How to wash Woolen clothes (All important tips)

For most of us, wool is not just wool. Wool is warmth as well as style – the ultimate in cozy, comfortable, trendy everyday wear.

Wool is warm – an understatement if any. Do you know that the wool keeps you warm by trapping the warm air inside; it can even feel warm when it is wet. This insulating quality makes it the must-have fabric in a cold climate.

Interestingly, wool can keep you cold in warmer climates. It is waterproof. Well, almost. It is moisture-wicking and can take a lot of water before it feels wet. It is also somewhat fire-repellant and stain-resistant. There are many such reasons other than that it is a very durable fabric that makes it a favorite for making clothes. But How to clean it – that is a million-dollar question.

Home laundering, as well as dry cleaning, works in caring for woolen clothes. Hand washing of woolen garments is perfectly alright so long as it is marked so in its label ” washable wool” and some precautions are taken.

If three things are kept out of the purview of wool, you are safe – Heat, moths, and alkali stains.

Some characteristic of wool that bugs me

Shrinking of wool is a pain; You buy a sweater, and after one or two washes, it wouldn’t fit a 10-year younger you. I have read that some wool can shrink up to 50%.

Dry cleaning label

On most wool clothes, they recommend dry-cleaning. I do not like dry cleaning because of the chemicals and the money. But with expensive wool clothes, there may not be an option it.

Skin irritation.

Some woolen clothes irritate skin – especially allergic-prone people with sensitive skin. You have to be careful with woolen clothes in this way.

Pilling

The appearance of small wool balls on the surface of woolen fabric – it is also called piling and it is irritating and unsightly – this piling usually goes off after some washes.

Stretching out of shape

After washing, most woolen clothes stretch out of shape; though it is relatively easy to bring it down to its original shape with some manipulation. Washing by a washing machine is mostly out of the question because of this stretching.

Laundry label for woolen clothes

The washing care labels on most woolen clothes ask you to –

☝ Hand wash.

☝ Wash in mild temperature water.

☝ Do not wring or machine dry.

☝ Dry flat.

☝ Use steam iron.

Detailed look at wool care labels:

Wool wash symbols explained

Pure wool is quite easy to maintain. It is quite resistant to heat, and if the above fabric care label symbols are taken care of, it will remain in tip top condition for many, many years. You just have to hand wash and dry flat.

✔ Empty all pockets and hang for 1-2 hours to shake out the wrinkles and then store flat. You can also make sure that the garment does not get too much dirty with sweat and body oils by wearing a slip/petticoat between the wool fabric and your body.

✔ Keep away from all kinds of alkalic materials like caustic soda, metal cleaners, toothpaste, and baking powder. If there is contact, flush the area immediately with clean water.

Spot cleaning wool

The time to remove stain from wool is as soon as the stain occurs. Do not wait. Blotting the area with a clean towel by dabbing the area gently (never rub) works for removing fresh stains. If you are using a spot cleaner or detergent, remember to take it off by blotting with a wet cloth. But do not rub too much or too long.

Washing woolen clothes

Always brush the wool garment after each and every wear. This will remove small dirt.

✔ Can you machine wash wool?

Handwashing is preferred for woolen clothes made of 100% virgin wool yarns or 100% animal yarns. If the woolen clothing is made of synthetic blend yarns you can put those into a mesh washing bag (net laundry-washing / lingerie-washing bag) and choose a wool detergent and a gentle/wool cycle.

Never ever think of using the 100% dryer. There are just one or two brands of dryers that are certified safe for wool, but I would question that too. Why take a risk?

When washing woolen clothes (which is marked ok to hand wash) if I am sure that the garment is going to bleed, I set the colors with a small soak of water mixed with some vinegar. Some people also recommend salt solutions.

I always use cold water for washing woolen clothes. Also, give a final rinse with water and a few drops of hair conditioner. Remember that, like hair, wool is a natural fiber and will shine with this pampering. But if you want to remove the oily residue (lanolin) use lukewarm water. I once had a blanket that dripped this oily residue.

Detergent for wool

Use an extra gentle liquid ph-balanced liquid detergent (designed for woolen fabric), not the generic all-purpose detergent. You will have to ensure that your wool detergent is phosphate-free – phosphates are not good for wool fibers. And stay away from detergents that have fillers – these fillers stick to wool and look very unattractive.

Prevent stretching

Wool fibers are generally weaker when they are wet. I never ever stretch woolen fabric or clothes made of them when wet. They have an elasticity that stretches the fibers and are very susceptible to damage when they are wet. They may permanently remain stretched. So no wringing or twisting of woolen clothes to remove water after handwashing.

Woolen clothes stretch which is bad when storing it. Hanging wool garments inside a cupboard for a long time also will stretch the fabric fibers permanently. The edges of the hangers will distort the shoulder area. Fold and lie flat for storage.

Never ever hang the wet woolen cloth for drying after a wash or hold it by the shoulder area. Lay down flat to dry after the wash after absorbing extra water with a clean towel. This will prevent stretching somewhat. You will get special mesh screens to lay the woolen clothes to dry so that they can dry from the top and underneath. Towel racks can manage if you do not get these.

Drycleaning wool

A quality dry cleaning center can be your ally in keeping premium woolen clothes in excellent condition. Ensure that they do not come out with that chemical smell. That means that the dry clean shop is not up to the mark. A good quality place will clean your woolen clothes with enough steam and appropriate cleaning solutions making them clean and smell good too.

Storage of woolen clothes

One easy hack to take wrinkles out of woolen clothes is to hang them in a shower area overnight. The humidity in the place will naturally iron out the wool fabric like magic.

I always keep small moth balls and nice-smelling herbs inside a perforated pouch and keep this near my woolen clothes (without touching the clothes of course).

Exposure to sunlight (not too long) can also prevent mildew growth and kill moth larvae. I have read somewhere that keeping the garment in the fridge for some time (48 hours or so) also can kill the larvae. Sunlight will do for me. My fridge is overcrowded as it is.

Some have success with storing wool with cedar chips/blocks or the items themselves in cedar chests.

Do not despair when you see tiny holes in your woolen garment made by those disliked moths (insects). They are repairable. You probably have some spare thread with the garment that matches the thread. With some practice, you can repair the hole by weaving it into the fabric with thread and filling the hole. It will look almost as if the hole is not there. The woolen cloth was made by weaving – so repairing by weaving is an easy and understandable solution.

Check out this related post on repairing holes in clothes.

Special care for special wools

Performance wool – Garments made of this blended wool should never be exposed to high heat from an iron – it will end up looking shiny. Dry cleaning also should be done carefully on this wool.

Or use clothing patches on the holes (Checkout the tutorials to make the clothing patches and the different ways to sew the clothing patches )

More like this: