Washing ice breaker merino the cheap way

[8thsinner]

I have been doing some reading up on people using baking powder to soak wool items in, with a little bobbing.
rinsing and then bobbing around in vinegar to seal the pores again.
But it's mainly been in sock use, not expensive merino.

Has anyone tried this method with success, I have a brand new one and I want to keep it in better nick than all my other ones that are close to death.

And I cannot afford to stock up on wool washing soaps like woolite. So any other cheap tips welcome.

 

[Shewie]

I always hand wash my Ullfrotte and Lundhag merino stuff by hand in a bucket with warm water and natural soap flakes, not sure if it's the right way but I've always done that for gear I care about.

 

[Toddy]

Wool is hair, shampoo is meant for hair.
Use shampoo and cool water and it'll work fine. If it's particularly grubby just leave it soaking iin cold water with a little shampoo over night and then rinse thoroughly.

cheers,
Toddy

 

[8thsinner]

Thanks shewie but I rarely have soap flakes.
Thanks again to toddy, shampoo luckily with my two foot of hair is something I rarely run out of so I will start using that.

 

[oetzi]

In the washing machine, inside out, 40°C, wool detergent.
I wash them the same way as my Ullfrotte.

 

[8thsinner]

Well like I said, I can't afford to keep a seperate wool wash at this time.
And I am fairly sure the industrial style washing machine is what has been tearing up the seams in my shared block of flats..

 

[decorum]

... And I am fairly sure the industrial style washing machine is what has been tearing up the seams in my shared block of flats..

Stick the items in a pillow case and loosly tie it closed - then it's the pillow case takes the battering .

For washing efficiency, don't over fill the pillow case - there's no reason that you can't use multiple pillow cases though .

 

[EdS]

natural soap is not brilliant for fine wool - it is relatively caustic and can clog the pores.

Small amount of shampoo or nikwax wool wsh or ecoover delicate is good.

Thing with Icebreaker is they say to wash with other items ie jeans "Wash on a normal cycle with other hard fabrics to remove fluffing" - from their website. This is due to pilling. Mostly due to poorer quality yarn. They have had /are having real problems making top quality woollens since moving to China. China has very limited experience of spinning and weaving wool, unlike New Zealand (the best for silk though) and production has suffered.

 

[techworm]

i found this article useful, seems fairy liquid is the way to go.

http://www.fuzzygalore.biz/articles/wash_sweater.shtml

 

[Toddy]

Nice clear article My concerns about using Fairy liquid are twofold.
One, it's damned hard to rinse out, too much agitation actually felts wool when it's wet and soapy, and secondly it really does strip *all* the grease.......most of us actually add waterproofing oil, lanolin or the like, to many of our woollens, I just need mine washed clean, not stripped and left like crispy hair.

cheers,
Toddy

 

[Rebel]

I just wash mine in the sink by hand with a small amount of Woolite (or similar). I know you said you can't afford Woolite but it's not that expensive and you only need a tiny amount for a handwash. (How much is an Icebreaker garment? They are expensive so you want to take care of them, a bit of wool detergent is a lot cheaper than having ruined clothes.) Basically you want to soften the water to get the oils and salts from your sweat out of the garment so the wool only needs a gentle low temperature wash.

When the garment is washed I gently squeeze out as much water as I can (don't wring) and then hang it over something to dry (I usually do this in the bathtub until it stops dripping and then hang it up somewhere - doesn't have to be outside).

If you do use a machine you really need to do it on the wool wash cycle or hand wash, the cotton cycle is too rough. You shouldn't be washing at more than 40C, 30C is even better. I also do NOT recommend dish washing liquid.

Nikwax have a special wool wash product but it's even more expensive than Woolite. You don't have to buy the Woolite brand either, supermarkets have their own brand wool wash detergents at lower prices.

 

[Rebel]

Sorry I should also mention that you can get away with using normal detergents on wool BUT only the high quality ones. The cheaper ones have bleach in them which will ruin your garment. The ones to look for are products like Persil Colour Care liquid detergent but the specific Persil Wool wash is PH neutral. Whatever you use you are still best off hand washing or doing them on the wool cycle.

 

[Shewie]

It's interesting that you hang them to dry Rebel, I've always laid them out flat for fear of stretching them. In winter I concertina fold them length ways and lay them on top of the radiators when the heating's on

 

[Rebel]

Nice clear article My concerns about using Fairy liquid are twofold.
One, it's damned hard to rinse out, too much agitation actually felts wool when it's wet and soapy, and secondly it really does strip *all* the grease.......most of us actually add waterproofing oil, lanolin or the like, to many of our woollens, I just need mine washed clean, not stripped and left like crispy hair.

cheers,
Toddy

I have a hard time believing that dish soap is a good idea. Persil guarantee that their wool wash product is PH neutral and it's a lot milder than Fairy liquid. The Nikwax product is probably the best but it's a bit expensive.

I also have hard time believing that high temperatures are okay (as the article says), I've seen wool sweaters ruined from high temperature washes - not from being washed roughly.

 

[Rebel]

It's interesting that you hang them to dry Rebel, I've always laid them out flat for fear of stretching them. In winter I concertina fold them length ways and lay them on top of the radiators when the heating's on

I do lay them flat(ish) until they have stopped dripping. Usually someone in the family wants to use the bath so I hang them up when they are only damp. I don't hang them ON the radiators in the winter either but close to them.

 

[oetzi]

Well like I said, I can't afford to keep a seperate wool wash at this time.
And I am fairly sure the industrial style washing machine is what has been tearing up the seams in my shared block of flats..

I also hand-wash them in the sink, it really depends how many I have to do. Uses up more water, though.
But I cant comment on the use of other than special wool detergents, since this is what I always use at home and half of the year my washing is about 90% wool anyway.
Some colleagues dont bother with speacial soap and report good results as well. So any neutral soap should work, too.
On one occassion a colleagues washing machine got a defect while he had fleece and icebreaker wool in it. The stuff was about cooked a full circle. The fleece has shrunk several centimeters and the whole lot of Icebreaker stuff came out unscated.
Try putting your Icebreaker garments in a lightweight cotton-bag while washing them with other stuff, this reduces any mechanical stress (due to the kind of machine you have) considerably.
Icebreaker garments are usually incredibly hard-wearing and I am sure the wool has gotten some treatment or it wouldnt survive machine-washing mthe way it does.
Maybe you had some faulty ones? in the shop we had quite some faulty ones over bthe last few years, having them now made in China, as opposed with earlier productions, hasnt improved the quality in some production runs.
And Icebreaker is very generous with their replacment policy, at least here in germany. In fact, they have none. Its always up to the shop to decide if the garment will be replaced.

 

[8thsinner]

Well some of my old stuff has more holes than a keep net.

I washed with shampoo and dried over an old bed rack by the window, it was done by the time I got home and seems just as soft now as it was brand new.
I am going to keep this up unless I spot any issues.

 

[johnnytheboy]

I just whack mine in the washing machine at 30 degrees with lux soap flakes!!!

always been fine for me