Caring for Wool
Caring for Wool (is much easier than you think!)
Untreated wool is to be washed as seldom as possible, in order to enhance its self-cleansing properties. After wearing your woolen item, place it to “air-out”, over the back of a chair, for example, overnight. If your woolen product becomes damp, just let air-dry or dry near a mild heat source. You’ll often notice the cleansing smell of lanolin. The lanolin goes to work removing bacteria & odors, as the moisture evaporates away. Placing wool outdoors on a damp day, in a fresh breeze, can also help it regain its freshness. If your item is very wet, stretching it by length, prior to placing to dry, can help it regain its original form.
Wash your item when you notice it retains odors when dry …you may be able to go weeks or even months between washings, even with daily wear.
Wool is best washed by hand, in lukewarm water, with a wool-wash made to replenish the wool's natural lanolin. Use just enough lanolin-replenishing soap to keep the water sudsy. Untreated wool does not like agitation. Swoosh your woolens gently in the water, then let them soak for 10-15 minutes. Rinse with lukewarm water.
If heavily soiled, you may want to first wash in hair-shampoo (wool is very similar to human hair), then wash a second time with lanolin-replenishing soap. Adding a bit of your own shampoo or conditioner to the woolwash, will help give your garment your personal scent. The conditioner can give extra softness.
After rinsing the garment in fresh, lukewarm water, gently press/squeeze the water out of wool. To remove excess water, place the garment on a terry cloth towel and roll it up into the towel, pressing to squeeze out excess water. If your washer has a spin-cycle (only, no cold water rinse), you may place the woolens in washer on spin only, to remove excess water.
Give each item a quick, brisk shake to regain its shape, then lay or hang to dry. For woolen long-underwear, stretch the garment by length prior to laying it out to dry, to help regain its original length. We find this to be a key step in preventing your woolens from shrinking. Additionally, if your article has become extremely damp while wearing it, you may want to stretch it out by length prior to laying it out to dry.
If your washer has a special wool cycle, which maintains a lukewarm water temperature through the wash & rinse cycle and limits agitation, the woolens may tolerate an occasional washing in the water on the delicate cycle washer (remember to stretch them by length when you take them out). Never tumble dry!
Small spots can be cleaned by rinsing & gently rubbing the spot under the faucet in lukewarm water. If pilling should occur (this can happen because of the very fine fibers of merino wool and is not a reflection of the quality of the wool) natural bristle brushes or specially designed wool brushes can be used to smooth out wool surface. A clean razor, used for shaving, can also be used to shave off any pilling that might occur. This often happens only in the beginning of the life of your garment.
Please see separate Care Instructions for Nursing Pads.
Placing natural wool in direct sunlight to dry may slightly discolor the natural wool.
If storing your wool for extended periods of time, we recommend placing the item in the sealed plastic bag to avoid moths, (please make sure they have dried thoroughly if washed prior to storage) or in a cedar-lined closet or drawer (cedar repelled moths). Lavender is also said to help repel moths, thus washing the garment in Woolwash with Lavender, such as Kookaburra's WoolWash with Lavender Scent can help keep moths away.