line - great costs me zilch!!! :D

However, that leaves me 3 heavy stable rugs and 8 turnout rugs that need cleaning and reproofing!!! After phoning round a few places, its looks like its going to cost me aroundabouts £100 :eek: :eek: :eek:

Is it worth it? Or do you guys clean them yourselves and how? Does the re-proofing sprays actually work? Or shall I just power-jet them? (Dad has a car power washer!!!!) And re-proof myself?

Anybody else in the same dilema? - seems a lot of money - and could buy me a couple more for that amount!!!!! :)
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Don't put them in the domestic washing machine! I seem to remember one of the kids on this site murdering her mum's washing machine that way a year or so back:eek:

Actually if you shop around - tack shops, laundrettes, small ads in horsey mags - you may find it cheaper. I really is worth washing them as they last so much longer - they can be repaired at the same time, too. I have just pensioned off the first outdoor rug that I bought the WH 6 years ago and the second one I bought the next year is still going strong. Neither were top of the range expensive ones either. I have 2 in use ,though, and each gets washed 2 or 3 times during the winter.
 
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Anyone tried steam cleaning? OH has a new toy......I guess they would definately need reproofing if I let him try this, but would get them nice and clean. Then I just need to get round to sewing all the rips / missing buckles back on. Or I might just go on e-bay.......
 
Lucyad said:
Anyone tried steam cleaning? OH has a new toy.....
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What a brilliant idea ! Going to get mine out and give the cleaner ones a quick blast inside to kill off the bacteria . Should also have to shift the stubborn stains before traditional washing. Now why didn't I think of that ?
 
i've just cleaned 7 lightweight rugs-i soaked them in a barrel in cold water overnight then scrubbed with a dandy brush and rinsed approx 1 million times.
they still stink a bit like a dead sheep
 
I have over 20 rugs to do for my lot, I had a few done last year and was thorouhly dissapointed by the results, I can get the same at home.

I use the NikWax rug wash (couldn't get that this year so got the NuMed one which is not as good), it gets most stains and all stinks out (I now also use it for the dog beds and everything) for the really bad ones I soak them over night in the rug wash solution, then they all get a jet wash to get the worst of the crap off, then they go into the washing machine (I somehow have a spare washing machine should I break the current one :D) If they are too big to fit in the washer I just jet wash thoroughly, then scrub with the rug-wash and rinse thoroughly.
I only re-proof every few years, and I use tent reproofer from a camping store as it is very cheap, is spray on (much easier than the paint on stuff) and is very good.

J x
 
i use silicon stuff, from thompsons the builders, tehy paint it on walls etc for damp proof i think.
it seeems ok and its cheap
anyone got any yays or nays about it?
not sure about it myself :confused:
 
Little stuff goes in the washing machine at the yard (we have one for this purpose) provided (very kindly) by YO, its really her old one that she pensioned off when the kitchen got refitted! But we can take the rugs to our local hospital laundry room,they have two special industrial washers for this, they do a great rug wash and repair service, but you have to reproof them yourself, (barbour reproofing wax spray on from camping shop) They charge £7.50 for stable rugs , repairs on scale of charges ranging from 50p for a couple of stitches to about £3 for anything major and £10 for a turnout rug to be cleaned, but I can't see any reason why you can't steam clean them might have to try that one at home!
 
I try to get all the hair and dust out of mine then I wash the stable rugs and woolen ones in the machine and drip dry then I just re-proof the others with some random water proofing wax for canvus and it works...after about 2 coats.
 
Get your scrubber and hosepipe out girl :D

Yea, i think breeches will be able to tell you alot about using washing machines...

I dont think its worth it getting them all professionally cleaned. Choose a nice Sunday afternoon, get your waterproofs on and fire the hosepipe. As for re-proofing, i have some stuff i can spray on but one bottle covers about 2 small rugs, and it isnt cheap, so i would get them done by a professional, at least you know they'll have done a good job :p

Jenny xx
 
eventerbabe said:
i bought a power washer specifically for washing my heavyweight rugs. i'm doing the first load this weekend (weather permitting!) so will let you know how i get on. reproofing is easily done at home, just make sure you get the right proofer stuff.
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Do let me know how you get on EB. My dad just bought a power washer so I was gonna clean all my rugs with it and re-proof them myself :)
 
I vacume my turn out and stable rugs first to remove dust, hair etc then get the power washer on them and scrup the inside with hand washing powder (non-biological) they come up lovely and I have never had to reproof them.
Forget the water proofs if its a lovely day get your 2 piece on and sun tan cream (at least factor 20!) and enjoy the sun:)
 
I sent my first rug off to be cleaned a few weeks ago - it's come back lovley, but there's no way I'd do it for all of them. I got this one done because it's the WB combo stable rug - seriously thick and big, and it had done two winters with only having the inside brushed out and was really starting to smell and get a bit grimy inside the neck bit from the grease in the mane. Plus the horse that wears it is now at a place with no stables so will be out 24/7 and if I'm storing rugs in my house I want them to be clean thanks!!

All the fleeces/summer sheets etc I do in my washing machine - just make sure you get as much hair off as possible first either with a stiff brush or vacuum, otherwise it clogs up the machine.

Both my horses are in 5'6 rugs, and all the stable rugs except the combo just mentioned fit in my machine too, thank goodness. So they get a good clean every spring when I've finished with them.

The turnout rugs are a bit trickier. I've got two Horseware lightweights, which again fit in the washing machine - and I've washed those twice in three years, with reproofer, they coem up like new then. All the others I choose a nice sunny day, and lay them out on the yard near the hose, arm myself with a stiff broom and a smidge of detergent (for the insides mainly, as detergent can affect the proofing) and get to work!!! They get very heavy when wet, but in decent summer sunshine dry within a day ready to be brushed off and stored - and they do store nicer when clean.

I do think it is worthwhile buying decent makes of turnouts. All mine are Horseware apart from one Taka, and aprt fromt he lgihtweights which never seem as waterproof (although again I find Horseware the best) I've not needed to reproof any since I boguht them. They're only Rhinos too - couldnt afford Rambos, but sooooo much better than the other makes I have tried, not just in performance, but they actually FIT too - no more rug rubs!
 
I power wash all my rugs, does a great job and gets them all really clean. They do need reproofing afterwards but a couple of sprays and your away, you do have to be careful not to have pressure to high though because light weight rugs can rip due to water pressure. Would recomend for anyone with a power washer, have also steam cleaned a couple but machine was so small it took me hours to do my biggest rug. Results were really good though but wouldn't bother unless i got a bigger one.
 
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