Washing halters?!!?

Question

can I put my halter in the washing machine? the fair is a week away and my halter is looking a little dirty..I'm a little scared to put it in the washer but if you tell me it works then i will... please help :)

Answer 1

Don't put it in the washe,r it doesn't turn out well!

I personally get a bucket of warm, soapy water, and then just put the halter in there if it nylon, and I scrub it with a brush to get the dirt off, and I then let it air dry if it's nice out.

If it's leather, just use some leather conditioner on it, and work it inr eally well.

Answer 2

I've never put my halter in the washer.

If it's leather you'll want to clean it with leather cleaner.

If it's nylon, like some of mine, I just throw it in a bucket of water, put some soap on it, and scrub it with a brush .

Answer 3

yes but only if it is nylon. You can dryer dry it too. If it is leather just use saddle soap and neatfoots oil.

Good luck at your fair!

Answer 4

That depends what sort it is  - leather ones no, clean it like you would clean a bridle.

Rope - I have heard of these either shrinking or getting hopelessly tangled ( can't say for myself because I have never used one.)

Good old nylon headcollars - yes they can go straight in on a 40 degree wash and will be great.

If your machine has a glass window in the door you could wrap a towel around it to stop the metal fittings hitting the glass ( I don't though - I just throw them in there !)

Edit> Zeb, brushes really ? Wow, I never thought of that !

Answer 5

Yes you can put it in the washer but it is terribly noisy and annoys everyone so much lol. If you put it in the washer (which i dont anymore) i wrap mine in a towel and some coloured clothes (never use white lol) to reduce the use of water and to stop that noise.

I usually wash my halter now by putting my halter in a bucket of boiling water filled with soap.

I ;live it in their to soak for 10minutes, then i scrub it with a brush clean. After that i get some metal cleaner (same stuff you use on stirrups) and rub that on the metal buckles.

With leather halters you jsut get leather cleaner for tack and apply it onto the halter.

:)

Answer 6

I put mine in a pillow case then in the washing machine on a cool wash. Remember to use soap flakes made for washing baby clothes etc. :-)

http://uk.answers.yahoo.com/question/ind... - my Q

Answer 7

I think the metal may beat up the washer.  I would do it in the sink or a bucket, you could use an old tooth brush to scrub it.  I'm going to try an experiment...I'm going to soak some older ones i have in fabric softener and see if it softens them up...Probably wont work but heck its worth a try.

Answer 8

a leather halter cant be put in the washer or washed with anything but leather cleaner and to oil it instead of leather oil you can use olive oil and it wont harm the leather. but the normal halters i wouldnt put into the washer. you should get a bucket and fill it up with water add detergent and let the halter. after like thirty minutes you need to hose it off and get all of the soap off. make sure the detergent doesnt have bleach in it. i had a yellow halter which i loved and it was an amazing color and i uses detergent (i didnt know it had bleach though) and it was white when i toook it out.

Answer 9

ok then im going to totaly dis agree with everyone here! i put everything in the washing machine!!! girths... fold it in half nd put a few socks over the buckle ends nd secure wid a hairband.... headcollars, put them inside a old pillowcase etc... rugs, put socks over the buckles etc..., you name it, it goes in the washing machine. Even sheepskin numnahs on a low wool cycle. (and no i havent been stupid enough to put leather in the washer!).  It does make quite a noise and sounds like the machine in going to blow up or something, but its fine... wel mine has been and i put something horsey in it every other day and its lasted me 10 years!

Answer 10

If it is a show halter, I don't think I would risk it but a regular nylon halter can be machine washed. I have washed countless nylon dog collars in a washing machine at a job I used to have. Tags and all, everything came out squeeky clean.

I recommend my customers wash their nylon collars in a washer full of jeans. Use color safe bleach and good detergent.

You can air dry or dryer dry if you have a garment bag you can stick it in.

Do not wash a leather halter. It would be best if you could edit your question and give a description of what material it is made of and if it has extra bling on it.

Answer 11

Soak halters over night in a 5 gallon bucket of water and soap.  Hose off the next day preferably with a jet water hose.  This gets much of the grit and grime out that has soaked deep into the material.

Sometimes a repeat treatment is needed.  They will not rust as long as the metal pieces are all brass.

I do not like putting halters with big heavy brass pieces in the washing machine.  It can chip the 'granite' coating off the tub and causes it to rust.  The rust can then stain your clothes.

Answer 12

nylon ones you can, it will get loose dirt of, and take smellyness away, but the grime won't go away. Plus the buckles can be hard on the washer. I pressure wash mine. As long as its not a loosly woven nylon it won't do any harm.

for leather, don't obviosly

Answer 13

No if its leather. Just putting that out there. I am not sure about a nylon one. Are you doing halter with it? If noy, why does it need to be really clean. Is it possible to get a new one? Nylon ones in particular to not run very expensive.

Answer 14

Absolutely, if it's nylon.  No, if it's leather.  I always wash my halters, even the pretty ones with towels or jeans.  Never have a problem with them.  You wouldn't be showing the horse in a nylon halter anyway, so why not make it easy on yourself and throw it in the machine.  Actually, I have a newer front load that not only uses less water, less detergent, and is gentler on the clothes, but it also doesn't make all that racket!

Good luck at the show.

Answer 15

If you are talking about a rope halter then yeas put in the washing machine on a cool wash. Mine come up a treat.

I wash all the brushes at the same time in an old duvet cover knotted at the open end, all in together. Use a gentle wash powder and no softeners.

Answer 16

If you do decide to put it in the washer  buckle it up and put it in a lingerie' bag and don't wash it alone put it in with some towels to protect your washer and the halter.

Answer 17

i wouldnt put it in the washer, the heavy metal peices would probally KILL your washer! lol.

like everyone else said, use the bucket method, works best for me!

...help a fellow Y!A person out?

|

V

Answer 18

if its leather than just use some saddle cleaner on it... it works very well. if its nylon, take some dish soap and a sponge and scrub the heck out of it..let it dry fora couple of days and it will look brand new! hope this helped!!

Answer 19

I assume it's nylon or you wouldn't be asking this.  If it has large metal parts, you should put it into a bag, then into your washer...a pillowcase will suffice.  I prefer to use Woolite....and you can just swish it in the laundry tub and use a fingernail brush on the metal parts, then rinse it thoroughly.

Answer 20

If it is leather you can clean it with tack soap. If it is nylon i just put it in a bucket of hot soapy water and scrub it.

I hope i helped!

Answer 21

If it's nylon, yeah, you can.  I do it all the time.  Another thing you can do is take them to a car wash, hook them on the floor mat hooks, and use the high pressure hose to really blast them.  Works great for saddle pads too.  If it's leather, then that's not a good idea.

Answer 22

Personally, I wouldn't, because all that rough spinning etc might damage it a little and make it look frayed.

Instead, soak it in a big bucket of water with soap/washing powder (just make sure the powder dissolves). Scrub it with a brush then leave it to soak for a while. Then give it a really good rinse off in a sink, because the soap could potentially irritate your horse, then hang it up somewhere to dry, give it a few days because whilst the surface will seem dry the inside probably won't be. Then admire your nice clean halter on your horse!

Enjoy the fair! :)

Answer 23

I have put mine in the washer but I can't stand the noise. I find it's more effective to fill up a bucket with water and laundry soap and let it soak in there, then hose it off really well.

Answer 24

i wouldn't put it in the washer only because the metal pieces (which i assume it has...) would ruin the inside of the machine...  it also seems a little overkill, and like it wouldn't much help.

the best thing is to put it in a water bucket (but not the one your horse uses.. lol!) and put some detergent and some grease fighting soap in.. let it soak for a few hours in the sun, then take it and scrub with a REALLY hard/stiff brush..  then either dump the bucket and re-fill with the same mix, or just throw it back in and let is soak a little more.. then scrub again, and rinse REALLY well (if you don't your horse will get weird rub marks in his hair on his face which is no good for the fair!)  then let it sit out in the sun to dry, but it'll probably take a day or too unless its REALLY hot..

you don't have to scrub twice unless its really dirty, and if its beginning to fade/fray i would suggest buying a new halter since you don't want it to break when your not at home.. and the cleaning could possibly "help" the fraying along to a point where it is unsafe..

and if its leather, just take care of it like you do your saddle..

good luck!

Answer 25

Yeah you can put it in the washing machine, thats how I wash mine and normaly I hang it out to dry but if Im in a hurry to have it clean I just throw it in the dryer with some old clothes so it dont make a lot of noise

Answer 26

If it is leather, use some saddle soap or leather conditioner.  It makes it look like it's brand new.  If it is nylon, just get some warm water and a brush and scrub it, the dirt should come off.  If not you can buy a new a cheap nylon halter just for showing that way it can stay clean lol =P  Good luck

Answer 27

If your halter is nylon, then yes you can BUT it makes an AWFUL racket when you do!  Do not put it in the dryer though, like denim jeans they will fade.

I normally put mine in the wash when I'm doing a bunch of towels, that way the racket's not as bad.

Answer 28

Nylon -- Yes you can wash them in the washer.  

When I wash them I put them in a cloth bag.  This cuts down on the possibility of damage to the washer and quiets the racket in the spin.  As Rosi M said it is best to do it with the towels.

If you only have one halter, it is just as easy to throw it into a bucket of hot soapy water.

Leather halter you just clean like your bridle.

Answer 29

I usually just hose it off really well, or soak it in a bucket of water with dish soap.  If you get a hard bristled horse brush, you can use it to really get the grime off of it, and then hang it up to dry.  If you hang it in the sun, it will fade though.

For the leather halters, just use saddle soap and neatsfoot oil to clean and condition.

Answer 30

If your halter is leather, then you would clean it as you would your saddle or any other leather equipment...if it is nylon or webbing of any kind, I wash mine in a small little tub, hot water, Dawn dishwashing soap (it cuts the grease without bleaching out the color).  I let it soak a minimum of an hour, take it outside, hang it up ( by the crown) and rinse it with your hose, make sure you get all of the soap out...works great!  Make sure that when you hang up your halter to dry, go ahead and take a towel and dry all of the hardware (buckle, connectors, etc) so it won't spot.  Good luck at their fair and have fun.