Laundry and dry clean
Laundry and dry clean
Blanket cleaning in Sydney starts from $45 at WashMate, with bedspreads from $45 and larger or heavier items quoted after inspection. Weighted blankets are the ones people most often ruin at home, because the glass beads inside make them far too heavy for a domestic machine once they are wet. For a quote, email info@washmate.com.au.
Blankets and throws are the household fabrics with the longest gap between cleans. They are used daily on a couch or folded at the end of a bed, they rarely look dirty, and they almost never get washed. This guide covers wool, weighted, cotton and plush throw blankets, and what each one needs.
Once or twice a year for a bed blanket, and more often for a throw that lives on the couch. The couch throw is the one that needs attention most, because it collects body oils, food, hair and dust from daily use while being the least likely to get washed. If someone naps under it, treat it like bedding rather than decoration.
Weight. A 9 kilogram weighted blanket holds several more kilograms of water when wet, and that load puts real strain on a domestic drum and bearings. The second problem is distribution. If the glass beads shift during a hard spin, they clump in one corner and the blanket never sits evenly again. We handle them in commercial equipment rated for the load.
Controlled temperature and no agitation. Wool felts when heat and movement are combined, which means the fibres lock together permanently and the blanket comes out smaller, harder and thinner. This is irreversible, and it is the single most common way a good wool blanket is destroyed. Our dry cleaning service handles wool as a specialist item.
Air it outdoors for a full day first, because compression and stale air account for a surprising amount of what people read as dirt. If the smell goes and does not come back within a week, airing was enough. If it returns, the cause is body oils in the fibre, and only cleaning removes those. Visible marks, a flattened pile and a grey cast along the top edge where hands and chins rest are all signs it is past airing.
Treated the same way and priced the same way, from $45, rising with size. A bedspread usually covers more area than the blanket under it, and it collects dust on the top surface rather than oils from contact, which makes it an easier job in most cases. Quilted coverlets take longer to dry because of the wadding inside. Send them with the rest of the bed and they all go in one order.
Because body oils transfer into the fibre every time someone sits under it, and oils feed bacteria. A throw can look clean and smell stale, and airing it only removes the surface. Sydney humidity accelerates it, which is why the smell gets noticeably worse from October onwards. Our guide to musty fabric explains the mechanism in detail.
A great deal, because blankets are the item most likely to be packed away for the warm months. A wool blanket stored slightly damp in a sealed tub over a Sydney summer will come out musty at best and mouldy at worst. Clean it, dry it fully, and store it in a breathable cotton bag rather than plastic. Add a cedar block instead of mothballs if moths are a concern.
Blankets and bedspreads are from $45, with prices rising by size and weight. Weighted blankets and specialty fibres such as mohair and cashmere are quoted after inspection, because the work varies. Doonas are from $45 and pillows from $30, so the whole bed can go in one order. Pickup and delivery runs across Sydney metro seven days from $15 per order. See the pricing page.
Standard turnaround is 3 to 5 business days. Thick wool and weighted blankets sit at the longer end, because they must dry completely through before they come back and a weighted blanket holds moisture deep in the quilted pockets. If you have a date in mind, tell us when you book rather than when you collect.
There is no saving in splitting an order, because one pickup fee covers the whole collection. Strip the bed and the couch at the same time, add the doona, the pillows, the mattress protector and any throws, and send it in one go. Our doona and bedding guide and mattress topper guide cover the other layers.
Mostly, and it is one of the main reasons blankets come to us. Commercial processing removes far more embedded hair than a home machine, which tends to redistribute it. Giving the blanket a hard shake outdoors before you send it genuinely helps. Hair that has been worked deep into a loose knit or a waffle weave over years will not all come out, and we would rather say that in advance.
Moths eat protein fibres, which means wool, cashmere and mohair rather than polyester. They are drawn to blankets that have been stored unwashed, because the body oils in the fibre are the food source. That is the practical argument for cleaning before storage rather than after. We cannot repair existing holes, but a clean blanket stored dry in a breathable bag is far less likely to be attacked.
By size and weight, because both change the work. Blanket cleaning in Sydney starts from $45 for a standard blanket and rises for king sizes and heavy weighted blankets, which need more capacity and much longer drying. A light cotton throw is at the bottom of the range and a 11 kilogram weighted king is quoted after inspection. Tell us the size and the fill when you book and we will give you an approximate figure before collection.
Send it, and tell us. Pet blankets are routine for us rather than a problem, and they are better handled separately from bedding in the same order so hair does not transfer. Hair that has been worked into a loose knit over years will not all come out, and we would rather set that expectation in advance. Heavy ammonia odour from accidents is treatable in most cases but is quoted after inspection, because it depends how far it has gone into the fibre.
Blankets and bedspreads are from $45, with prices rising by size and weight. Weighted blankets and specialty fibres such as mohair and cashmere are quoted after inspection because the work varies.
Yes, and we handle them in commercial equipment rated for the wet weight. A domestic machine is the risk, because the beads can shift during a hard spin and clump in one corner permanently.
Once or twice a year for a bed blanket, and more often for a couch throw. The throw collects body oils, food and hair from daily use while being the least likely item to get washed.
Sometimes. Air it outdoors for a full day, and if the smell goes and stays gone for a week, airing was enough. If it returns within days, body oils in the fibre are the cause and only a proper clean removes them.
Not with us. Wool felts when heat and agitation are combined, which locks the fibres together permanently and leaves the blanket smaller and harder. It needs controlled temperature and no agitation.
The couch throw and the wool blanket are the two things in the house that get used constantly and washed almost never. Send them with the bedding and it is one job. Blankets are from $45, weighted blankets are quoted after inspection, and pickup and delivery runs across Sydney metro seven days from $15 per order. Book online, email info@washmate.com.au or call 0403 861 744.
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