WoolWeenies Club

[goldfinch]

You'll ruin your wool with regular detergent. Wool doesn't tolerate enzymes!

Interesting! So far no problems (maybe because I am very stingy with how much I use) but from Googling about I see that the issue may be a pH issue and that something like Dawn dish washing detergent is a better choice.

[Devold]

Interesting! So far no problems (maybe because I am very stingy with how much I use) but from Googling about I see that the issue may be a pH issue and that something like Dawn dish washing detergent is a better choice.

Or just detergent without enzymes and bleach. The most supermarkets carry wool detergent - it's not that expensive

[goldfinch]

While googling this issue I found this from rivbike.com, FWIW:

http://www.rivbike.com/kb_results.asp?ID=42

Washing and drying it
Do you think wool would have remained popular through the centuries if it disintegrated when it was washed? Do you think the laundry methods of the 1300s were gentler than a cycle in your Whirlpool? Don't make me guffaw.
The fact is, the wool we offer is easy to care for. You can take special care with it if you like, if it makes you feel good and lets you sleep better at night, but it's not entirely necessary. Following is a rough way to care for wool, and then a soft way to care for it, and they both work.
Rough
Soap: Whatever you have, but nothing with bleach in it. Water: Warm Dryer: Warm
Wool laundered this way will shrink about half a size. It won't get wrecked. We'd like to see you treat it with slightly more care, but if you can't be bothered, that's quite all right.
Soft
Soap: Kookabura (we sell it), or Ivory detergent, or pretty much any earth-friendly suds sold by hippies or in a cardboard box adorned with at least one drawing of the earth, and word such as "enviro" and "friendly" and "non-toxic" and "bio-degradable" on it. Water: Warm or cold Dryer: Air. If you want speedy drying, roll it in a towel, stomp the towel, then unroll the towel and lay it flat or hang it up or something.
The main thing is: Don't fear wool. Don't save it for special occasions. Don't look back on a life in which you were afraid to wear wool for fear of wearing it out or something.

I know myself. I probably will continue with the "rough" method. Laziness will likely rule and I will continue to use regular detergent and wash wools with my other clothes. I am thinking about my wool socks. I only wear wool socks. They have been durable washing them "rough" and I even put them in the dryer if I am especially lazy. But I might be more careful with my Ibex hoodies and other pricey stuff.

[OakLeaf]

Didn't Irulan contribute her knowledge that the "wool" detergents are no different, and no better, than "regular" (except for the g*d-awful perfumes they have)?

A couple of my inexpensive 15-year-old Duofold wool tops are disintegrating. I've read they were pretty low quality to begin with. My 25+-year-old cycling jerseys and Helly-Hansen base layer are in fine shape, though the jerseys typically only get worn and washed a dozen or so times a year, each. My Ibex and SW stuff is newer (except for the socks, anyway) so I can't say how they would hold up over decades. Not impressed with my SW toe socks, but the regular "thumbless mitten" type socks are holding up fine, and where they're showing wear, it's in the elastic, not the wool fibers.

I don't think I'd put my fine woolens in a top-loading machine, the kind with an agitator. They're totally fine in my front-loader. Extra delicate things go in a lingerie bag. Air dry all of it (my house smells like wet sheep all winter long ). The only thing that seems to damage them is moths and mice. - and those have nothing to do with laundry methods.

[Irulan]

Didn't Irulan contribute her knowledge that the "wool" detergents are no different, and no better, than "regular" (except for the g*d-awful perfumes they have)?

Yep. Use baby shampoo. It's mild, and lacks perfume and conditioners. The conditioners mask the harshness of the specialty detergents.

[Owlie]

Yep. Use baby shampoo. It's mild, and lacks perfume and conditioners. The conditioners mask the harshness of the specialty detergents.

I've always read on knitting forums that you shouldn't use baby shampoo, since it's formulated to be mild on skin rather than on hair. I've been using my shampoo (Burt's Bees) on my wool stuff (hand-knit and otherwise). All my cycling clothes get hand-washed anyway, so it's not a huge hardship.

[Crankin]

I use regular, fragrance free detergent with wool. Wool gets washed in cold water, hung to dry. The really delicate things get put in the lingerie bag, i.e. Ibex boxers, Smart wool thin base layers. Socks, too, but only so they don't get lost.
I've been wearing wool socks for about 2 weeks now, even up to 70 degrees, or a little more.

[jessmarimba]

I'm careful with the pricey stuff (and particularly careful with sports bras...those get painful if shrunk!) but wool socks just go through the normal wash/dry cycle. I have a few pairs of smartwool socks that are about 6-7 years old that are just beginning to get threadbare - but I've also run probably thousands of miles in each pair. That's a lot of rubbing. Everything besides socks gets hung up to dry.

My icebreaker stuff shrunk a bit more than the other brands so I size up with them now. Everything else has come through fine.