# How do you wash wool?



## Pearl B (Sep 27, 2008)

Ive got my wool from RedTartan. Its fantastic and mostly clean. Just a little bit of vm.
Other than that its raw. I have some really dirty stuff too.

So how do most of you wash your wool? I'm leaning towards the washer. Does it damage or leave stains or anything? I don't have a lot of really fine clothes, still, I don't want to get random stains either.

I just got a lingers bag too. 

What detergent do you use too.

Tia!


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## rabbitgeek (Mar 22, 2008)

Using a washing machine runs the risk of felting the wool.

I wash by hand in 5 gallon bucket with Dawn dishwashing liquid and put the wool in a mesh bag for ease of handling. I only process a pound or two at a time.

Check out Caroline's website for instructions on how to clean wool.
http://kero1au.tripod.com/id24.html

Have a good day!


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## Callieslamb (Feb 27, 2007)

I put my wool in the lingere bags - about 1/2 a pound per bag. I use the LARGE bags that some use for dirty clothes. I fill my laundry room sick with very hot water and a bit of dawn dishwashing detergent. I push the wool down and let it soak for an hour or 2 or 3. I repeat as many times as needed to get it clean. Then I rinse with hot water- if it's a more coarse wool, I use vinegar or conditioner in the last rinse. I don't use much soap or detergent.

I tried washing soda once and thought for my soft finn fleeces, it was too harsh and made it feel over processed. I tried ammonia - it is good for cutting grease but again, made it feel brittle and harsh. 

You might try a variety of suggested things on small portions of your fleece and see what you like. I really think that it can depend on the fleece, water temperature and the actual water you use. I have very hard water.


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## PKBoo (Apr 10, 2008)

I used to use 5-gallon buckets, and flop the wool on the deck, put it back in another bucket of hot water, flop out again to rinse two times. Then I sent some wool to some members here, and I found out I was waaaaaay overhandling it!

So lately I've been using lingerie bags, and doing two soaks in a dishpan of hot water, then two rinses, gently lifting the lingerie bag out between soaks. My locks are in much better shape now :ashamed:

I use 7th Generation dish soap. I use Orvis paste to wash my knitted items, but it doesn't seem to do as well getting the dirt and grease out of the raw wool. But everyone's water is different - we have very hard water. 

Also, you need to get the temperature above 140 degrees to 'melt' the lanolin. Let it soak for 20-30 minutes, but the temperature needs to stay higher than 120 so the lanolin doesn't solidify again. 

Here's another link for wool-washing instructions:
http://www.hjsstudio.com/washwool.html

Everybody has their own way of washing wool, so try a few different ways and see what works best for you. That's part of the fun!


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## RedTartan (May 2, 2006)

I fill my washing machine with water that's the same temperature I'd use to wash dishes. ETA: To clarify, comfortably warm. It shouldn't sting. I know some women that use water so hot I can't put my hands in it. Maybe bath water is a better description! Then I add about 1 Tbsp dishwashing liquid and swirl it around with my hand.

I make sure my washing machine is off so that it will not agitate the wool at all.

I put the wool straight into the washer. I don't use any bags. I wash one fleece at a time.

I close the washer lid (again, make sure it's off!!!!!) to hold in the heat and let is soak for about 45 minutes. I set a timer for this. You really don't want the water to cool down.

I spin out the water. My washer does not agitate at all at any time during this process. 

Once the water is out, I remove the fleece.

After REMOVING THE FLEECE, I refill the washer the same temperature as before. Never run water over the wool.

Make sure the washer is OFF. Put the fleece back in the plain water. Close the lid and let soak for 20 minutes. You're just rinsing, it doesn't need to be as long as the washing.

Spin out the washer again.

Remove the fleece. Spread it out. Fluff it up. Let it air dry. Turn it over after 12-24 hours to make sure the bottom dries too.

This method will work great with the fleeces that you got from me. As you noted, they are already very clean because Icelandics are a low lanolin breed. With this process the locks will even remain intact.

You might need longer soaking times or repeated washings with dirtier fleece, but for the Icelandic fleeces this should suffice.


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## gone-a-milkin (Mar 4, 2007)

I like to use screaming hot water. 

I have never used the washer to wash wool, but I bet it would work good if:
you could get hot enough water in there,
not agitate the wool, 
and if it spun out on command.
My washer is not a good candidate for any of that. 

So I put the locks in Sterilite pans that fit in my kitchen sink. The pans have holes in them to let the water through.

I use the hottest tap water plus a kettle full of boiling water from the stove, and a goodly amount of dish detergent. 
How many wahses and rinses are needed depends on what type of wool and also what area of the fleece it is from.

Long, stained britch wool might take more effort to get clean than the less dirty sides of a fleece.

Also, if my wool is not *perfectly* clean, I dont worry about it too-too much.
It just needs to be spinable.
Once it is in yarn form, I always can get it much cleaner. 
I am constantly amazed at how many micro bits of VM fall out of newly spun yarn when I wash it.
The water can get really cloudy with lanolin too, washing some of *my* yarn. :ashamed:


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## Pearl B (Sep 27, 2008)

Thank you everyone!

Im going to try both methods. My washer has a pre-soak cycle that I think will do the trick.
Im going to run some shirts through and make sure it doesnt agitate at the end.

Ive got some really smelly,dirty fleece from the Woolery. Im going to wash that stuff in the sink to start with. I didnt realize what a difference there could be till I got RedTartans fleeces.

The coloring of those fleeces are incredible!! Im going to try a small amount in the washer and if that works out good, I will do it all in the washer.

Ive got my wood pieces for my combs cut out too. I just need to sand and stain. Then drill some pre-holes and put the nails in, and put it together!!


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## frazzlehead (Aug 23, 2005)

And may I chime in and say 

A COLD SOAK FIRST DOES WONDERS!

Really, just put that wool in a big bucket of cold water (like a garbage can) and let it sit for a day or two. If it's really dirty, then soak for a few hours, dump, change water, soak again, dump, change water ... when the water stops coming off totally brown and turns to just gray or beige, you are ready for the hot water. You need hot water to get rid of the lanolin, but you can get rid of a LOT of the dirt with just cold water! (Or, like, lukewarm. You know, the stuff straight from the tap.)

If you put a sheet in the bucket first (not one you care about!) and kind of line the bucket with the sheet, then fill with water, then add the fleece, when you are ready to dump the fleece out you can lift the sheet and pull out the fleece in one big pile. It's really heavy though if it is a whole fleece, so if it isn't frozen where you are, you could just tip the pail over onto a sheet or something to 'catch' the wool as you dump. I can't do that here this time of year, I'll make a skating rink! 

You won't believe how much dirt comes off with just a cold soak. Why spend all that money for hot water until you need to? 

Once the dirt's off, THEN you do the hot soapy water thing.


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## Pearl B (Sep 27, 2008)

Thank you Frazzle!
That makes sense. Im going to do that with the Woolery yarn.


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## gone-a-milkin (Mar 4, 2007)

PearlB, 
On my washer, when the spin cycle first starts it also runs some cold water in at the same time. 
Just at the first bit of getting it up to spin, but that water is COLD andIi have had really bad luck with cold water hitting hot wool. 
It instantly shrinks and felts down.

If that doesn't happen in your washer then you will be fine.


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## Pearl B (Sep 27, 2008)

Ive never really paid that much attention to my washer before! Thats why I want to do a test run. Thank you,Im going to watch out for that.

I might just wash them all in the sink. My hot water heater is set up on the highest setting, it takes it awhile to get hot. It may well run cold first, then hot.

Im going to have to check it out.

Thanks Gam!


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## MullersLaneFarm (Jul 23, 2004)

I wash mine exactly like RedTartan EXCEPT:

Before I even get to the washer, I'll separate the locks and open the tips of each lock. This _really _helps in getting the fleece cleaner with fewer scourings.

For fleeces that have heavy lanolin, I'll pour a couple stock pots of simmering/boiling water into the washer before filling the washer.

Other than that, I do what RedTartan wrote.


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## frazzlehead (Aug 23, 2005)

MLF has a good point.

I like to do the cold soak then lay the fleeces out to dry (I am not in a hurry to deal with my wool).

Then once they are dry, I will sort them and pick them open, and THEN do the hot water washing. 

I am content to store fleece after a good cold soaking, but I don't like it in the house without any washing at all. And I don't like sorting wool straight off the sheep, it's so filthy! I know cold water doesn't kill all the germs and stuff but at least I'm not quite so disgustingly dirty when I'm done.


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## Falls-Acre (May 13, 2009)

The one and only time I've washed wool, it was really, really dirty! It was also a down-type wool, but it just wouldn't come clean by soaking, no matter what I tried. I finally had to, gently mind you, agitate it slightly by pressing it down into the water. I was shocked by how much dirt came out when I did that.

When it was all done with the washing part (I didn't scour it) it took 3 days for it to dry on a small wire rack. Is there a way to speed that up? After it was dry though, I pulled apart some of the locks and more dry dust fell out! Is that normal? It worried me, I'd have to card it outside, so I haven't gotten any farther than that with it.

Did I do something wrong with the wool?


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## bergere (May 11, 2002)

Would hand pick and shake the fleece of VM. This would normally get 90+% of any VM out.
This part is what I did before I showed my fleece too.

I also hand wash, since my sheep's fleece was low lanolin, normally I could get away with one wash and a soaking rinse.
Also use eucalan wool wash, found it was the best for washing wool and it left it soft and easy to handle. VBG


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## frazzlehead (Aug 23, 2005)

FallsAcre, Down fleeces are hard to get clean. Squashing it under the water until it gets thoroughly wet isn't agitating it, you're fine. What you can try next time is picking it open with your hands (kinda "fluffing it up") before soaking. Shake out as much as you can as you do this, then cold soak in a few rinses, then if you are patient, dry and flick the ends open then hot wash.

It really can take three days to dry. As it is drying you can spread it ou and flip it over and gently pull apart the almost dry bits, and you can put a fan blowing over it too. I will flip it all over several times as it dries. Down fleeces are nearly impossible to felt so you can handle them a lot as you process with minimal risk.


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## frazzlehead (Aug 23, 2005)

I have an old laundry sink outside. I put it up on concrete blocks, plug the drain, and fill from the hose. Fleece goes in. Soak half an hour, pull the plug. Hold the fleece away from the drain, replace plug. Refill with hose, carefully aiming water at the side of the tub not onto the wool. Repeat until what washes out no longer looks like mud. Spread wet fleece out somewhere to dry. 

Then, at my convenience, I sort, pick, and hot wash. It's kind of wasteful to wash the whole fleece before sorting, but I usually have a few at once and I just want them clean enough to handle and store. I get a chance to check for damage, pull off anything obviously horrid, but no detailed sorting until later. I do chuck anything with too much VM or tags on the way into the cold water wash.

I have also used a kiddie pool for longer soaks. Works great.


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## betty modin (May 15, 2002)

It's interesting to see how each of us deal with the fleeces in our lives a bit differently-often for the same reasons.

My sheep run around in the trees, lie in the straw, eat bark and leaves, forage in whatever will stick in their wool and are generally incorrigable. Their fleeces often have lots of VM in them.-once I found one towing around a large piece of raspberry bramble! I want to have all my fleeces sorted, washed and stored while the weather is warm-because I do it outdoors. I only have six, but at times, that can seem like alot.

I have a laundry sink on the deck with hot and cold running water to it (Thank you to BIL for that job a couple of years ago). It drains onto the ground away from the house. I wash all the fleeces before storing them-in the summer time. My fleeces are stored upstairs, so I need them clean..just a 'hint' of sheepy smell to remind me that they're all there, waiting for me...

First I sort and skirt, and shake and carefully pick and chose the best parts of each fleece.
Then each fleece goes into a large mesh laundry bag. I give each fleece lots of room. I wash one at a time in the laundry sink, filled with hot water and Dawn dishwasing liquid; the water level just above the fleece.
I soak for 30 minutes, let the water out (holding the fleece back), press the water out of the fleece, hold it to one side and fill the tub again with hot water (I don't let the cold water run into the tub or the water run onto the fleece).
I then do a rinse soak at least 2X-draining and refilling the tub as above. 
After the final rinse, I put the fleece in a bucket (I have shetlands, so a wet fleece fits in a 5 gallon bucket with plenty of room to spare).

THIS is where I use my washer. I have a front loader and I'm on a septic system-but there is a point on the cycle where the machine just spins..no water at all. That's the point I start the machine after putting the wet, bagged fleece in. The machine spins the fleece nearly dry

I take the fleece out of the mesh bag and lay it on an old window screen on a table on the deck. I pull it apart and 'fluff' it up as I sort out anything I missed....and it usually only takes 24 hours for the fleece to be ready to put away for spinning later. The only issue I've had was the cat using the drying fleece for a bed..but she's another issue in herself!

I think each of us has developed ways that work for the types of fleeces we use and based on what we were taught when we started washing. It's been fun to read the methods others use-and why.


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## Maura (Jun 6, 2004)

This year I had three full fleeces I had to cut off the hide fast. I filled a large tub, the kind you'd store clothes long term in, with water from the hose, so very cold. I tossed the fleece in as I cut. Oh, goodness the dirt that came off! With so much dirt gone, I could then use less detergent, which makes rinsing easier.

Once it dried I started cooking, er, washing it. I use very hot water, using a meat thermometer to check and make sure it is over 160 deg. I used shampoo, then rinsed twice with hot water, matching the wash water. I used two stock pots. Then, I bought a third stockpot so I could keep two loads going at once.


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