Good news – wool cleans itself! So as far as your sweater is fully made in natural fibers (such as sweaters from boWOOLę) all you need to do to take a good care of wool is to let the nature do its magic. What do you say for washing ONCE A YEAR? Find an easy guide below. You can download printable pdf version to have it in a handy place or to share with your beloved who cares about your clothes. There’s just few simply rules to help wool stay in a best condition for decades. Just remember don’ts are as important as do’s.
Get a printable version to share with your housemates
Don’t disturb wool to take care of itself
- never rub – rubbing causes felting
- don’t hang – wool might stretch if hangs too long
- never tumble
- never machine wash – even if you have wool program
- never dry in direct sunlight
All of these activities may destroy wool properties and cause felting, loosing shape or color.
How to help wool cleans itself
- Air wool as often as possible – in a cold or humid day take your sweater outside, put it flat and let the air to refresh your sweater for few hours. Don’t be afraid of temperature below 0°C/32°F. Low temperature helps not only with dust and dirt but also with mites. After few hours take your sweater home, put it flat and let it reach room temperature before folding.
- Store on a shelf – knitted garments can’t be hang too long, your sweater will stretch and loose its shape. Wool likes the air, keep sweaters on top of a pale of clothes to avoid squeezing them.
- Remove wool pills when it’s needed – use a special brush or universal electric lint remover. Read more about pilling removing in my other post.
- Wash by hand maximum ONCE A YEAR – if you follow rules above, your sweater may not need washing even for 2-3 years. The best time for washing sweaters is summer with its warm wind. Check a detailed instruction in my other post.