Wool is a wonderful fabric. It is warm, comfortable, ethical and naturally antimicrobial, but it has one drawback in today’s fast fashion era. If you wash a wool garment wrong, you can ruin it forever. So before you chuck your mens fisherman sweater into the washing machine, check our top tips to make sure that it will come out looking just as great and fitting just as well as when it went in.
Checking the label and how dirty it really is
1. Check the label!
The care instruction label will tell you whether your particular garment can be machine washed, or whether it must be hand washed. It is important that you check before you wash it for the first time as once it becomes misshapen, it can be hard, if not impossible, to get it back to its original shape.
2. How dirty is the garment?
Wool tends not to smell so don’t be tempted to wash it purely out of habit. Instead, inspect it carefully for stains or marks which may require cleaning. You might be able to get away with spot-cleaning those marks rather than washing the entire item.
Washing and drying wool safely
3. Wash it carefully
Whether you are spot cleaning, hand washing or machine washing, make sure to use an appropriate detergent, agitate the item gently and do not wash it with other items which may snag on it, such as bras, jeans or zipped tops.
4. Dry it flat
Wool garments are best dried flat atop a towel in a warm room or outside on a dry or slightly windy day. When hung wet, they can stretch so this is best avoided.
When you buy delicate items from specialist knitwear suppliers such as https://shoparan.com/mens-aran-sweaters/mens-fisherman-sweaters/, you will be able to seek appropriate cleaning advice from them.
If in doubt, always remember that it will not harm your garment to miss a wash while you source a suitable detergent, or wait for a day when you have more time to hand wash it. There is no rush to wash your wool garments, so treat them well and you will enjoy them for years to come.
Summary
This article gives tips for washing wool without shrinking or misshaping it. It advises always checking the care label first, since machine washing an unsuitable garment can ruin its shape permanently, and inspecting for stains rather than washing purely out of habit, since wool doesn’t tend to smell. It also covers washing gently, drying flat rather than hanging wet, and not rushing the process.
Questions this article raises
- How do you tell if a wool garment can be spot-cleaned rather than fully washed?
- What detergent is actually safe to use on delicate wool knitwear?
- How long does it usually take a wool jumper to dry flat?
