Review on Arcturus Plaid Wool Blankets - Heavy-Duty, Warm, Washable, And Large For Camping, Outdoors, Sporting Events, Or Home - 4.5Lbs by Lukundo Lim

. . . by which I mean that it's suitable for keeping in the car for emergencies or when a warm blanket might be needed. Some reviewers had complained about the smell, but it is not strong and does not bother me. It's a bit of spinning oil from the manufacturing process, but to me it smells like a wool blanket! If the smell bothers you, you could air it out on a clothesline out of direct sunlight. Denser fabric than I expected - not much drape, but again it's not a blanket to put on a bed. My immediate impulse with a new blanket is to wash it, but since this is wool and for an emergency blanket, I'm not bothering. If you absolutely must wash it, do it in a front-loader with a little wool wash (mild detergent that will not fade the color) on the handwash/wool cycle in cold water. (You could use warm, but ONLY if the rinse cycles are also warm; otherwise you risk shrinking and felting it, making it smaller and stiffer. But who knows, maybe you'd prefer that. Just remember that shrinking cannot be undone.) If you try to wash it in a top-loader with an agitator, you risk having it felt/shrink from the friction, even in cold water.