What's the fabric type of the blanket?

One is a cotton/wool blend and the other a cotton/alpaca blend (Brahms Mount).

Thank You..that info will help the Miele users.

FWIW, I use the Handwash/Wool cycle in my washer (FL LG) to wash all my wool and cashmere sweaters with no ill effects. I have also used that same cycle to wash some more structured wool garments (pants, skirts).

If it was me, I would wash it but YMMV. Keep in mind that if you wash the blanket, you will need to hang it to dry.

Thanks for the input. I, too, use the hand-wash cycle to wash all wool and cashmere garments, but was unsure of large blankets.

And be careful of detergent choice as it can have a huge impact.

Capacity may be an issue with a large blanket. Check the maximum load size for a wool cycle in your machine. It is usually much smaller than a regular cycle load.

Mamapinky is correct about detergents - you need a detergent with no enzymes. I use Vaska for my woolens and cashmere. It works very well.

Does Vaska have fragrance? I've been searching for a product as gentle as Miele's wool care but without the aroma.

Also I should add..wool should be laid flat to dry, wool stretches very easily and hanging a heavy, wet blanket is going to cause major stretching

I don't know that Miele's machine spells out a different weight for the hand-wash mode. It would be a queen-size blanket.

When I last bought it (a couple of years ago), Vaska came in unscented and scented variety. The scented variety has a natural lavender scent, nothing artificial. The unscented had no added fragrance. I also have Vaska Baby Detergent which I use for wool and delicates. It's not scented.

As to the load size, because of the way the wool cycle is designed, typically you can only wash a few items at a time because the items mostly just sit in the bottom of the drum soaking in a pool of water with very limited drum movement (no lifting and dropping, just gentle rocking motion back and forth). So you need to make sure that there is enough water for the blanket to be completely saturated. Depending on thickness, a queen blanket may be too large. I have washed hand knitted wool throws in my LG but they are much smaller than a queen size blanket would be.

Do you have a washable blanket of a similar size and thickness that you could try washing on the Hand Wash cycle? That will help you determine if it's feasible to wash a similar wool and cotton blanket.

EVe..does your machine sense how much water to add for the wool setting? Or is it a one size fits all lol. I wondered how the wool cycle worked as far as the action goes, that sounds good as wool should have as little movement as possible.

A queen size blanket should be no problem. I would use the Wool cycle. Would not use Handwash with that volume. Wash one blanket at a time.

Vaska liquid is extremely concentrated. I cannot use it at all. I wouldn't suggest it for this task.

I do use Vaska tabs. I would use 1 unscented Vaska tab per blanket. They have no enzymes. I used a bit of one today for a load with a very cold cashmere sweater and wool sox. The sweater came out like new. I've had it since the early 90s.

Wash on cold.

Then I would run a Fluff cycle and see how the blanket comes out. I would fold it in quarters and let it dry on a large terry towel unfolding as the sections dry.

I've washed a cashmere throw like that.

MamaP - not sure how the water level sensing works on the wool cycle. It may be a set amount. I know that when I once tried to wash too many sweaters at the same time, some parts of the load stayed dry. The instructions say to only do a few at a time. I can generally wash 4-6 easily, depending on how thick they are.

As far as the action, the wool cycle is designed very well. I use it very often (I wear lots of wool and cashmere sweaters in the winter) and I never had anything felt or shrink. And they come out nice and clean. I stopped taking anything to the dry cleaners except for highly structured jackets.

I just wanted to add that in my machine there is just one Hand Wash/Wool cycle (it has a woolmark logo on it). So I use the terms interchangeably. If your machine has separate Hand Wash and Wool cycles, then I agree with rococogurl about using the Wool cycle. Do not use the Delicates cycle as that has too much tossing and spinning for wool.

Thank you Eve.

Remember however you choose to wet wash the blanket..no enzymes or bleach and the blanket must be covered in water for more of a soak instead of actual movement. Thats all that's required to clean wool. Oh and no ammonia..the stuff is to harsh for wool...some people swear it makes wool more fluffy and it does, it breaks tiny fibers that than fluff up giving an appearance of being fluffy..read this in my woolen washing reading somewhere. LOL.

Vaska seems to work well for some people while for others it creates excessive sudsing (rococogurl and others here). I have used Vaska for a number of years and really like it. I get no sudsing from it in my machine and I love using it for woolens and cashmere. It is especially good in getting rid of deodorant residue. It is also great for washing dark loads as it is very gentle and causes no fading. But, again, depending on your water chemistry, it may or may not work for you.

Thanks all.

rococogurl, I know you KNOW Miele so I'll risk the purchase and look up Vaska tabs.

I have washed and dried Dry Clean Only items safely and perfectly in many Miele washers & dryers...Wool and Hand wash cycles. For wool, just make sure your detergent has no enzymes and dry on Gentle/lowest temp setting. Hang dry to complete drying after partially drying via tumble dryer.

Vaska has been added to my permanent NEVER list. It just suds, suds and suds for me and is near impossible to rinse. Items smell good and most stains removed, but the amount of suds and water needed to rinse it out is just not worth it.

@doggonedeb - Something Izeve said made me check the cheat sheet. Wool cycle is a medium fill. It fills from the bottom and water comes up only to the gasket.

So I'm going to revise and suggest using the Pillows cycle which has gentle agitation, high water level, a spin to even the blanket in the beginning and 3 rinses.

Can't go wrong either way but pillows may be best for a queen blanket.

Don't want to cost you money but Vaska tabs are useful because they are super crumbly. It's easy to break in half. If you think you have soft water then go with a half. But I used a whole one in a big towel load and it didn't oversuds at all and my water is so soft I can get ghostbusters if I'm not careful. The cold water also will help that.

I would use the wool cycle. I think the pillow cycle only has hotter wash temps IIRC. I think the medium fill will work, the fabric will absorb the water and will disperse throughout the fabric I bet. I also think the pillow cycle is more agitating than the wool.

Of course I don't have the machines but remember movement is what causes wool to shrink..so whatever cycle has the least movement, and that should be the wool cycle should be used. ...movement is even more important than water temp when it comes to wool.

mamapinky speaks the truth! :-) I am a life long knitter who loves to work with natural fibers so I have lots of experience washing wool. What causes wool to shrink (felt) is primarily friction coming from agitation and sudden changes in temperature. So it's not just hot water (you could soak wool in hot water and it wouldn't felt if you didn't add agitation or shock it with a cold water bath). I would advise against using the Pillow cycle because it's likely going to be too violent for your blanket. Wool cycles are designed to have very gentle action - mine consists primarily of gentle rocking of the drum (not a full turn) and long periods of just soaking.

izeve - does alkalinity play a role in felting or is it strictly temperature?

Thanks Eve...and yes that's another thing rinse water needs to be same as wash temp, you can't wash that wool in hot or even warm than flush with cold.

Alkalinity (detergent) is a factor, but believe me when I say that it is possible to felt wool without it :-)

Haha...and haven't we all at one time or another.

Thru the years I've heard a lot of people mention how great Ammonia is for wool..I mentioned this before but ammonia is NOT something to launder wool in...yes it does make wool fluffy, but only because it breaks the fibers, the tiny broken fibers pop up giving the appearance of *fluffy*.

Have I mentioned I can't stand the feel of wool LOL, but sandwhiched between 2 flat sheets or in a duvet cover its heavenly warm on a cold night.

I have washed Brahms Mount
cotton blankets using the pillow cycle on my Miele 3037 and a Brahms Mount wool
blanket using the handwash cycle. I put
the cotton blankets in the dryer on medium and removed them while still damp to
finish drying neatly folded. The dryer
was not used for the wool blanket.
Washing them this way was successful.

I have not been brave enough
to try washing an alpaca/cotton throw.
My concern is that the two fibers may react differently to the same
agitation/water temperature/detergent/etc.
Perhaps you should talk to someone at Brahms Mount to find out why dry cleaning
is recommended. Also, they may have positive
or negative feedback from customers who have tried washing the blended
products.

Well, the OP has the range of suggestions/experience. I did wash a twin wool blanket but that was a while ago and can't recall.

At worst, using the wool cycle, if the sensors don't kick in and raise the water level and it doesn't fully saturate it could be run through again. Not ideal but I haven't found it easy to go wrong with the machine.

Have ordered the Vaska tabs. Will experiment with old wool blanket first, after watching cycles.

Tucker, what detergents did you use for your Brahms blankets?

We have a water softener so water to 0.

Often times things are marked dry clean only because of the instability of the dyes, the marking may have nothing to do with the fiber content. If you determine that the dye did run, be prepared to run a load or two afterwards using something that you don't care if it turns colors-like rags.