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Blankets Review: UHaul blanket

Lauren326

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Hmmm..I only have 1 set, so they are being washed every 7-10 days. I am washing them in hot water though & put them on medium heat on the Dry setting. They have definatly shrunk, but seem to be staying put now :)
 

lissie

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So, I have been using the u haul pads for about 2 months or less. What I am finding out is that they are slowley disinigrating from washing. I keep finding very small holes in it & as I wash more, the holes are getting bigger & in more quanity. Anyone else noticing this?

Is your washer a top load or front load? When I was using a front load, I never have issues with the blankets. When I moved and have a top load washer (with an agitator in the middle), it caused the blankets to break and have small pieces of lint everywhere.
 

Holly&Fred

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I have a top-load dryer and I haven't noticed any problems yet with holes. I did have some shrinkage at first, which actually worked out well because I made the pads a little too big in anticipation of that. I'd definitely recommend washing them once before you make anything with them to account for the shrinkage, but I haven't noticed any shedding or holes. I wash mine on the normal cycle and I have an older washer that probably doesn't agitate them as much as a newer one on a heavier cycle would.
 

jenga122

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You could always just wash them on gentle cycle. You are just washing out urine so it doesn't stink. Really, it doesn't even matter if it stains even though you wouldn't notice it because the denim hides stuff very well.
I am sure that the blankets will break down over time no matter what you do though. They are a very soft material that is more like matted together than it is sewn into a blanket. I compare it to more like a particle board of the blanket world.
 

cam767

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Do you think that sewing a bottom layer so that the uhauls were sandwiched between the fleece and bottom layer would help protect them some? Or that it wouldn't matter?
 

jenga122

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I don't have a bottom layer like what you are talking. I have coroplast, 2 U-haul blankets sewn together, and then fleece on top.

I have only had it for a month but I haven't noticed any wear and tear from washing yet. I have 2 sets of the blankets though so really each one has only been used twice and washed 3 times I guess. Once before using and sewing and 2 times since then. Honestly, if they last me four months I think it will be a good value, six would be better obviously. But, $32 for 4 months of bedding is not a bad price and the convenience alone is worth it. Plus, it is recycled material so it is actually a decent product on top of everything else too.
 

Kimberly713

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I am leaning towards buying one of these, I mean $8 for a 68" x 85" pad? GOOD DEAL! I won't be sewing anything together though, I can't sew for my life haha, and our washer is like 80yrs old and a crappy top load so it will probably destroy it fairly quickly. So even if I get a month out of one, $8 a month for bedding is a steal!
 

Onetwo

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I noticed you all said that the uhaul blankets "dry quicky" but how quickly? My fleece dries in Medium heat in about 15 minutes and my towels take 70-80 minutes which means I need to put in extra quarters. Can anyone tell me minutes to dry or equate it to how long your fleece dry like "dries before fleece" "takes twice as long as fleece". Also how is everyones uhaul blankets wearing now? I have so many towels its nuts. I got them free off of CL. Most of them are all screwy thought. They have/had like cotton detail running along the sides and that shrunk faster than the rest of towel so all the towels are buckeled and dont lay flat. I ended up cutting this screwy part off which left me with half towels and I need to layer them like bricks along my cage. This sucks because then I have bumps and valleys when I am trying to brush the fleece.. I have had them for 2 years now and they are starting to get wholy and threadbear. So I need to find something new eventually. It does sound like a great idea I just didnt really know what you ment by uhaul blankets because the moving blankets my dad uses for his furniture company is like a really thick quilt. They are probably about 60 inches square and about 40lbs each and about 1 1/2inches thick. I knew that the apartment dryers would take FOREVER to dry that which is why I never read this thread. Its awesome that these blankets are more like felt thickness and weight.
 

jenga122

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They definitely take longer to dry than fleece does. We dry them in one cycle on our dryer but if they bunch up it may take longer. As far as trying to guess how long it would take in an apartment drier I guess it would all depend on how large the drier is and how much air actually gets to it.

I would think it would be close to taking the same amount of time as doing towels but you don't have to do them but once a week. I don't know how often you wash your towels but it seems that the U-Haul blanket stay "fresher" longer. Just seems like they don't start smelling as soon as towels.
 

Kimberly713

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I just got mine in today. No fleece yet (its STILL processing since Jan 22nd :grumpy:) but I'm looking forward to setting it all up. These blankets are very thin. I bought 3 and hopefully they last awhile. I dont know how long theyd take to dry but they are made of denim and are pretty big so it would probably be about the same as towels or a little bit less. I don't think theres anything that dries like fleece besides fleece! lol
 

Thor-Loki's mom

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Ive been using the uhaul blankets since October now. I cut them to fit inside the bottom of my cage, I use two layers of uhaul and one layer of fleece on top of that. They arent sewn together,like my pee pads are, I wash and dry the fleece and uhaul blankets together and they are dry in about 30mins probably less...but sometimes I dont get to them to check before that.

I have not seen that my uhaul blankets are falling apart at all..at first they shed insane when I washed/dry them..but now theres minimal if any shedding at all off of them. There are some thinner spots, but I think thats due to the way they make them. Which is why I have always used two layers. I absolutely love the blankets! So much easier and I dont have to change them as often as towels, thats for sure!
 

Nicolene

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I'm very interested in the threads on how the blankets are holding up. I still have the same blankets I had when I started this thread and mine look exactly like they did the day I got them, they are only softer. We've had no shedding, not thinning and no holes. We wash ours in a tiny front loader on a quick, cold cycle, with "free" detergent and white vinegar. Then we dry them in a tiny dryer on a "sensing" cycle (it figures out how long it needs to dry) for maybe 30 min. On warm days I hang the layers over our balcony for an hour of so to dry in the sun. We had shrinkage on our first set because my hubby washed them and he tends to open the dryer when it is done and say, "damp" and turn it on for another 10 min. What he calls damp I call hot and if you take it out and let it cool down you realize that it is in fact dry. That's how he shrinks everything I buy at Old Navy (they're stuff shrinks like crazy). :)

I donated all my towels except one (for baths) to our humane society. Now all my bedding is neatly packed into one plastic tote.
 

Lauren326

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Onetwo-I wash & dry my fleece & uhaul blankets together (2 u-haul blankets & 2 fleece as I have 2 cages). I use the medium dry setting & it usually runs for 35 minutes. My fleece is completely dry & my u-haul blankets are mostly dry. There may be 1 or 2 damp spots, but I just put it in the cage & it dries in no time.
 

Lauren326

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Nicolene- My u-haul blankets are starting to get small holes in them from wear, although I don't notice thinning. Mine also still shed. When I take out the lint filter it is completely covered with a layer from the u-haul blankets...although it is not nearly as much as it was in the beginning. My u-haul blankets & fleece are NOT sewed together.

I wash mine in hot water & on heavily soiled with an extra rinse-so they wash for a good 2 hours. I use Ecos detergent & a small amount of vinegar. Then I dry them on medium heat on the normal setting which takes about 35 minutes. I also have front load machines. They are washed every 7-10 days.

I am also wondering how others are holding up.
 

Shahbazin

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I just use a regular wash cycle in an old top loading washing machine (warm/cold) using ALL Free & Clear liquid detergent, Uhaul felt, fleece, cozy cups & everthing (well shaken out). Then I throw them in the dryer, set on knits/gentle/low for an hour. When I first washed the Uhaul blankets, I did run them through by themselves on hot/cold with liquid detergent a couple of times to help tighten the felt (hot water, soap & agitation make felt); they shed like mad for 2 washings, a bit for the next two, & now I don't notice shedding (I washed them 2-3x before using). My fleece sort of clings to them, & the fleece edges are tucked under when in use, so I haven't bothered sewing stuff together. It takes the same time as a load with towels in it to dry for the felted blankets - by comparison, a couple of thick bath mats I have take an extra 20 min. I've not noticed any particular wear & tear - no holes or anything, although the felt itself is not exactly the same thickness throughout. The big pieces get washed every 5 days or so, the little scraps under their house, every other day (I change daily, but don't wash daily). So far, so good!
 

dJ dAb

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I bought two U-Haul blankets today and are giving them a few washes to ensure sizing, as I plan to sew them into liners. Also, I purchased a 2 fleece bundle from Joann fabrics that cost me only $15 total (2 yards each. So I think that's $3.75 a yard). I'm currently giving them a few washes too with free detergent. Hopefully they'll wick ok shortly. I'll post my progress asap.

Can't wait to give my three little piggies cage a fleece makeover!
 

danav

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I've only been using the blankets for maybe 3 weeks or so now. Mine shed a LOT - the dryer lint filter is covered in a thick layer, and there is lint on the inside of the dryer & door whenever I have dried them, plus balls of lint all over the blanket. I washed some fleece with a blanket once and blanket lint got all over the fleece, so now I wash them separately. But I do like the way they are functioning and hopefully the lint will gradually ease off as they are washed & dried more.
 

Thor-Loki's mom

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After a few washings for me they stopped "shedding". The lint gobs were insane at first, I'm talking a child size fist of blueish gray lint balls! After I washed them quite a few times by themselves I started washing them with my fleece as well. No issues at all with them w/ the fleece. I wash, total in one load, the fleece cover, 2 (2x4 size) Uhaul blankets, and usually 3 or 4 pee pads. I wash everything twice tho..I am kinda anal about the smell of pee. So it all gets washed twice w/ vinegar also.

I love it tho! The uhaul blankets, at least for me, have held up so well !

Oh and I have to add... I am probably the worst person for doing laundry! I put them on hot and extra heavy cycle both times I wash them and toss them in the dryer on the "cotton" setting...its the only one I have ever used..yea I dont iron either rofl..anyway they are on the cotton setting for at least 40mins , sometimes longer if I wanna "fluff" em up after I have forgotten to take them out, due to cuddling w/ the piggie :)
 

Hdale85

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Well, I got the Uhaul pads, and because a few people here said they don't shrink I cut them to size. Well guess what, they shrunk by about an inch on each side. They sure shed a lot and seem a lot thinner as far as density once they've been washed? Starting to think about something else to use as I wanted to sew them all up into pads but if they shrink it's hard to do.
 

itzmeigh

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I think maybe mine did shrink a little. Maybe an inch. But then I don't know... I know they come out of the wash all wrinkled and I don't bother so smooth them out so I'm not convinced that isn't where a little bit of my size goes to. But I didn't cut mine to size. But mine don't shed. Not at all. And I even just cut raw edges. I haven't sewn anything.

It almost makes me wonder if maybe there are different qualities to these blankets and it is a bit of a crap shoot about what you will get... But then I also ordered 3 at once and I can't tell a difference in any of the 3 of mine so I don't know...
 
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