Washing own turnout rugs?

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MagicMelon

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Ive got loads of turnout rugs I really want to give a good wash, Id need a small mortgage to get them all done professionally so want to do them myself. I thought I could power wash them to a degree but my water pressure isnt strong enough to have it going full blast unfortunately. So my next idea is to lie them on the ground and just scrub them with a bucket of something - what would be best? Shampoo? Handwash washing powder? Fairy liquid? I basically want to choose something to give them a clean but not remove the waterproofness if I can help it...
 
I scrub mine, warm water and a scouring pad to de-grease the inside and a stiff brush to lightly de-mud the outside.

I never send my turnouts off to be cleaned, some are really old and still completely watertight on this regime :) the bonus is it cost nothing but a sunny afternoon :)
 
Apparently rug wash is pretty much just non-biological washing powder, I washed some in washing machine but they didn't come up v clean and I washed one by hand with hose pipe and soft broom and it came up lovely!! Then used spray to reproof
 
MagicMelon said:
Great ok, I'll try a little non-bio powder in warm water and give them a scrub by hand then - thanks!
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If you have a very large sheet of polythene put it on the ground first. There is nothing worse than scrubbing both sides of the rug, picking it up and finding more dirt stuck to the first washed side and for reasons unknown that dirt never scrubs off! Visions of ‘painting the Forth Bridge’........
 
I lie mine on clean ground and wash with a few drops of rambo wash if really dirty. I use a hose with not loads of pressure and a water brush. If not that dirty I’ll just give a scrub with plain water.

I rinse in a bath I keep on yard for washing rugs then dry them on my cheap swinging chair I got from Aldi a few years ago for £30. It’s great as it a chair most of the time but the shape means it’s great for drying rugs the rest of the time. People fight to get their rugs on it in winter.
I never send them off, in my experience they get stripped of all their waterproofness and the re-proofer is never as good as the manufactures one plus it really adds up cost wise.
 
Don't!! Unless there is a really greasy lining, I have had several washed and proofed professionally a handful of times and now they are no longer waterproof, even with a paint on proofer.
I pressure wash mine, hanging over a stable door or a gate, gets rid of the worst of the dried mud and poo stains but doesn't affect the proofing because there is no detergent of any kind.
If you have to wash, use a non bio product, and that applies to your outer clothes too, biological destroys proofing.
 
When I hose and scrub my rugs, they balloon up with water which has got into the filling. It can takes days for it all to drain out, and it must put strain on the stitching as it drips out. Do you peeps find that this happens?

I can wash and proof no fills and 100g rugs up to 6'9" in my home 9kg max load washing machine, using Nikwax rug wash then proofer. I've just given up trying to hose and scrub a 6'9" Rambo 400g HW turnout, and have taken it in for a professional wash and reproof. Fingers crossed it's ok ;), the rug laundry uses Nikwax products which afaik are the best out there. I don't mind the muddy exterior, it's the greasy lining that needs cleaning off the most.
 
Tiddlypom said:
When I hose and scrub my rugs, they balloon up with water which has got into the filling. It can takes days for it all to drain out, and it must put strain on the stitching as it drips out. Do you peeps find that this happens?
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Occasionally, mainly if I take a long time washing the inside. Most of mine have developed little holes somewhere along the bottom of the rug through wear and tear cos they are mostly ancient, so I just hang them up in such a way that any water inside just drains out of them :o
 
Oh, I agree about the liners, I've got a whole set of them from 6'3" to 6'9". However, for some reason the 400g Rambo turnout sits much better on my 16.1hh chunky IDx than her 100g Rambo (same design) plus *a liner of any weight*, though the 100g is fine on its own. The liners make the rugs twist and pull back on her shoulders.

The liners are fine on the sports type mares, though.

ETA Milliepops, yes, the water in mines drains out through the little holes, but the water enarges the holes as it goes which isn't ideal!
 
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MagicMelon said:
Ive got loads of turnout rugs I really want to give a good wash, Id need a small mortgage to get them all done professionally so want to do them myself. I thought I could power wash them to a degree but my water pressure isnt strong enough to have it going full blast unfortunately. So my next idea is to lie them on the ground and just scrub them with a bucket of something - what would be best? Shampoo? Handwash washing powder? Fairy liquid? I basically want to choose something to give them a clean but not remove the waterproofness if I can help it...
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I have a karcher jet wash and a heavy duty clothes rail our pressure is not very good and it does get them better to fully clean using the jet wash
 
JillA said:
That's where the Amigo liner system comes into its own - those DO go into a 9kg domestic washing machine with no problems
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What is a safe temp for things like that? I use the Shires liners, but the concept is the same. I find things (boots, numnahs) don't tend to come out very clean, but I'm a coward with temps and don't dare go above 40! I don't know if the temp makes much of a difference though...
 
Floxie said:
What is a safe temp for things like that? I use the Shires liners, but the concept is the same. I find things (boots, numnahs) don't tend to come out very clean, but I'm a coward with temps and don't dare go above 40! I don't know if the temp makes much of a difference though...
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I wash all my stuff at 40 and it comes out pretty damn clean - but we have an industrial washer on the yard so there's always plenty of room for things to move around which makes a big difference I think :) plus I always do an extra rinse on the washing program.
 
milliepops said:
I wash all my stuff at 40 and it comes out pretty damn clean - but we have an industrial washer on the yard so there's always plenty of room for things to move around which makes a big difference I think :) plus I always do an extra rinse on the washing program.
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Aaah I suspect that might be the problem, the space. The liners do go in my domestic machine (I don't shove, honest!) but they probably don't have a lot of shuffle space. Dammit, not much I can do about that!

Edit: Although that can't be the problem with the boots... perhaps it's just a rubbish washer :D
 
Meredith said:
If you have a very large sheet of polythene put it on the ground first. There is nothing worse than scrubbing both sides of the rug, picking it up and finding more dirt stuck to the first washed side and for reasons unknown that dirt never scrubs off! Visions of ‘painting the Forth Bridge’........
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Never thought of this - thank you 😊
 
We do ours in a concrete mixer. It’s a bit labour intensive but a bucket full of hot water and the detergent of your choice,let it mix then rinse with lots of cold water. Brings them up good as new. Tie the straps together with a cable tie to prevent them from wrapping round the tings. You can also use it for mixing concrete!
 
JillA said:
Don't!! Unless there is a really greasy lining, I have had several washed and proofed professionally a handful of times and now they are no longer waterproof, even with a paint on proofer.
I pressure wash mine, hanging over a stable door or a gate, gets rid of the worst of the dried mud and poo stains but doesn't affect the proofing because there is no detergent of any kind.
If you have to wash, use a non bio product, and that applies to your outer clothes too, biological destroys proofing.
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^^^^ Ditto this. I don't have mine done professionally any more: my two oldies have got rugs which I've had from new and have never been "professionally" washed and are totally waterproof. In the dreadful weather we had this last winter I was able to chuck rugs on and bung 'em out, knowing they'd be nice and dry and cosy underneath. I don't have a pressure washer so use a hosepipe.

Or baby wipes are handy for removing gunk on the lining if its a wet winter and you'll struggle to get rugs dry - just wipe the inside and it will improve the situation greatly! Wonderful things, baby wipes....... :)
 
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