Bedspread solution for hairy, dirty dog
October 23, 2018 8:03 PM Subscribe
I need to find bedding that doesn't show either dog hair or dirt/paw prints/general dinginess.
My dog has long, light tan hair. I don't think she is particularly dirty, but you know, she's a dog and comes in and out a lot with no shoes. She also likes to lick her paws for a bit at night, and gets saliva on the bed, argh. She doesn't have that oily feel or "doggy smell" to her coat that a lot of dogs have. Her fur is more like wispy soft hair, her skin tends to be dry, and I bathe her as needed but she really never smells or feels bad to the touch.
Things I have tried:
-White textured cotton bedspread: haha, NOPE : (
-Cream smooth duvet cover with colorful floral pattern on it: pretty good, though it still got noticeably dingy
-Navy textured duvet cover: hid dirt, showed ALL THE HAIR and it stuck in the weave
Cream linen-texture comforter: got dingy immediately (and also doesn't really fit in my washer)
Things that might work:
-Some sort of special anti-dog-hair fabric I could get in a darker color
-Some type of special dirt/body oil repelling fabric I could get in a lighter color
-Some type of bedspread that is both warm and pretty but also compact enough to wash easily in my smallish washing machine
-???
Please don't suggest:
-Keeping the dog off the bed: I love sleeping with her and we spoon every night.
-Wrestling a duvet cover off/on to wash it more often than once a month. Ain't nobody got time for that.
Dog owners of Metafilter, how do you keep your beds clean?!
My dog has long, light tan hair. I don't think she is particularly dirty, but you know, she's a dog and comes in and out a lot with no shoes. She also likes to lick her paws for a bit at night, and gets saliva on the bed, argh. She doesn't have that oily feel or "doggy smell" to her coat that a lot of dogs have. Her fur is more like wispy soft hair, her skin tends to be dry, and I bathe her as needed but she really never smells or feels bad to the touch.
Things I have tried:
-White textured cotton bedspread: haha, NOPE : (
-Cream smooth duvet cover with colorful floral pattern on it: pretty good, though it still got noticeably dingy
-Navy textured duvet cover: hid dirt, showed ALL THE HAIR and it stuck in the weave
Cream linen-texture comforter: got dingy immediately (and also doesn't really fit in my washer)
Things that might work:
-Some sort of special anti-dog-hair fabric I could get in a darker color
-Some type of special dirt/body oil repelling fabric I could get in a lighter color
-Some type of bedspread that is both warm and pretty but also compact enough to wash easily in my smallish washing machine
-???
Please don't suggest:
-Keeping the dog off the bed: I love sleeping with her and we spoon every night.
-Wrestling a duvet cover off/on to wash it more often than once a month. Ain't nobody got time for that.
Dog owners of Metafilter, how do you keep your beds clean?!
What a cutie!
We use a textured cream duvet cover, but critically we cover the foot of the bed with a smaller quilt and generally push our Maggie to sleep on that part. It’s not a strictly enforced rule, but I’d say she’s on her quilt about 75% of the time. That blanket is easier to wash even in our mini-size washer, and this works for us.
posted by samthemander at 8:14 PM on October 23, 2018 [1 favorite]
We use a textured cream duvet cover, but critically we cover the foot of the bed with a smaller quilt and generally push our Maggie to sleep on that part. It’s not a strictly enforced rule, but I’d say she’s on her quilt about 75% of the time. That blanket is easier to wash even in our mini-size washer, and this works for us.
posted by samthemander at 8:14 PM on October 23, 2018 [1 favorite]
My partner introduced me to the hotel method of making up a bed, which might work. We use a flat sheet, topped with a naked quilt, then a coverlet over the top. The coverlet is light and easy to wash, and the quilt is kept clean as it's sandwiched between the sheet and top cover. Our dog loves to lick her paws/the bed, so it's nice and easy to wash and then just throw the coverlet back on the bed.
posted by Youremyworld at 8:16 PM on October 23, 2018
posted by Youremyworld at 8:16 PM on October 23, 2018
Our solution has just been to put an old flat sheet on top of the bedspread (or at least the lower half). (We have several so they can be rotated.) Much easier to wash, and if they get stained, not really a big deal.
posted by litera scripta manet at 8:17 PM on October 23, 2018 [4 favorites]
posted by litera scripta manet at 8:17 PM on October 23, 2018 [4 favorites]
We use the top flat sheet method, plus I have a pair of $10 thin microplush (kind of like stuffed animal fur) throws from Bed Bath and Beyond (they're pumpkin-colored, which is a nice generic dirt color and also roughly the color of my dog) that I use to extra-cover the part of my side of the bed the stinkiest dog sleeps on the second I leave the room. They're all easy to wash.
My favorite winter top sheet/coverlet is actually an empty duvet cover, it's nice and heavy and adds a little extra layer of warmth, plus it doesn't want to move around much.
posted by Lyn Never at 8:41 PM on October 23, 2018
My favorite winter top sheet/coverlet is actually an empty duvet cover, it's nice and heavy and adds a little extra layer of warmth, plus it doesn't want to move around much.
posted by Lyn Never at 8:41 PM on October 23, 2018
Prints will likely hide stains best
posted by raccoon409 at 9:38 PM on October 23, 2018
posted by raccoon409 at 9:38 PM on October 23, 2018
Are you aware of the burrito method for putting a duvet cover back on?
posted by ShooBoo at 10:23 PM on October 23, 2018 [6 favorites]
posted by ShooBoo at 10:23 PM on October 23, 2018 [6 favorites]
Thirding some sort of plush microfiber-type thing. Easy to wash, and pets love the feel of them. Marshall’s and its sister stores usually have a good assortment of them.
posted by MexicanYenta at 11:06 PM on October 23, 2018
posted by MexicanYenta at 11:06 PM on October 23, 2018
My two huge dogs have short tan hair and I feel your pain. I found a beige comforter with a large scale pattern to hide the most of the dog dinginess. Texture didn’t matter.
posted by pintapicasso at 2:24 AM on October 24, 2018
posted by pintapicasso at 2:24 AM on October 24, 2018
We also have a tan dog (pug!) and although she doesn't seem dirty, she sure leaves hair and dirt on the bedspread!
We have a light weight coverlet from IKEA that we put on top of our regular one, and pull it off once a week and replace it with the spare. She sleeps on top of that, but it is mostly large enough to cover the duvet in any case.
posted by needlegrrl at 4:49 AM on October 24, 2018
We have a light weight coverlet from IKEA that we put on top of our regular one, and pull it off once a week and replace it with the spare. She sleeps on top of that, but it is mostly large enough to cover the duvet in any case.
posted by needlegrrl at 4:49 AM on October 24, 2018
Also chiming in to recommend the plush microfiber blanket. Specifically we use The Big One Supersoft Plush Blanket from Kohl's. I have a lot of different microfiber throws all over the house and this brand washes better than the others I have - it stays plush and doesn't hold on to the cat fur. The king size fits easily in my home washer.
posted by Ann Telope at 4:59 AM on October 24, 2018
posted by Ann Telope at 4:59 AM on October 24, 2018
Flat sheet over everything for us, or duvet cover laid on top of the duvet, swapped out once a week at minimum (occasionally swapped out 15 minutes after we change it). Also a sheet on the sofa!
posted by Sweetie Darling at 5:52 AM on October 24, 2018
posted by Sweetie Darling at 5:52 AM on October 24, 2018
Plaid! Also, use a rubber glove to sweep your hand across and remove hair. Takes just a minute so it can be frequent.
posted by wellred at 6:45 AM on October 24, 2018
posted by wellred at 6:45 AM on October 24, 2018
Pattern is your friend. We have a white and a red haired dog. I only notice excessive dog hair on our green and tan floral duvet cover when I get random dog hair in my chapsticked lips at night (ugh).
posted by sarajane at 8:32 AM on October 24, 2018
posted by sarajane at 8:32 AM on October 24, 2018
This took some getting used to, but my now-husband HATES sheets so we've only ever slept with a comforter. I run hot so we bought a Buffy. It has all kinds of environmental accolades but we love it because it seems to repel pet hair AND it's a whole comforter that can be easily washed and dried, no duvet required.
posted by le_salvo at 10:18 AM on October 24, 2018
posted by le_salvo at 10:18 AM on October 24, 2018
Definitely prints hide dog hair/slobber a lot better than solids. Even just a medium-dark damask stripe.
Changing the duvet cover is definitely a pain. If part of the issue is down feathers flying everywhere, you can get an allergen-protecting cover for the comforter itself and then put the duvet cover over that. That contains the feathers when you change the cover.
posted by radioamy at 10:47 AM on October 24, 2018
Changing the duvet cover is definitely a pain. If part of the issue is down feathers flying everywhere, you can get an allergen-protecting cover for the comforter itself and then put the duvet cover over that. That contains the feathers when you change the cover.
posted by radioamy at 10:47 AM on October 24, 2018
I get the plush microfiber blankets with a texture. They look like this. They're soft and warm and I have 3-4 so that I can layer them in winter and have enough to swap them out for washing without leaving the bed uncovered. I get mine at Costco and they're usually $20-30. I also got one for the couch.
posted by quince at 11:39 AM on October 24, 2018
posted by quince at 11:39 AM on October 24, 2018
We use matelasse coverlets for this. I have three and the coverlet gets tossed in the wash weekly when I change sheets - having three instead of two helps with muddy paw emergencies. Ours are all earthy tones which seem to hide the worst of the hair and grime.
posted by hilaryjade at 6:21 PM on October 24, 2018
posted by hilaryjade at 6:21 PM on October 24, 2018
These Orvis Dog Blankets are great. Orvis is expensive but everything I've had from them has been very high quality and still looks like new. They also do a dog doormat that definitely helps get rid of dirt on paws.
posted by tardigrade at 12:40 PM on October 25, 2018
posted by tardigrade at 12:40 PM on October 25, 2018
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by The otter lady at 8:09 PM on October 23, 2018 [1 favorite]