Wool Care

Wool will last you a lifetime if cared for.
First, do you need to wash? Wool is repellent and anti-microbial. Try these things first. 
  1. Spots - Gently ppot clean w/a dry or damp cloth.
  2. Brush - to clean and refresh - here is the brush I use.
  3. Air out - ideally outside for a day or two - w/o stains, this is all your fleece really needs to be cleaned. 
  4. Condition - Spritz with water or water mixed with a few drops of lanolin (or buy this one). You can also bring it into the bathroom while you shower. After gently brush w/a soft brush in one direction if you want to fluff the fleece. This is a personal aesthetic preference. 
  5. To keep moths away from all your wool garments use cedar sachets, blocks or sprays. 

WASHING

The key here is to gently move water through the garment to rinse and refresh but not to agitate the fibers so much that they felt. 


BY HAND -  

In a tub or sink add No Rinse wool wash (this one or this one or this one). Submerge in lukewarm to cool water (not hot). Gently squeeze the water through the garment to dislodge dirt.


Remove and gently squeeze out the water - don’t twist as it might distort the shape. Place flat on a bath towel, and roll up the towel with the fleece. Push down or sit on the towel to draw out as much water as possible. If your washing machine has a SLOW SPIN setting (max 400-600 revs) you could also use that to draw out the water. 


Reshape - Once out of the towel, look at the shape. You may want to pull the sleeves/body down a bit to help the knit stitches re-align. 


Dry - Lay on flat on a sweater rack or you can hang on a drying rack. 


Here is video of the process. 


BY WASHING MACHINE - 

Use the Hand Wash or Wool Cycle ONLY- make sure to set the temp to cold for both wash and rinse and that the spin cycle is SLOW (max 400-600 revs). Add wool wash. 


Reshape - Once out of the washing machine spin cycle look at the shape. You may want to pull the sleeves/body down a bit to help the knit stitches re-align. 


Dry - Lay on flat on a sweater rack or you can hang on a drying rack. 

Lastly, you can also take your wool to the dry cleaner, ideally a green dry cleaner that uses less toxic or non-toxic cleaning agents. 


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