How to wash a wool sweater? Do you know how?
Yes… No.
You bought a nice wool sweater, it fits well and has a great texture, if it gets dirty what do you do with it? Throw it in the washing machine? Usually, when you put a wool sweater in the washing machine, it triples in size and loses its original shape and character. Take it to the dry cleaners? The harsh chemicals used in dry cleaning can shrink wool fibers.
So even if your sweater is labeled “dry clean only,” you should still hand wash it. In the case of wool or cashmere, you should wash it yourself at home so that there is no risk of damage.
To avoid unnecessary distortion of your wool garments during the wash cycle, please follow these instructions.
Do not use the washing machine
The frictional spin of the washing machine can damage wool. High temperatures and soap suds can shrink a sweater and also turn it from a soft woven texture to a harder material – felt. Also, machine cycle washing of wool products can damage the machine itself because the fleece of wool is separable and it can form hard lumps in the pump. So keep the type of wool in mind before deciding whether to hand wash or machine wash.
Actually wool does not need to be washed often. Especially the high grade wool. Before you wash it, you can ask yourself, “Are you sure it needs to be washed?” If so, use a basin, sink or tub and hand wash. This is the best way to clean wool.
Don’t assume that just because the care label says “dry clean only” that you can do whatever you want, hand washing a cashmere sweater will make it softer over time. Provided of course that you use a soft detergent or baby shampoo.
