How to Wash a Heat Pack (and Make It Last for Years)

This is the question I get more than any other, and it usually turns up a few years after somebody bought their first pack. Can I put it in the washing machine?

The short answer is no, not the filled part, not ever. But that doesn't mean you're stuck with a grubby heat pack. Here's how I look after mine, and what I tell customers who've had the same pack since 2015.

The one rule that matters

Water and grain don't mix. A lupin-filled inner bag that gets wet won't dry properly, because the moisture sits deep in the middle where air can't reach. What follows is mould, a sour smell, and a pack that has to be thrown out.

So the rule is simple. Never soak, machine wash or run water over the filled inner bag. That goes for every grain, seed or wheat pack, not just mine.

If your pack has a removable cover

Three of my packs are built for exactly this problem, with a separate outer cover that slips off. The Original, Frida and the Aussie Furry Friends range. It's also why those three are the ones I recommend for families, where a pack gets passed between four people in a week.

1. Slide the filled inner bag out and put it somewhere dry.
2. Machine wash the cover on cold, gentle cycle, with like colours. The prints are designer cotton and corduroy, so a hot wash will fade them and can shrink the cover enough that the inner won't fit back in.
3. Skip the dryer. Dry the cover flat, or on a line out of direct sun.
4. Put the inner back once the cover is completely dry.

If your pack doesn't have a cover

Most of my shapes are sewn as one piece, including the Medium neck and shoulder pack and the Boomerang. For those:

• Spot clean only. A barely damp cloth, a little wool wash or mild soap, and a light dab. Don't scrub, and don't let water pool anywhere.
• Dry it flat straight away, away from heat. And don't microwave a damp pack to hurry it along.
• Air it out once a month through winter. Half an hour somewhere breezy, out of direct sun, keeps the fabric fresh.

If a pack is well past spot cleaning, get in touch. I sew these myself, so a new outer cover in a fabric you choose is often possible.

Storing it between winters

Heat pack season in Australia runs roughly May to August, which means most packs sit in a cupboard for two thirds of the year. How you store it matters more than people expect.

• Somewhere dry and able to breathe. A linen cupboard is ideal.
• Never sealed in a plastic bag or an airtight tub. Grain gives off a small amount of moisture and it needs somewhere to go. Sealed storage is the most common cause of a musty pack by a long way.
• Keep it away from pantry moths. If you've had moths in the kitchen, a cotton bag with a bay leaf or a lavender sachet tucked in the cupboard is cheap insurance.
• Using it cold in summer? Pop it in a clean freezer bag first so it doesn't pick up freezer smells, and give it at least two hours.

One thing while we're here. My packs are filled with Australian lupin seed. Lupin is a recognised allergen and some people who react to peanuts react to lupin too. Keep the filling inside the bag, and if the inner ever tears, retire the pack rather than mending it at home.

Four signs it's time for a new one

Grain packs don't last forever. The filling slowly dries out with every heating, which is normal, and eventually it stops holding heat the way it used to. As a rule of thumb I suggest replacing a pack you use regularly about every three years.

1. It smells scorched even when it's cool. That's heat damage in the filling and it doesn't go away.
2. It doesn't stay warm. If a pack that used to give you forty minutes now gives you fifteen, the filling has dried out.
3. The grain feels powdery or crumbles between your fingers. Time's up.
4. Hot spots. If one section comes out noticeably hotter than the rest, the filling has shifted or broken down, and it isn't safe to keep heating.

Any of those four and it goes in the bin, not the microwave. A pack past its life is the main way grain packs cause fires.

Getting the most out of it

Two habits make the biggest difference to how long a pack lasts, and both are about heating rather than washing.

• Don't overheat it. Every extra thirty seconds dries the filling out faster. My full timings are in how long to heat a heat pack.
• Let it cool completely before reheating. Reheating a pack that's still warm is the fastest way to scorch it, and it's the number one reason packs die early.

Look after it and there's no reason a SpotPack shouldn't still be in your cupboard a decade from now. I've got customers still on their first pack from 2013, and customers on their fourth because they keep giving them away.

Ready for a new one, or a spare cover? Have a look at the range, or send me a message about a custom fabric.