I often get questions regarding care of the blankets – if they can be washed in a washer. What I’ve found is that washing by hand gives best results. Even with a front load washer and a gentle cycle, being unable to completely control the temperature of the water can result in felting and shrinking.
If your baby has spit up and there is a small spot you’d like to clean, you can simply run it under the faucet with lukewarm water, brush the area with your fingers, and then let it dry. If it’s just a small area, you can even avoid doing this. Remember, the natural lanolin will be activated any time the blanket gets wet – lanolin actually cleans away bacteria and odors, so perhaps once your blanket has dried, you’ll barely be able to notice where your baby spit up.
If you do see a spot once the blanket’s dry, try just rubbing this area between the knuckles of your fingers – this can break up any particles and help them flake out of the wool. When my son was a small child, I was amazed to find that an area where he spilled chocolate milk on his beloved sheepskin magically had disappeared a couple days later when I went to wash it. (sheep skins are no longer recommended for infants – the long hair fibers can trap CO2 and other gases, created a cloud of this near your baby’s face)
So, you may not need to be so quick to wash your baby’s blanket. When you do wash it, wash by hand in lukewarm water with lanolin-replenishing soap. You can also wash by hand with a mild hair shampoo (mild rather than shampoo for oily hair will clean without stripping the lanolin from the wool). After a number of washings with hair shampoo, the lanolin should be replaced with lanolin-replenishing soap to maintain the wool’s self-cleansing properties. Rinse in lukewarm water. Press out most of the water, then spin in your washer, using the spin cycle, to remove most of the absorbed water. Roll blanket in a terry cloth towel to press out even more water. Let air-dry or place in a warm area to dry. The wool can also be brushed with a natural-bristled brush to remove any pilling…
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