Textile care FAQ
1. How often can I wash my stable clothes? Is there such a thing as too much?
2. What is the best way to remove horse hair?
3. How can I prevent horse hair from collecting in my washing machine?
4. Lint alarm – how do I prevent my fabrics from forming lint?
5. What is the best way to store my rain jacket if I won’t be wearing it for a long time?
6. How long does the impregnation of a soft shell jacket/rain jacket last?
7. How can I protect the seat of my riding breeches?
9. How do I get my down jacket fluffy again?
1. How often can I wash my stable clothes? Is there such a thing as too much?
For outdoor and functional clothing, the general rule of thumb is: as often as necessary, as rarely as possible. Washing too often can have a negative effect on the protective coating of the clothing and thus protect the rider less from weather-related influences. For light soiling, therefore, a simple wash with a sponge or damp cloth is sufficient. However, riding clothes are exposed to sweat, dirt, body fats (e.g. tallow from horse hair) and ammonia. Therefore, you will not be able to avoid a wash cycle. For this, please take a look at our step-by-step care instructions for functional textiles.
2. What is the best way to remove horse hair?
To prevent the magnetic attraction of horse hair, you should wear smooth clothing when grooming horses. Horse hair attaches itself especially to fleece and transitional jackets. An animal hair remover that reliably removes horse hair from clothing, saddle pads, rugs and upholstery is suitable for removal.
Hook-and-loop fasteners can be cleaned and made functional again with a special brush with fine metal bristles.
After washing and drying, the clothes should be shaken out to loosen the last hairs.
3. How can I prevent horse hair from collecting in my washing machine?
Before washing, the clothes should be cleaned of loose horse hair as much as possible. Despite careful cleaning before the wash cycle, horse hair can end up in the washing machine. To prevent clogging of the lint filter, the riding clothes should be placed in a sealable microfibre bag or an old duvet cover with a zip. The lint filter should also be cleaned regularly.
4. Lint alarm – how do I prevent my fabrics from forming lint?
In everyday stable life, there is often friction that damages the textile fibres and roughens them up. This reduces the longevity and functionality of the clothing. The following steps can limit the formation of lint.
- Wash similar materials together
- Wash similar colours together, as light fibres and lint, for example, are more likely to be seen on dark clothing.
- Wash inside out
- Avoid friction in the washing machine by closing/covering hook-and-loop fasteners, hooks and buttons. A laundry bag can be used for this purpose.
- Care for fibres before they lint. This means following the care label and treating the material according to its needs (see our step-by-step care instructions).
- Keep the washing machine clean to avoid irritating the fibres. Especially after washing riding gear, use an extra cleaning cycle.
- Avoid tumble dryer if necessary as heat and friction can cause damage to fibres. The electrical charge attracts lint.
5. What is the best way to store my rain jacket if I am not going to wear it for a long time?
The rain jacket, regardless of whether it is made of wax-cotton or soft shell, should always be stored hanging and as free of creases as possible. It should also be cleaned and dried according to the care label before storage.
6. How long does the impregnation of a soft shell jacket/rain jacket last?
When the soft shell jacket/rain jacket needs to be impregnated can be found out by a simple test: Hold the textile under a cold stream of water. If the water beads off, the impregnation is still sufficient. However, if the outer material becomes saturated with water, the DWR impregnation should be renewed.
You can find out how to reactivate or renew the impregnation of your riding clothes in our step-by-step care instructions under point 7.
7. How can I protect the seat of my riding breeches?
It will not be possible to prevent the strong friction during riding. However, the longevity of the seat can be increased by appropriate care.
Jodhpurs with genuine leather trim should only be washed at 30°C and then treated with a moisturising lotion.
Most jodhpurs have a synthetic leather seat, which should not be exposed to direct sunlight in addition to the care prescribed in the label. Also, creases (when stored in the wardrobe) should be avoided.
You do not need to pay special attention to the silicone in grip trousers when washing them. Turn your grip breeches inside out before washing, like any other breeches with synthetic leather trim, to protect the silicone print.
8. I have fallen and my breeches have holes in them. Can I patch them or will that reduce the functionality?
In general, there is nothing wrong with patching the breeches. However, it is important to consider where the slit is located and what material the patch is made of. Rips at the knees in particular will quickly tear open again, even if patched, as the knee area is subject to a lot of stress. In addition, the patch must be made of stretch material like the breeches themselves, so that freedom of movement is still guaranteed. In addition, the risk of chafing must be taken into account with bulging seams and attached patches.
9. How do I get my down jacket fluffy again?
Put the down jacket in the dryer and add three tennis balls or dryer balls. These will prevent the feathers from sticking together. If you don’t have a dryer, you can air dry the down jacket and loosen up any lumps with your hands.