Replacing the natural oils in wool

[mrcharly]

I have a thick wool shirt, made from a coarse woven wool. No stretch to it.

It is a nice garment around a fire, but doesn't shed any water, due to the open weave. I only wear it when camping at places that have fires.

Is it possible to re-establish the natural wool oils in a fabric?

 

[sasquatch]

I made a wool coat a couple years back and threw it in the bathtub with a dash of baby oil. It still beads water to this day but if you wear glasses and pull it over your head it does impart some greasiness onto them which is slightly annoying! I don't mean it beads water as in waterproof but it takes some time to wet out...

 

[DavidJT]

Do a quick search on here for "Lanolin", it's been covered a few times.

 

[treadlightly]

Toddy provided this some time ago. I've used it and it works.

Buy some lanolin. Available online from baby/toddler outlets. I got mine from somewhere called Pixie Knits. Google it.

Dissolve some pure soap flakes and a small amount of lanolin in warm water, add freshly washed and still wet garment. Swish around for a while. Leave to stand for quite a while, swish around again then rinse and dry.

I'm sure Toddy provided more precise instructions (amounts and standing time etc) but I've forgotten the detail. Maybe she will be along soon.

 

[mrcharly]

I did search for 'Toddy' and 'Lanolin', but with no success. Pixie Knits don't seem to stock lanolin anymore, I guess ebay will be getting a visit. Thanks for the info.

 

[Gill]

Here you go fella.
http://www.bushcraftuk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=35475

 

[Toddy]

The search engine is under discussion apparantly it's a pain on many forums using vBulletin.

However, lanolin

There are three things I can suggest will work on your shirt, though if the weave is 'very' open, none will be quite as effective as they might be on a fulled (lightly felted surface) woollen one.

Firstly the baby oil........it does work, it's how most modern oiled wools are created. The problem is how much is too much though, and how to effectively get it into the wool and not just on the surface of the wool.

To some extent this is the same problem with the lanolin, but the lanolin is the natural lubrication/conditioner for wool and it is more readily absorbed, if you can get it liquid enough.

Up front, don't thermal shock the wool; don't go from hot to cold water or the other way round. Wool naturally felts and thermal shock really helps the process along.
But water hot enough to disperse the lanolin, or the oil, and relax the wool and make it easier for it to absorb either of them, is by far the most successful way.

These days I find the wash in lanolin intended for baby's woollens is by far the easiest method for proofing wool.
Disana Lanolin Conditioner costs about a fiver for 200ml.

There's a lady selling bottles on ebay just now

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Disana-Lanolin-Conditioner-200ml-/200664234656

but this company, and others like it, carry it as standard stock.
http://shop.nappyeverafter.co.uk/disana-lanolin-conditioner-247-p.asp

cheers,
M

 

[mrcharly]

Thanks for the advice.

I did (after prompting) find some of the previous threads.

I've opted to get some solid lanolin from an ebay seller, so I can also use it on some veg-tanned leather boots.

Will report back on the success or failure.

 

[Toddy]

The lanolin will work on the boots but it can leave them a bit sticky. Go lightly with it, basically. Neatsfoot oil though, for veg tanned leather, you can keep working that in for a long time

cheers,
Toddy

 

[mrcharly]

Actually - change of mind - I presume this also works on cotton?

I have a cotton duck cycling saddlebag that could do with reproofing.

 

[arsinal]

Actually - change of mind - I presume this also works on cotton?

I have a cotton duck cycling saddlebag that could do with reproofing.

I never fully waxed any canvas or cotton. I usually buy a fully waxed product and touch it up with Sno-Seal for leather boots. each little spot of wax I put on I borrow the GF's hair dryer and melt in into the fibers. Many American companies use Wax cotton/canvas like Filson, Duluth, and many others. I believe they use proprietary mixes of Linseed oil, Bees wax, Pine pitch and maybe even silicone.

 

[mrcharly]

I'm probably causing a bit of confusion here.

Cotton duck isn't normally 'proofed'. It's a very heavy, very thick canvas weave cotton that relies on the cotton swelling to block the intake of water.

My saddlebag lives on my bike and sees maybe 15-20 hours use every week, all year round. Doesn't get washed, dried or cleaned (apart from the odd brush off).
So I thought a good scrub down and wash with soap flakes, maybe with a bit of lanolin, would help it last.

 

[Toddy]

If it's on your bike, exposed to the muck of the road, etc., I'd just brush it thoroughly and then use one of the spray on waterproofers meant for outdoor clothing/ tents.

To get the lanolin absorbed into the cotton fibres isn't easy, not if you want it even and unsticky. Linoleum and MacIntosh's were the best that folks eventually devised to create waterproofed cotton coverings, so that gives an idea of how hard it was to do well. Waxed cotton is probably the nearest to what you're after but it's not lanolin that's used.

Lanolin is best added in water, but cotton fibres swell in water and effectively stop any further soak through......just like your bags from cotton duck, or ventile. You want the lanolin absorbed, but how effective it'll be .... it's usual to use wax and an old iron or a hairdryer to melt the waterproofing enough so that it's absorbed on dry cloth.

Worth a try, and it'd be interesting to hear how you get on with it.

My other caveat would be that heavy cotton often shrinks (think jeans) when it's washed. Might be a devil of a time sorting a bag back out again into shape, etc.,

Best of luck with it

cheers,
Toddy

 

[mrcharly]

Well the bag is frequently exposed to heavy rain and road spray - I'm not expecting to improve waterproofing (never had it leak), but was thinking that the lanolin might help preserve the cotton.

However, from your info it sounds like I'd be inviting more muck to stick to the bag, which would be counter-productive.

Back to the wool - do you think I could use Nikwax techwash instead of soap flakes?

 

[Toddy]

I don't know if the lanolin would help preserve the cotton or not.
It's in a really harsh environment. Weather of all kinds, abrasion from dirt and dust particles......sorry, I just don't know. I do know that if it's not applied well then lanolin can leave greasy spots, and if they're thick, they're sticky.
I'd be inclined to try some of the rub on diy waxes folks make and use the hairdryer to disperse them into the fibres. greenland wax in the search 'should' (rolleyes, might ??) give you more details.

Techwash is good, but it's not necessary. It's wool, the bar of soap beside the sink will do to give enough lather to wash it. So will bog standard straight forward shampoo.
Lot of mince talked about pure soap flakes, really only desperately needed if folks are allergic to any additives that might be in ordinary soap bars, and the flakes dissolve easily in hot water, while a bar needs rubbed up to a lather.
We use glycerine hand soap for felting, yet the folks who sell felting stuff insist we 'ought' to use only pure olive oil castile soap. .....at ten or twenty times the price
Funny how well our felting works, isn't it, especially using cheap soap ?
Same thing with washing your wool.
Up to yourself really, but I'd go for simplicity.

atb,
M

 

[mrcharly]

Cheers.

Incidently, my kids have all gone to a Steiner school, where they do a lot of felting with wool (dry and wet). They just use cheap washing up liquid. Seems to work just fine. It's a bit harsh on skin, but the wool don't mind.

 

[John Fenna]

How about using my Pig fat and woodash lye soap?
Would that be a bit harsh for felting?