aring for your woollen garments differs a slightly from, for instance, clothes made of cotton.

For starters, woollen garments are more or less self-cleaning and also naturally repel dirt and grime fairly well. This reduces the need for washing them, and just airing your woolies on a hanger is often enough to freshen them. But how does this work? To explain the specifics, we need to go down to microscopic fibre-level and study what a woollen fibre looks like. Unike many other materials, wool fibre has a scale-like surface texture. These scales easily latch onto one other, and thereby force particles of dirt up to the surface of the garment. The fibre's surface is also coated with a naturally occurring oil called lanolin that helps woollen garments to repel both moisture and dirt.

Interesting fact:
Lanolin is one of the ingredients used in supplements such as vitamin D, as well as a softener in moisturising skincare products.

When Should I Wash my Garment?

Washing a woollen garment is something you need to do very rarely. It is often enough to wash it a couple of times per year or when it feels dirty or carries some sort of odour. Garments you wear directly against your skin obviously need more frequent washing, but far from as often as, for instance, garments made of cotton or synthetic fibres. Before washing, always air and brush your woollen garment as this may be enough to freshen it up.

Washing Wool

As the woollen fibre is covered by the natural fat lanolin giving wool its naturally dirt repelling characteristics, wool should not be used with fat-dissolving detergents as these might remove the lanolin and thereby the dirt-repelling properties of the fabric. Use a laundry soap made specifically for washing wool.

Machine Wash vs. Hand Wash

Many people are, for various reasons, reluctant to wash their garments by hand. But this is in fact the safest way to wash your woollen garments. Needless to say, this applies to garments that do not require dry cleaning. Always consult the care label before you start. Gentle, low temperature and wool-specific cycles on your washing machine can also be a good option. However, there is always a risk of felting and shrinkage due to the mechanical stress, wear and having less control over the actual water temperature. This is why we foremost recommend washing your precious woollen garments by hand.

Hand Wash

Hand-washing one or more woollen garments is often not as difficult as you might think and usually doesn't require more than 10 minutes to do. Considering how long wool stays clean, this is a very small sacrifice.

Here is how to go about it:

1. Run some lukewarm water in a bucket or sink, and mix in a little mild wool detergent.

2. Let the garment submerge itself in the water, and gently squeeze to work the dirt out of the garment. Do not squeeze, scrub or wring your garment roughly, as this can easily cause it to lose its shape.

3. When the water appears dirty, change it and repeat the process until your garment no longer soils the water.

4. Avsluta med att krama ur plagget i ett vattenbad utan tillsatt tvättmedel för att skölja ur tvättmedelsrester och smuts. Finally, submerge the garment in clean water, without detergent, and squeeze gently to remove residue from the detergent.

5. Carefully lift the garment out of the water in a bundle, put it on a towel and lay it flat. Roll the towel and squeeze gently to allow its fabric to soak up some more of the water from your freshly washed woollen garment. If the garment is still overly wet, you can very carefully squeeze it out of the garment over your sink. Using a towel to begin drying your garment is recommended as a completely drenched woollen garment can be quite heavy. If you handle it on its own at this point, the sheer weight of it may be enough to misshape the whole garment.

Machine Wash

Most washing machines have a dedicated cycle for wool that often works very well for washing your woollens, though you should always be aware that, despite being specifically programmed for washing woollen garments it will cause far more wear than washing by hand. If the care label does not explicitly state that it can be machine washed, even wool cycles should be avoided where possible. Remember to always use low temperatures. 30C is often the best choice. Spin cycles should not be used as these can cause severe wear. In the worst case, the spin cycle can completely misshape your garment. Use a mild laundry detergent meant for woollen fabrics, and do not use fabric softener as it does more harm than good for wool fibres.

Drying Wool

Your woollen garment should always be laid flat on an even surface to dry. A wet woolen garment is heavy, and, once again, the sheer weight of it is enough misshape it if hung on a wire, drying rack or hanger. See the section on handwashing for more information.

”Your woollen garment should always be laid flat on an even surface to dry…”

Hence, a towel on top of a flat drying rack, or even better a designated mesh rack for wool, are great solutions. The airier, the better. Straighten out and reshape your garment, and let your woollen garment dry in this position.

Refrain from drying your woollen garment in a heated drying cabinet or in other high temperatures to make sure it does not lose its shape.

Storing woollen garments

Knitted woollen garments are best stored folded flat. This also goes for knits using other materials. If hung on a hanger, the garment weight, in combination with limited support from the hanger, may cause it to stretch and leave hanger-shaped stretch marks on the garment.

Items such as blazers, trousers and suits, on the other hand, should be stored on hangers, as woven woollen fabrics are more dense and can carry their own weight. Still, always make sure to use a good premium hanger that gives your garment good support around the shoulder area. Woollen fabrics such as heavier, loosely woven tweeds sometimes behave like knits if hung on the wrong hanger, which might end up ruining the garment.

To avoid your garment from being infested with pests like moths or fur beetles, you can store a bag of dried lavender or use cedarwood in your wardrobe. The smell of these compounds and materials repels the insects. These bug problems are more common in older buildings in this day and age, like in old wooden wardrobes that might take you to Narnia if you're lucky. Hence, these precautions are not always necessary. If you still think these problems might be a risk, and you know you are not going to use your garment for quite some time: Store your garment in a tightly sealed plastic bag. In the unlikely event of finding these kinds of pests in your garments, put them in a plastic bag and store them in a freezer for a week. The cold kills potential eggs, larva and nymphs that might develop into insects that will feast on the delicious fibres of your precious woolies.