How to de-muddify my hunting coat without taking to the dry cleaners

[rjahorne]

Help, I use my mothers very old and warm black hunting jacket, normally i just brush the dried mud off then but a stiff brush and water to get rid of the stains. However as you all know this year has been particlarly muddy and the mud and muddy water seems to be ingrained in my jacket. I dont really want to have to dry clean it until after the season finishes as it is soooo expensive theses days.

So does anyone have any cleaver ideas on how to 'de muddify' their hunting jackets/coats????

Any comments much appreciated.

 

[ofcourseyoucan]

vaccum?

 

[Chris&TheBoys]

I am a qualified dry cleaner, stiff brush is best for getting the dried on mud off, you could give a dandy brush a shot, its what i have used on mine, after landing in a puddle (and a muddy one at that) when my horse tried not to tread on a muntjac deer by throwing himself off all fours! It has come up well, or you can have it cleaned for less than £10.

 

[lcharles]

I put mine in the washing machine on 30 degree wool wash and it comes out fine x

 

[Double_choc_lab]

I put mine in the washing machine on 30 degree wool wash and it comes out fine x

You're one very brave person. I'd be terrified it would end in disaster. I tend to just leave it to dry for at least 24 hours and then use a clothes brush and a stiffish toothbrush for any difficult bits.

 

[Clodagh]

If you have mud stains a bit of rain water on a cloth can help.
I would NEVER put my antique wool jacket in the wash, it shrinks every summer as it is!

 

[PortwayPaddy]

I put mine back on when it's dry and Long Suffering Husband gives it a good stiff brushing.

He then hoovers me with the small turbo brush attatchment on the Dyson (Animal one). It's a bit painfull on the boobs, as LSH really has to be quite firm with the turbo brush on the front and back. However, it does mean that my jacket only has to be dry cleaned at the end of the season.

As I have a white horse and am covered in hair by the time I am mounted, I do wonder why I bother!

Paddy

 

[Aesculus]

We at Bailys have been using an Amaze brush with great success for the last 24 months
- We reviewed it here http://www.bailyshuntingdirectory.com/story-535_Long-Term-Test--Amaze-Brush

 

[cptrayes]

I never dry clean mine. I get it absolutely bone dry in the airing cupboard and then scrub it with a nail brush on the way to the meet It's a Pytchley, pure wool.

 

[combat_claire]

The Field magazine recommended this brush, apparently dandy brushes are too stiff and can remove the nap of the coat.

http://kentbrushes.com/shopexd.asp?id=51&catid=49

 

[Orangehorse]

I could never get the mud out of my coat, and was always completely amazed at how it used to come back from the cleaners looking like new. Must have been a good make.

 

[PortwayPaddy]

The Field magazine recommended this brush, apparently dandy brushes are too stiff and can remove the nap of the coat.

http://kentbrushes.com/shopexd.asp?id=51&catid=49

This is what my Long Suffering Husband uses to brush me down with. During the week it lives in his briefcase for use on suits, overcoat etc. Then at weekends it is used on my jacket.

I have a very heavyweight wool hunt coat and it is not affected by the brushing and hoovering regime.

When wet (as it often is due to the country we hunt) it stands up on it's own.

Paddy

 

[Hairy Old Cob]

Let it dry over night then brush off the mud with a good quality clothes brush.

 

[Herne]

I never, ever, ever dry clean my hunt coats.

Dry cleaning takes the natural oils out of the wool and they simply do not last as long or weather the elements so well as they will if you do not dry clean them.

I brush/wash my coats with plain water (rainwater from a barrel is better than tap, which also can contain harsh chemicals) and a brush - and the muddier they are, the more and more water I use - buckets and buckets of the stuff, if necessary.

My two red coats got me happily through 13 years of hunting twice a week in all weathers - and in my last season as Master, someone asked me why I had bought a new coat if I was leaving.

 

[Kenzo]

Brush it off when dry, then I use a damp sponge and keep washing and squeezing it out, always works on my my light weight wool hunt jacket, Ive never had it dry cleaned yet and I've been wearing it for 21 years.

 

[oakash]

Ditto those who never dry-clean their hunt coats! Lets be realistic here. For some couple of hundred years people have been managing very well with just a brush, once the coat is really dry. I have personally kept my coat perfectly presentable for some 50 years with just a brush, so forget this new-fangled dry-cleaning - it really ain't necessary!