Garden & Home Reviews is reader-supported. We earn affiliate commissions from qualifying purchases — how this works.

How to Wash a Weighted Blanket

Home/Resources/Bedding & Sleep/Washing a Weighted Blanket
DH
Written & researched by Derek Holt Home & Appliances Editor
Updated August 2026
Low-angle view of a person smoothing a duvet across a made bed, in soft overcast light

Affiliate Disclosure

Some links on this page are affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate, we earn from qualifying purchases — at no extra cost to you. We do not buy, test, or physically handle the products we cover; our rankings come from aggregated owner reviews, ratings and expert consensus. Commissions never change our verdicts. How we rank · full disclosure.

Washing a weighted blanket is a simple laundry task, but it comes with two hard rules: only machine wash if the care label allows it, and only if the blanket is light enough for your machine, roughly under 15 to 20 pounds. Heavier blankets go to a large commercial machine or get spot cleaned, because the soaked weight can damage a home washer. There is no cost beyond detergent. The safest long-term approach is a removable duvet cover you launder often, so the heavy inner blanket rarely needs a full wash at all.

How to Wash Your Weighted Blanket the Right Way — Real Simple

Step-by-step: washing it safely

  1. Read the care label first. Confirm whether the blanket is machine washable and note the fill type. Glass beads tolerate washing better than plastic pellets, which dislike heat.
  2. Check the weight against your machine. If the blanket is over about 15 to 20 pounds, use a large commercial machine at a laundromat or spot clean instead of your home washer.
  3. Pre-treat stains. Dab spots with a little mild detergent and cold water before washing, so you can avoid a full wash for a small stain.
  4. Wash cold and gentle. Use a gentle or bulky cycle with cold to lukewarm water and a mild liquid detergent. Skip bleach and fabric softener, which degrade fabric and fill.
  5. Balance the load. Wash the blanket on its own so it can move freely and the machine stays balanced during the spin.
  6. Dry on low or air-dry. If the label allows the dryer, use low or no heat and pause to redistribute the beads. Otherwise air-dry it flat over racks so the weight is supported and seams are not stressed while wet.
  7. Redistribute the fill. As it dries, shake and smooth the blanket so beads settle evenly back into their channels rather than bunching in corners.
  8. Cover it going forward. Fit a removable duvet cover so you can wash the cover often and the heavy blanket rarely.
Wide view of a person smoothing a duvet across a made bed, in soft early-morning light

Tools and materials

You need a mild liquid detergent, access to a machine that can handle the blanket's weight (or a laundromat for a heavy one), and a couple of drying racks or a large flat space for air-drying. A removable duvet cover is the accessory that saves the blanket. If your weighted blanket has lost its comfort or the fill has clumped for good, it may be time to refresh the wider bedding; our comforter roundup covers year-round options, a mattress topper adds the cozy layer many weighted-blanket users pair with it, and a supportive mattress in a box rounds out a sleep upgrade.

Wide environmental view of a person smoothing a duvet across a made bed, in warm late-afternoon light

Mistakes to avoid

We never buy, test or physically handle the products we rank. Recommendations come from aggregated owner reviews, star ratings, review volume and expert consensus — see how we rank.

More from this hub: Bedding & Sleep · Fluffing a mattress topper · Assembling a platform bed frame · Best comforters · How we rank

Straight Answers

Frequently Asked

Can you put a weighted blanket in the washing machine?

Sometimes, and only if two conditions are met: the care label says machine washable, and the blanket weighs less than your machine's capacity. A common guideline is that a home washer handles a weighted blanket up to about 15 to 20 pounds, while heavier blankets should go to a large commercial machine at a laundromat or be spot cleaned, because the extra weight sloshing in the drum can damage the machine's bearings and drum. Always check the label first. Glass-bead fills generally tolerate washing better than plastic-pellet fills, which can melt in hot water or a hot dryer, so match the method to your specific blanket.

How often should you wash a weighted blanket?

If you use a removable duvet cover on the weighted blanket, wash the cover every one to two weeks like normal bedding and wash the heavy inner blanket itself only every couple of months or when soiled, which is far easier on both the blanket and your machine. Without a cover, wash the whole blanket every few weeks to a month depending on use. Spot clean spills as they happen rather than washing the entire heavy blanket for a small stain. The less often you fully wash the weighted inner layer, the longer its stitching and fill last, which is exactly why a duvet cover is worth using.

What temperature should you wash a weighted blanket?

Use cold or lukewarm water, generally up to about 40 degrees Fahrenheit to warm but not hot, on a gentle cycle, unless the care label specifies otherwise. Hot water can damage the fill, especially plastic poly-pellets that soften with heat, and can shrink or weaken the fabric and stitching that hold the beads in their pockets. Use a mild liquid detergent and skip fabric softener and bleach, which coat or degrade the fabric and fill over time. Cold and gentle protects the internal bead channels, which are the part that fails when a weighted blanket is washed too aggressively.

Can you put a weighted blanket in the dryer?

Only if the label allows it, and then only on low or no heat (air fluff), because high heat can melt plastic-pellet fills and damage fabric. Many weighted blankets are best air-dried flat, draped over two drying racks or laid out so the weight is supported and the beads are not pulling on wet, weakened seams. If you do machine dry a label-approved blanket, use low heat, pause to redistribute the beads, and add clean dry towels or dryer balls to help it tumble evenly. Air-drying is slower but is the safest way to protect the fill and the internal stitching from heat damage.

Why should you not wash a heavy weighted blanket in a home machine?

Because the concentrated weight, especially once it is waterlogged, can exceed what a residential washer's drum and bearings are built to spin, leading to an unbalanced, banging cycle and, over time, real damage to the machine. A 20-pound blanket soaked with water is far heavier and it does not distribute evenly like clothes do, so it slams to one side during the spin. That is why the guidance is to take blankets over roughly 15 to 20 pounds to a large-capacity commercial machine at a laundromat, or to spot clean and air them instead. A duvet cover lets you avoid washing the heavy layer often at all.