- There’s nothing better than chilling with a blanket, but our cuddly friends need to be washed often for precisely the same reason.
- This article explores ways to wash a Sherpa blanket, keep Sherpa soft, and provinces you with other tips from the Sherpa blanket maintenance department.
- Explore why cold water is better than warm water, what to do if the Sherpa blanket lost its charm, and what it means to set a laundry to a gentle cycle.
What is a Sherpa blanket?
Sherpa fabric is 100% synthetic material that many super Sherpa soft blankets are made of.
In the next paragraph, we’ll discover how to make Sherpa blanket soft again if it has lost its charm over time!
It’s so special because it was designed to look and feel like a real sheep’s wool. Sherpa is also called faux sheepskin, faux-shearling or Sherpa faux fur.
Tip: Mind that while it’s a more animal-friendly choice, Sherpa blankets are also cheaper than actual wool or fur.
Sherpa took its name after the Sherpa people of Nepal, as this fabric resembles the wool-lined clothing worn by the tribe.
However, Sherpa fabric is typically made of pure cotton, a synthetic fiber like polyester fabric, or a blend of both.
This polyester blanket is warmer than other fabrics from the fleece type group. One thing is sure: keeping you out of the cold is not an issue with a Sherpa fleece.
Sherpa fabric is a variant of stretch knit polyester fleece. All fleece fabrics, Sherpa included, are 100% synthetic, soft, warm, breathable, and similar to wool.
Yet, according to Pediaa, Sherpa blankets are softer and warmer than other fleece blankets.
Typical Sherpa fleece blankets have two distinct sides:
- one has a smooth knit, and
- the other has a texture intended that imitates a natural sheep’s fleece;
Sherpa blanket fluffy texture has a special wooly touch to it—this synthetic fabric features a very thick pile that ensures warmth and a cozy feel to those who use it.
Sherpa material is used to line all-weather clothing. Sherpa fleece is commonly used as a jacket lining or in pet beds. It’s perfect for bathrobes, baby blankets, throws, or even unique costumes.
Sherpa blanket maintenance
Sherpa blanket soft—how to get it back?
Is keeping Sherpa blankets soft easy? How to keep your fuzzy blanket soft forever?
The best solution to make Sherpa blanket soft again is by washing it with white vinegar.
White vinegar is safe for this delicate blanket, yet it’s effective enough to loosen the fibers and restore the blanket. You can also brush the clumped material.
Sherpa blanket matted
To remove matting from your Sherpa blanket, brush it.
Matted Sherpa calls for removing the buildup of fibers in a Sherpa blanket to restore its softness.
Take a brush or Tangle Teezer, and follow the steps below.
1. You need the blanket to be damp, so the fibers are elastic and easier to fluff up.
2. Brush the blanket in sections using gentle circular motions to loosen the fibers.
3. Every time you notice the clumps, target them by pressing deeper. Then, lift the brush away to draw the fibers outward. To loosen bigger chunks, shake the brush.
4. Keep brushing until the whole blanket gets fluffy again.
Use this method for the matted Sherpa blankets, which lost their fluffy texture.
Important: To protect your blanket from shedding, be gentle with brushing.
Wash Sherpa blanket
To make your Sherpa fleece blanket clean, wash it in a washing machine, but don’t overdo it.
Toss your blanket into the washing machine not more often than once every four weeks.
How to wash Sherpa blanket?
Should you use cold or warm water to wash a Sherpa blanket?
The crucial rule in the machine wash process when Sherpa blankets are involved is to remember to use cold water.
Heat can damage your blankets irreversibly.
Cold water doesn’t cause any undue stress on synthetic fibers.
Choose a gentle detergent with no add-ins like fabric softener or bleach.
Also, too much of a fabric softener can cause residue that can evoke shedding on the blanket surface.
All in all, to make sure your blanket gets out safe from the washing machine, wash Sherpa on a cold cycle with mild detergent.
Important: Wash your blanket regularly, but not more than once a month, to avoid complications like fading, shedding, pilling, or matting.
What about a hand wash? Is it also a solution?
You can wash Sherpa fabric in cool water both by hand and in a washer.
Whether you decide to go for hand washing or the delicate cycle of a washing machine, both methods decrease the amount of friction the fabric must sustain.
The slight friction can cause little thread bobbles called pills on the blanket surface.
Drying
Remember to avoid hot drying. Pick the coolest setting if you have to put it in the tumble dryer. When possible, choose only an air-dry method.
Keep your Sherpa blankets damage-free by avoiding dryers as fire.
Just hang it up on a clothesline—air-drying is gentle and ideal for a Sherpa fleece blanket.
The only downside of air dry is that it can take even 24 hours. Speed the process up by adding more air from a fan.
If you decide to use a standard dryer, remember that settings should be at their lowest.
Turn the drying machine on the tumble cycle because heat and synthetic fibers don’t mix well, and with the tumble drying cycle, there’s very little heat involved.
Important: In the worst case, your Sherpa blanket can even melt from the heat in a dryer!
In the tumble cycle, the dryer tosses the blanket around the barrel to keep it moving. There is only a little heat, and its job is to help evaporate existing moisture.
Pilling
If you notice little balls that have developed on your blanket, that is what we know as pilling. To remove them, you can use a fabric shaver.
What is it, and where does it come from?
Pilling is when there is an entanglement between tiny balls of lint in the ends of the fleece fibers.
Pilling builds up over time and appears as an effect of friction against linty items like
- towels,
- the sides of the washer and dryer, etc.
You need to use an electric fabric or sweater shaver to remove it.
Tip: Run a disposable razor over the surface of the blanket if you don’t have other suitable tools.
Use only light pressure—you don’t want to cut or scar the fabric.
When pills drop to the table or floor, it’s an excellent method to wrap the wide tape around your hand with the sticky side pointing out and dab it. This quick action will prevent the pills from returning to the Sherpa blanket.
Stain and residues spot
Sherpa blanket’s routine washing is necessary to keep it fresh and clean, but what if you spot a stain on your favorite fuzzy blanket?
The first thing to do: panic!
Just kidding, let’s get down to business and remove this nasty spot.
Before washing the blanket, the first thing you need to do is take care of stains.
Do it before because a washing machine can push the substance deeper into the fibers.
By pretreating stains before the standard wash cycle, you lift the substance out rather than spreading it around the blanket.
Apply a mild dish soap on the affected area. It’s good to be generous here.
Let the dishwashing soap soak in the Sherpa material for about 10 minutes.
The soap will loosen the fibers and release the dirt.
After 10 minutes, blot the soap up with a paper towel. Do not rub the soap in as it could only push the stain deeper.
If necessary, use a delicate laundry stain remover for natural materials.
For proper maintenance avoid bleach and any other chlorine-based substances or chemicals. Harsh stain removers and chlorine will damage your Sherpa blanket over time.
If the stain on your Sherpa blanket is oil-based, it makes the issue more challenging.
To clean Sherpa of oily stains, sprinkle some cornstarch on it to absorb some of the oil for easy removal afterward.
Shedding and stretched fibers
If you have noticed that your Sherpa blanket sheds a lot or the fibers are stretched out, it’s a sign that you subject it to excessive heat.
Control the numbers on your washer and keep in mind that you should only wash your Sherpa lined blanket in cold water and don’t use a dryer or use it for a short period.
It would also be best to put the blanket in a laundry bag to keep it less agitated by the washer.
What about static cling?
Why does it occur, and how to deal with it?
Static cling is caused by a machine drying without a dryer sheet.
To fix it, put a clean tennis ball in the dryer with your Sherpa blanket next time you wash it.
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