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Washing Dog Blankets


SarasMum
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This is why I love long haired dogs. Just brush the long hair off their mats, vetbed, etc first, then wash in the top loader. Long hair is much easier to brush off than short hair ;)

That's really interesting! Why is that?? Is it because long hair is easier to catch ina brush/vacuum whereas short hair isd harder??

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I use a front loader, wash the dog stuff last and if need be do an empty rinse and spin cycle with nothing in it to get the hair out.

Mind you their blankets aren't too hairy - I try and wash them every couple of weeks and the bases of the beds (eg: my snooza beds etc etc) are washed at the laundromat every change of season.

If they get particularly hairy I shake, then Vac it!!! So they never really go into the wash that hairy.

When this machine gets a bit older, then when I replace it, I'll keep this one as a 'dog' machine :)

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I have an 8 kg top loader Hoover. I have washed light horse rugs, dog coats and blankets etc for the last 10 years or more. I have always had short coated dogs though.

I wash them with BioZet and use Canasten Rinse in the final rinse. They smell nice and I like the fact that any germs have been nuked.

If the blankets for any reason are really gross they get thrown out and replaced. They are polar fleece and coats are polar fleece, some are water proof. All but the water proof go into the drier if really needed, other than that they go on the line as I like they way they smell when they have been on the line outside.

I have never had the machine blocked as yet!

Edited by OSoSwift
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I have never had the machine blocked as yet!

Theoretically you shouldn't with a top loader as they have gallons of water flushing through the hoses and filters. Front loaders use minimal water though which puts them at risk of clogging up.

Edited by ~Anne~
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This is why I love long haired dogs. Just brush the long hair off their mats, vetbed, etc first, then wash in the top loader. Long hair is much easier to brush off than short hair ;)

That's really interesting! Why is that?? Is it because long hair is easier to catch ina brush/vacuum whereas short hair isd harder??

Long hair just "lies there" (for lack of a better word), whereas short hair sticks to everything. I never had any problems with my Aussie x's hair. However now, with a lab/kelpie x......give me a long haired dog any time! (and no, of course he's not going anywhere, even though his shedding is a bit of a pita, and I'm no clean freak).

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This is why I love long haired dogs. Just brush the long hair off their mats, vetbed, etc first, then wash in the top loader. Long hair is much easier to brush off than short hair ;)

That's really interesting! Why is that?? Is it because long hair is easier to catch ina brush/vacuum whereas short hair isd harder??

The long hair comes out in soft clumps and whispy bits that sit on top of fabric and is pretty easy to brush off furniture and bedding, unlike short hair that sheds one hair at a time, works it's way into any sort of fabric and is pretty much impossible to remove. I have owned a Labrador, so know the difference. The disadvantage with the long hair is it getting wound around the brush of the vacuum cleaner, but it is still easier to remove from carpet than all those little short bits.

Most people don't realise that spending half an hour a week, grooming a long coat, to make sure it isn't tangled and sweeping up hair tumbleweeds, is a lot less work than coping with a shorter coat that sheds all over the house 365 days a year. There are some breeds that need more time to groom but most long coats do fine with half an hour a week.

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This is why I love long haired dogs. Just brush the long hair off their mats, vetbed, etc first, then wash in the top loader. Long hair is much easier to brush off than short hair ;)

That's really interesting! Why is that?? Is it because long hair is easier to catch ina brush/vacuum whereas short hair isd harder??

The long hair comes out in soft clumps and whispy bits that sit on top of fabric and is pretty easy to brush off furniture and bedding, unlike short hair that sheds one hair at a time, works it's way into any sort of fabric and is pretty much impossible to remove. I have owned a Labrador, so know the difference. The disadvantage with the long hair is it getting wound around the brush of the vacuum cleaner, but it is still easier to remove from carpet than all those little short bits.

Most people don't realise that spending half an hour a week, grooming a long coat, to make sure it isn't tangled and sweeping up hair tumbleweeds, is a lot less work than coping with a shorter coat that sheds all over the house 365 days a year. There are some breeds that need more time to groom but most long coats do fine with half an hour a week.

I recently just bought a furminator off ebay for $30, (I am pretty happy with that price) and it works wonders on Max and Jenna... but I swear, the hair just keeps coming!!!! It is unbelievable... I swear I could sit there for an entire day just brushing and by the end of it hair would still be coming out!!!

Max and Jenna aren't 'long coated' GSD but aren't necessarily short coated either, although they are classified as short haired... Jennas dad was long haired and her mum had the shortest hair I have ever seen in a gsd, wheras max's dad and mum both had the same length... funnily enough, now max and jenna have the same length hair...

I cant remember where I was going with this... just thought I'd note that I am using this furminator to see if it works on stopping them shedding so damn much but I swear with all the hair that comes out I might just deal with vacuuming a few times a week! lol

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This is why I love long haired dogs. Just brush the long hair off their mats, vetbed, etc first, then wash in the top loader. Long hair is much easier to brush off than short hair ;)

:thumbsup::)

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This is why I love long haired dogs. Just brush the long hair off their mats, vetbed, etc first, then wash in the top loader. Long hair is much easier to brush off than short hair ;)

That's really interesting! Why is that?? Is it because long hair is easier to catch ina brush/vacuum whereas short hair isd harder??

The long hair comes out in soft clumps and whispy bits that sit on top of fabric and is pretty easy to brush off furniture and bedding, unlike short hair that sheds one hair at a time, works it's way into any sort of fabric and is pretty much impossible to remove. I have owned a Labrador, so know the difference. The disadvantage with the long hair is it getting wound around the brush of the vacuum cleaner, but it is still easier to remove from carpet than all those little short bits.

Most people don't realise that spending half an hour a week, grooming a long coat, to make sure it isn't tangled and sweeping up hair tumbleweeds, is a lot less work than coping with a shorter coat that sheds all over the house 365 days a year. There are some breeds that need more time to groom but most long coats do fine with half an hour a week.

I recently just bought a furminator off ebay for $30, (I am pretty happy with that price) and it works wonders on Max and Jenna... but I swear, the hair just keeps coming!!!! It is unbelievable... I swear I could sit there for an entire day just brushing and by the end of it hair would still be coming out!!!

Max and Jenna aren't 'long coated' GSD but aren't necessarily short coated either, although they are classified as short haired... Jennas dad was long haired and her mum had the shortest hair I have ever seen in a gsd, wheras max's dad and mum both had the same length... funnily enough, now max and jenna have the same length hair...

I cant remember where I was going with this... just thought I'd note that I am using this furminator to see if it works on stopping them shedding so damn much but I swear with all the hair that comes out I might just deal with vacuuming a few times a week! lol

Funny you mention that. I stopped using my Furminator for a while because even though it took a lot of the loose fur out I found she was shedding twice as much as when I didnt use it! I stopped, it stopped. Well being a shepherd it never stops but its very interesting.........

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I cant remember where I was going with this... just thought I'd note that I am using this furminator to see if it works on stopping them shedding so damn much but I swear with all the hair that comes out I might just deal with vacuuming a few times a week! lol

Or you can just buy a Roomba robot vacuum, which is what I did. It vacuums while I am not home and I come home to lovely clean floors every day. :)

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I cant remember where I was going with this... just thought I'd note that I am using this furminator to see if it works on stopping them shedding so damn much but I swear with all the hair that comes out I might just deal with vacuuming a few times a week! lol

Or you can just buy a Roomba robot vacuum, which is what I did. It vacuums while I am not home and I come home to lovely clean floors every day. :)

Unless you dog goes to the bathroom on the floor.

There was a post going around twitter where a mans dog had pooped on the floor and then his Roomba did the rounds...

Yep you guessed it...

Everywhere.

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I cant remember where I was going with this... just thought I'd note that I am using this furminator to see if it works on stopping them shedding so damn much but I swear with all the hair that comes out I might just deal with vacuuming a few times a week! lol

Or you can just buy a Roomba robot vacuum, which is what I did. It vacuums while I am not home and I come home to lovely clean floors every day. :)

Unless you dog goes to the bathroom on the floor.

There was a post going around twitter where a mans dog had pooped on the floor and then his Roomba did the rounds...

Yep you guessed it...

Everywhere.

LOL!! Oh dear oh dear oh dear!

I am new to the Roomba thing and have yet to brave setting it to do its job whilst I am not at home. My main reason was because of the amount of hair (long hair in particular!) seems to get the brushes stuck. Now there's another reason to be careful about letting it go whilst I am out (especially if i have a new foster dog around!).

Anne - have any of your dogs ever chased it or damaged the roomba?

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I actually just throw them out once they get grotty :o

It probably sounds very lazy but.. washing so many dog coats and blankets has mangled our washing machine and on more than a few occasions, the laundry has flooded when dog hair has clogged something up. The blankets we buy for our guys cost only about $20 each (for a queen-size, coral fleece blanket- very warm and soft, I actually have one for the couch) so it just seemed easier to us to toss the dirty ones, rather than risk breaking the washing machine again (which costs a lot more than $20 to repair).

The dogs' pajamas and coats still have to be washed because they're more expensive/difficult to replace so the aim was to at least cut down on the amount of dog stuff that goes in the wash every week. We stopped buying actual dog beds entirely as they're just awful to keep clean enough, you can only fit one greyhound-sized bed in a load (which is a massive waste of water) and then they take days to dry, assuming you get decent weather.

Ideally, it'd be a cheap washing machine just for dog stuff but there's just zero room in our laundry for anything else (and having it in the garage would require having the plumbing put in) so for the moment, buying new ones is the best option.

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I cant remember where I was going with this... just thought I'd note that I am using this furminator to see if it works on stopping them shedding so damn much but I swear with all the hair that comes out I might just deal with vacuuming a few times a week! lol

Or you can just buy a Roomba robot vacuum, which is what I did. It vacuums while I am not home and I come home to lovely clean floors every day. :)

Unless you dog goes to the bathroom on the floor.

There was a post going around twitter where a mans dog had pooped on the floor and then his Roomba did the rounds...

Yep you guessed it...

Everywhere.

LOL!! Oh dear oh dear oh dear!

I am new to the Roomba thing and have yet to brave setting it to do its job whilst I am not at home. My main reason was because of the amount of hair (long hair in particular!) seems to get the brushes stuck. Now there's another reason to be careful about letting it go whilst I am out (especially if i have a new foster dog around!).

Anne - have any of your dogs ever chased it or damaged the roomba?

No, they ignore it. Initially they were fascinated with it and followed it around. That lasted about an hour and then they lost interest.

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I used to do all of mine in my front loader, then do a rinse & spin before doing my own clothes - but due to the size of the vetbed that fits in the whelping box, I've recently bought a bigger capacity top loader from ebay just for the dog stuff.

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Old horse rug washing trick: Soak the blankets overnight in a solution of water with a good dash of vinegar, THEN wash.

Some commerical laundries have special machines for horse and dog stuff - might be worth looking around.

What does the vinegar do?

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