Washing wool
Wool is the fiber off of a goat or sheep. It is exposed to water, dirt and extreme environmental changes before shearing, yet modern people believe it cannot be washed.
This fallacy is driven by the economy we live in and it's reliance on manufactures cleaners. The truth is, washing wool is easier and better for the environment. The wool was exposed to much more than water on the hoof, so you should be able to wash it right?
The truth is that Americans do not know how to care for wool. They don't know where it comes from, don't know how to care for it.
The fiber of wool is hinged in appearance. It looks like a snake skin under a microscope. The length and depth of the scales are determined by breed and age of the animal. The more scales wool fibers have, the more itch factor it has.
If is the same scales that felt or dread and cause so many issues in washing.
The scales in wool will breathe with the environment. The move and change shape and offer comfort to the animal they protect. The changes happen in response to temperature, moisture and PH changes in the environment in which they live. What people don't know is that these changes keep occurring even after shearing.
The shaft that the scales surround is hollow. It is why wool is insulating; there is dead air in each fiber, hundreds of tiny air pockets. Unless they are filled with a chemical or water. The hollow shaft is why will is also considered hydrophilic, liquids, be it water, detergent or other chemical, will fill this shaft before the wool feels damp to the outside. The scales itself are hydrophobic in nature. They shed moisture like the leaves of a tree. So, yes, wool absorbs moisture in its core at the same time it also repels it externally.
Ladies, you all have that friend with curly hair. Each time the humidity gets high, what happens? Curls, frizz and a lot of bad language accompanying the bad-hair-day hairstyle. If you have ever had a naturally curly wig the same thing will happen. On human hair we mitigate these changes by using shampoos, conditioner and sprays of all kinds.
But what do we do with wool? Most people treat it like cotton and really REALLY mess it all up.
You have to think of wool like it is that curly haired friend's hair. You have to wash it and condition it with care.
What is care?
You have to limit changes to the temperature and PH. Simple. Simple if you know what to do.
Let's look at soaps and water.
Water is mostly neutral in PH. All humans and animals are slightly acidic in nature. While each animal will have a different level of acidity, they all fall in the acidic range.
Most fabric that are plant based or manufactured fall into a neutral range. What that means for you is that most detergents are not made for washing wool. SO DON'T USE THEM! They can damage the wool and cause long term changes in the very fiber structure of wool.
You have to use a wash meant for hair. Something with a neutral or very slightly acidic range of PH. Something that washes clean. Something that if it becomes trapped in the hollow core it will not damage the wool fiber.
So, what could you use to wash wool? Washing hair means shampoo - right? Kinda... it is formulated for hair. But it can get expensive if you wash a lot of wool. The issue is there are a lot of chemicals in there you may not want left on the wool. So what else? Dog washes? Just as good as shampoo. In ways, even better because the chemicals in there are usually food safe or have bug repelling properties. But this can be expensive also. So what can you use? Wool washes are formulated to wash wool, are the correct PH and most can be left in the wool without rinsing. But check the label first. But there is also another overlooked wash. It is environmentally friendly, rinses clean, is food safe, can be mostly left in the wool, won't damage the wool... And is cheap. DAWN DISH LIQUID (original blue formula only) meets all the requirements of a wool wash.
So the wash agent is found, what about water? Nothing beats clean, clear rainwater or good clean creek water. The problem today is that mass pollution has ruined the best cleaning agent. So what to use? Filtered water or water that had set for several hours so the chlorine can dissipate. Room temperature water is best so not too cause the wool scales to react.
There are different schools of thought in the amount of wash to use. It really takes very little wash agent to clean wool. Really! In detergents, there are colors, scents, water softeners, things to keep the liquid from molding or rotting on the shelf and LASTLY, there are cleaning agents. Since you only have the cleaning agent and a tiny bit of food safe color or scent, you use very little of the agent. That way, you don't have to do any serious rinsing of the wool.
The second school of thought in washing wool is getting it squeaky clean while not felting it. Soap can act as a lubricant in washing the same as lanolin does while it is in the hoof. So excess soap can help prevent felting. It coats the fiber scales and prevents them from overreacting to the wash and dreadlocking. But then, you have to wash all that junk out...or mostly out. That sucks.
So I do both, as needed. If it is filthy, lots of soap. Just a bit of smell or dirt only needs a tiny bit of wash to clean.
Another hint on washing. Don't wash wool as much as you do cottons. Wool really doesn't need it. To get dust out of most wool simply takes a good pounce or shake. Hang it in the shade in a windy day to get rid of most smells and dust.
So...the wash routine.
Full a tub with water, room temperature or close. I use the washer. Let it sit with lid open for a few hours or overnight. This allows it to reach room temperature, chlorine to dissipate and hard water crystals to clump together. Come back later when the water is nice and stale. The water will now be slightly acidic and free of most of the chlorine. Add in the washing agent of your choice. Stir, but do not make bubbles. Submerge the wool into the wash and press it down. Wool can be hard to wash. Remember that it can be waterproof in the beginning. As it is pressed down, or held down in the case of some wools, the scales will open and slowly begin taking on water. The water level may drop some, that is natural.
Now, the easier thing to do now is to walk way. If you have one of those really waterproof wools, you have to stand there. Let the water and wash do its work. Walk away for an hour. The water may change colors when the fiber opens and dirt is expelled, there might be a nasty smell if the wool had been around smokers much, nothing may happen at all. Again, all natural.
If you have a nice expensive top load washer, it might have a wool wash setting. Mine does. It doesn't agitate so much every once in a while it stirs the water for you. If it doesn't have this, just turn the washer off and every once in a while stick a hand down in and stir manually.
Now, get the wool out if the water with the least amount of fuss possible. In a small tub or sink, just lift the wool out. In a washer you have to make the choice of lifting the heavy wool or using the washer to drain. My washer, it drains first before spinning. I can stop the washer at any point to lift the wool.
The big, HUGE problem with wet wool is that it is at its weakest point. Only linen like fabrics are stronger when wet. Wet wool will stretch, distort out of shape and the warp the fiber structure, the scales themselves may tear. Wool has to be handled delicately when wet. It can be spun out in a dryer, but you have to have the wool loaded into the washer where it doesn't twist, turn and move. Careful loading, careful manipulation of the wool is needed to get it to that point.
So, rinsing is easy, if you rinse. Repeat the above steps omitting the wash and instead putting in a bit of vinegar. The vinegar resets the PH is the fibers to a more natural level. Ever heard of rinsing hair in vinegars or vinegar douches? Does the same thing.
Repeat the "get the wool of of the water" step.
If you used the washer to remove the water, your good. Otherwise, boy, now comes the work. WET WOOL CANNOT BE HUNG TO DRY! You have to remove the water before it can be hung to dry or its very weight can damage it.
So, what to do?
Put it on a deck with a towel over it and stand on it
Put it in the bathtub and let the kids dance on it
Put it on several layers of towels around it and stand on it
But keep it folded and get creative in removing the water.
Once it no longer dripping and feels just damp to the touch, hang it to dry or lay flat. A finished garment is best dried and blocked flat. Fabric can be blocked by hanging.
What is blocking?
Since wool distorts when wet, this allows the wool to dry and get back into its proper shape. In garments, you lay the garment out into the shape and size it should be to dry. Fabric is layed out or hung where the edges are even and can be manually straightened. Make sure the edges are not curled or wavy. The edges must be straight.
When dry, wool fabric benefits from a good pounding or tumble. Each do something slightly different. A tumble in a cool dryer will get dust out. WHAT you say? It was just washed. Lol, remember that hollow core and scales? As the wool dries, anything from the core and from under the scales will become loose. Also, if you did not rinse, the wash itself will become microscopic dust that can be removed by tumbling.
What is pounding? Just like it says. You put down a towel or use an ironing board, you get a piece of smooth wood and with the wool laying flat, it is pounded. Yup, you beat it in a process called fulling. This does several things. It loosens dust (if it was not tumbled), it helps set the weave and functions much like ironing does in cottons. Traditionally, wool cannot be ironed. Ironing wrong can damage the wool. Wool can be steamed, it fuffs up the fiber wonderfully but it also causes movement in the fiber you do not always want. Pounding flattens the fiber and makes it easier to sew. So when sewing, pound first, steam after sewing. Pound seams flat when sewing instead of streaming for nicer seam that is easier to manipulate.
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