I dry ours in the dryer! Both the boys have heavy ones. I do them one at a time on permanent press cycle.

It worked in ours. The blanket took some wear, but not as bad as it could have been. And the washer was fine. We did not use the dryer, because we were worried that the beads inside might melt or break open, so we just laid the blanket out in a sunny spot in a dry room.

Ps I do have a front load washer and dryer.

I put mine in the washer and dryer, on gentle cycle, I believe. I think I even washed it on warm and I probably tumbled dry low. I would check the manufacturers instructions just to be safe.

The blanket I made was plastic pellets .... like a very small pea..........you shouldn't put in the dryer... but towels usually weigh more than 5lbs.... take it to a Laundromat....