Grungy. That was the state of my Thin Line Endurance wool saddle pad. I got it this time last year, put tons of conditioning miles and two 50s on it and had never washed it. Ugh.
With same heavy rides on the schedule and an endurance ride coming up, I thought it was time to wash the swamp monster out of it. Wednesday night, after Wyatt went to bed, I sat on the side of the bath tub and hand washed the wool pad.
It came surprisingly clean and looked just about new again and that was with no detergent. Just my hands and luke warm water. At the end I wished I had used some detergent because the thing smelled awful, but I didn't have any fancy detergent and the website clearly stated that using anything but what they recommended would void the warranty.
The pad also now weighted about 100 pounds. I gently rolled it up and smushed it with my hands to get water out and then hung it up in the bathroom. The weather was not nice then end of last week, so putting it outside was not an option.
Friday night, I checked on it and it was still wet. Dripping wet to be exact. Crap. I couldn't ride in it like that the next day, which turned out to not be a problem since the pace was cancelled anyway. Saturday was the first sunny day all week and so I put it out on the front porch rail to dry.
Saturday night it was less drippy, but still wet.
Sunday morning I went to the barn to ride and used an old cotton pad which didn't fit the best, but since I was doing just arena work and not hitting the trails it wasn't such a big deal. We worked on canter and trot and I even put down some ground poles which eventually turned into a small jump. Gem worked hard in the deep, soft sandy footing.
Sunday night, the pad was still damp. No longer dripping, but definitely still wet.
What the hell pad? Why won't you just dry!
I posted my frustration to AERC FB and some suggested I tumble dry it without the air on or spin it in the washer. I'm not fond of those ideas. I can just picture my pad being spun to pieces and it was too pricey for my to tempt fate like that.
Instead, I put it on the railing of the stairs and put a fan on high in front of it. If it is still wet when I get home, I may just throw it in the fire place. Maybe that will dry it out!
Sara, you really can put it in the tumble dry, low/no heat setting in the dryer without ruining the pad. Definitely better than the fireplace!! I have a Mattes sheepskin pad and an imitation Mattes, also genuine sheepskin (as in NOT just wool. Aka a lot more expensive and fragile! That Mattes was over $200 and it's just a half pad!) that have survived many a gentle wash in cold water with Mattes Melp in the washing machine followed by getting tossed in the dryer on the no heat setting. I do the same with my Woolback girths, my Woolback pad, my $150 velvet wool-backed custom dressage pad, and my mohair girth. All have survived without shredding or shrinkage! :) FYI: in terms of detergents for leather, Mattes Melp is cheap, has no perfume, and is great for cleaning leather goods in the wash without drying them out! :D I've found it on Amazon with Prime shipping before.
ReplyDeleteI completely agree with Saiph. And I would first do the rinse and spin cycle in the washing machine to get the excess water out. Even the gentle spin cycle will remove more water than hand wringing.
DeleteThin Line specifically says to not use Melp. I am not sure why, but they hate it and if I use it my warranty is void. The stuff they recommend (can't recall the name right now) isn't very expensive, I just didn't have any on hand ad really wanted to wash my pad. I think I should have waited.
DeleteI am still hesitant to throw it in the drier. I do have to see if it even has the option to tumble without any heat. I am not sure it does. If the fan doesn't work, I am going to roll it up in towels and see if that doesn't help.
That's always been my complaint about wool. And why mine's only been washed out like twice in all the years I've had it. And then left out in the sunshine. For days.
ReplyDeleteAnd my drier at home is cheap and doesn't have just a tumble dry air option. Medium or Regular heat. And I'm not risking my pads to that monstrosity.
But I'm like you; everyone telling me it's okay to do it, I'd still be freaking out and scared to do it!!!
yeah, I won't be washing it again for a long time. This is ridiculous! I just can't see throwing my $300 pad in the drier. I may do it yet, but eeek!
DeleteTotally get it! This is why I ended up with two wool Matrix pads, so I can wash one and use the other. I don't try it in the bathtub those, it's the outdoor hose for me, too stinky to allow in the house! I do roll and squish between dry towels, that works. I occasionally do the the spin cycle too, but I'd rather do less than more.
ReplyDeleteAs for the stink, I don't use much detergent, just a drop of a gentle cleaner, but I do add in a healthy dose of vinegar, seems to cut smells quite well (especially on stinky human clothes too!).
I need to get a second pad for our next ride, but I am wishing I already had it. then I wouldn't care if it took a month to dry this one out.
DeleteGood idea with the vinegar. The hubby was really not happy that the bathroom stunk really bad all last week. OOPS!!
Timing of your post is perfect because I took my Skito pad home to wash this weekend and we're going onto Day 3 of air drying. It's mostly dry, just wet at the ends toward the bottom where there is extra padding and gravity has caused the water to run towards. I took out the shims, used the garden hose outside and a little watered down detergent. I live with a non-horse family/parents, they would revolt if I ever did horse laundry in our washer haha
ReplyDeleteI thought mine was finally done yesterday, but when I dug my fingers down deep into the wool fibers, it was still wet at the base. I am hoping the fan does the trick all day today.
DeleteTumble dry with no heat is incredibly unlikely to do any damage to your pad. There's no heat and it doesn't spin that fast so it won't tear it apart. Honestly, if your pad fell apart from being tumble dried with no heat, it would have to have been in really terrible shape to begin with. You could sit by the drier and watch it if that would make you feel better about it.
ReplyDeleteI put the pad in front of a fan before work yesterday and it was dry as a bone when I got home from work!!
ReplyDelete