[momsdoc]

It's time to wash this North Sea turtleneck. It's a thick rib knit wool. The instructions are intimidating.

How do I wring it out if I cannot twist or not wring it? How do I let it dry with airflow all around and keep it shaped? Should I folllow the last suggestion and send it to the dry cleaner? Is softener OK or does it just add unwanted chemicals? I presume Woolite is the drug of choice, am I correct?

I need detailed instructions.

 

[Gurdon]

It's tome to wash this North Sea turtleneck. It's a thick rib knit wool. The instructions are intimidating.

How do I wring it out if I cannot twist or not wring it? How do ou let it dry with airflow all around and keep it shaped? Should I folllow the last suggestion and send it to the dry cleaner? Is softener OK or does it just add unwanted chemicals? I presume Woolite is the drug of choice, am I correct?

I need detailed instructions.

View attachment 27898 View attachment 27899

I wear wool sweaters frequently. I hand wash them with cool water, about 20 degrees centigrade (68 degrees +/- Fahrenheit) with Woolite. I formerly used soap flakes, Ivory Snow, I believe. I wouldn't use water as hot (30 degrees) as the label suggests as a maximum.

My method is to gently knead and then lift the garment out of the Woolite and water solution and return and slosh it softly around in the water, and then let it rest awhile. I repeat this as many times as seems commensurate with the degree to which the sweater is soiled or sweaty.

After a half hour or more, I rinse it by gently kneading it and then I squeeze and drain much of the water. I do this several times, more times than I imagine to be necessary to remove the Woolite.

When I'm sure the sweater is well rinsed, I squeeze water out of it two or three times, but without wringing it. I sometimes roll it up in a bath towel and squeeze it.

When it's as unwet as I can make it, I drape the sweater across the top of a collapsable wooden drying rack made, according to the Lehman Hardware Catalog, by Amish craftspersons. (The catalog says craftsmen.)

I position the drying rack near a heating register out of which blows vaguely warm air. It facilitates the drying to occasionally turn the sweater to allow circulating air to reach as much of the the garment as possible. Depending on how wet/damp the sweater is, and the humidity and room temperature, the sweater should be dry in about 24 hours.

I do not like to take clothes to the drycleaner's. Occasionally, however, I do so. I gather that the processes now employed do not use toxic chemicals.

I hope this is helpful.

Regards,
Gurdon

 

[Adriel Rowley]

Can I attempt to answer some of these questions?

Happen to have a front loading HE machine with hand wash? Not that I would suggest for others, I have turned wool sweaters and wool pants wrong side out and used hand wash cycle (even those pants saying dry clean only).

Now onto that label. I am going to do extra for others later down the road, if don't mind?

First line, make more since if mean 86*F, water freezes at 32*F. Seriously, in Winter I would not suspect the pipes and the water to get that warm, in the Summer my water comes into the garage about that, then before moved it out of the attic, get to about 140*F, would turn off the water heater in Summer.

Second and third line, Laundress is apparently the cat's meow for wool laundry soap and conditioner. Be warned the cedar smells nothing like cedar, more like a fresh moth ball. Soon dissipates once dry, though opening the washer can be overwhelming. I am of the understanding regular softener isn't correct for wool and now that have used their conditioner, the sweaters feel softer. I am even thinking got it cleaner, as only wore the pullover about a half dozen times though the water turned dark grey when rung it out.

Fourth line, basically don't go crazy on stomping and twirling with the laundry stick.

Fifth line, my method is to gently pull out of the water, making a fist around the item squeezing out the water. Will take several repeats and can be tiring to the shoulders holding up a heavy wet sweater. I try and start at the collar, then the whole working down, then once out of the water, separate the sleeves and wring them each, then the body (meaning two cycles).

Sixth line, meaning block the sweater, in other words, lay it flat, smooth it out, and shape to the original. Some even measure before washing so can stretch to the same.

Seventh, that is interesting. I would then transfer from the blocking surface to an oven rack, can't think of anything else clean, large enough, and flat.

Hope this helps and can be understood, I am half asleep...

 

[Adriel Rowley]

Gurdon, thank you, you posted while I was typing. Good idea about doing several fresh water cycles.

 

[momsdoc]

Thanks to both of you.

I’ve found many drying racks at BB&B, HD, Lowes, Target etc. and will check them out in the AM.

Re. @ Gurdon, that’s what I was thinking, rolling the sweater in a series of white teri cloth bath towels to absorb as much water as possible.

I will use Woolite, but what is the softener to use?

How do you block the sweater to maintain size and shape and not cause stretching at the fastening points, and what actual method works best for blocking? Weights? What kind? Clothes pins? How to prevent stretch points? And what do you do with the arms? No rack is wide enough for them in an outstretched position.

 

[fishertw]

Thanks to both of you.

I've found many drying racks at BB&B, HD, Lowes, Target etc. and will check them out in the AM.

Re. @ Gurdon, that's what I was thinking, rolling the sweater in a series of white teri cloth bath towels to absorb as much water as possible.

I will use Woolite, but what is the softener to use?

How do you block the sweater to maintain size and shape and not cause stretching at the fastening points, and what actual method works best for blocking? Weights? What kind? Clothes pins? How to prevent stretch points? And what do you do with the arms? No rack is wide enough for them in an outstretched position.

I do similarly and have four lambswool sweaters among others, originally purchased from Lands End over 30 years ago. They have all been washed this way numerous times and have kept their shape over all those years. The use of toweling to lay the sweater out then roll in the towel and press the rolled toweling and sweater roll as you do will help maintain the shape. I then hang them over a railing a level above our wood stove to dry. The sweaters are hung some 8-10 feet away from the stove but still get the benefit of the warmth to dry slowly and not shrink. Just this morning I decided to wash six of my shetland wool sweaters. I noticed one additional detail. I initially roll the sweaters after washing and squeezing them to remove as much water as possible, then unroll, take another dry towel and roll again to get as much water as possible out of them then hang to dry.

 

[Vecchio Vespa]

To the horror and dismay of many, I regularly wash both woolens and those cords they tell you to dry clean only in the washer. I turn them inside out and use the delicate cycle and my regular soap/detergent, Mrs. Meyer’s. I am partial to her lemon verbena scent. I take the washed items out and lay them flat on top of the dryer. Once they feel pretty much dry I hang them on a hanger with broad shoulders to ensure they are completely dry. I just washed a cashmere crewneck that way last week. It seems fine with no discernible shrinkage or misshapenness. I confess I have never tried this with a ribbed item, however. I remember, not fondly, using the Navy’s famous Armstrong washers to clean heavy wool dress blues, folding them inside out and putting them under my rack to press them.

 

[momsdoc]

OK, Wish me luck.

I used Woolite for Dwlicatew, and Downey Free and Gentle fabric softener. Washed them gently in the bathtub and allowed them to rinse clear before moving on to the softener. Rinsed that out completely and squeezed them out as best as I could. Then wrapped it in a large Teri bath towel to blot dry.

It's on the drying rack now.

 

[215339]

a drying rack? i've gotta get one of those

 

[ItalianStyle]

My grandmother used to have an old fashioned top-loaded washing machine with a 'squeezer' mounted on the top. I'm not sure that is the correct name for it - it was to thick rollers manually operated by a handle and it would squeeze the water out of the garment quite efficiently...

I wonder if such a contraption would work on clothes that have a 'do not twist or wringe' instruction? They would be squeezed allright but not pulled out of shape...

 

[derum]

My grandmother used to have an old fashioned top-loaded washing machine with a 'squeezer' mounted on the top. I'm not sure that is the correct name for it - it was to thick rollers manually operated by a handle and it would squeeze the water out of the garment quite efficiently...

I wonder if such a contraption would work on clothes that have a 'do not twist or wringe' instruction? They would be squeezed allright but not pulled out of shape...

A clue: They are called wringers.

 

[ItalianStyle]

Interesting... (not a native English speaker myself)…
But they don't really 'wringe', do they...

 

[Adriel Rowley]

"Wring: an act of squeezing or twisting something." So to me looks like a squeezer is about right, especially every language has subtle definitions.

One could get technical and say the label forbids any type of squeezing.

 

[JBierly]

Is there any downside to sending it to the cleaners?

 

[momsdoc]

Very little, but I wonder about leaching out of the natural oils with organic solvents. I don’t worry about any other wool, but these sweaters and the looser knit Arans and Alpacas give me pause.


The end result of my hand washing is a soft, clean fully shaped sweater. Sister than what I would have expected from the dry cleaner, and no concerns about it being manhandled, or washed in old solventswith a hundred other peoples dirt.