WoolWeenies Club

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

I have a question: I recently bought the Smartwool hoodie (Sagebrush, I think?) which is beautiful and comfortable and I love it. Problem: it says dry clean only! I did not notice when I bought it and just assumed it was washable like all Smartwool products.

Do I have to? I'm guessing yes, because it's felted. But this means I will probably give it away.

Alas. I have a toddler. My top layer is always covered in yogurt, applesauce, or snot. This was a dumb purchase.

But thank you for the washing ideas. Maybe I'll put it aside for a year or two.

Xeney,
I would recommend to dry clean it, NOT wash it....because it's felted.
A friend of mine put her husband's Ibex loden (felted) wool jacket in the washer (!), no dryer...and it wound up completely ruined- shrunk in all the wrong directions and became hopeless for anyone to wear. She then noted after the fact that the label said dry clean only.
It's one thing to put merino pullovers, turtlenecks, baselayers, and socks in the wash, ....but not felted outerwear, loden vests, or jackets.

One good piece of news about your felted wool piece though- you'de be amazed at how food and spills come right off when you rub the wool with a damp sponge and/or rinse the spot, then dry it by blotting or rubbing with a clean dry washcloth. Dense wool is very good about getting the spots and spilled rubbed out- the food doesn't soak in so much like on cotton and poly.

[Cataboo]

I just checked my ibex switchback pullovers & my ibex vertigo jackets - Both are loden and I think are felted, the switchback description says it is and I'd say the vertigo looks more felted.

Anyways, the tags say "dry clean or hand wash"

I know the vertigo jacket has been through the washing machine without a problem because my mother ran it through once when I was visiting her. After I finished freaking, looked at the jacket and it was fine. I'm pretty sure I've washed the switchbacks in a machine before as well.

It may depend on how harsh your washing machine is?

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

Just so you know- Ibex no longer makes Switchback items specifically because they were shrinking and distorting badly when washed in the washing machine, even on gentle. People were complaining and sending them back too much. KnottedYet had one that was a total loss. Switchback items are very risky to throw in the washer. I have several- the half zip, the full zip, and the vest...but I treat them as outer wear and haven't needed to wash them yet. I will be dry cleaning those.
On the other hand, I have lots of other Ibex items I throw in the washer (gentle of course). My Shaks are real champs when it comes to the washing machine. I tend to fluff them half dry in a low setting dryer (gets the cat hair off) and then lay them out to finish drying.

[Cataboo]

I'll have to be more careful with mine. My ibex tends to be the most resilient of my wool. I've had so much smartwool stuff just randomly develop little holes after only wearing them a couple of times that I've stopped buying smartwool. A couple of icebreakers have developed holes around zippers. I think I've only got one ibex that has developed a hole and that's on a very thin shirt.

[momof4greatkids]

Just so you know- Ibex no longer makes Switchback items specifically because they were shrinking and distorting badly when washed in the washing machine, even on gentle. .

+1 I got my Ibex Switchback from sierratradingpost, and it did a shrinking act after one machine washing. It got really short in the body and the arms....oh well, this was one time a bargain wasn't really a bargain after all.

[Zen]

I just watched "Fringe"
A woman was shot in the chest. As they showed her body on the floor I looked at her sweater and thought "is that wool"?

[OakLeaf]

Zen, yuk, but since you posted it, inquiring minds want to know: does wool wick blood?

[Zen]

It does on TV

[Dianyla]

Zen, yuk, but since you posted it, inquiring minds want to know: does wool wick blood?

Sadly, yes. I was travelling while on my period. I didn't have the chance to wash out some blood-soaked panties, and ended up accidentally packing them up in a clothes bag next to a lavender colored Icebreaker shirt. I ended up with a good sized blotchy stain on the chest that wicked through to same spot on the back of the shirt. I tried soaking it in cold water for days but could not get the stain out, so I just gave up and resigned the shirt to underlayer use only.

But the story does have a happy ending. Now almost a year later it has slowly but surely been fading with each washing and it's almost invisible now.