What makes some wool machine washable/dryable?
 

Hi all, there may be a better spot for this but I frequent this forum and there are a lot of Wool fans here so I thought I'd ask here.

I have some wool shirts (http://www.rivbike.com/products/list...product=22-860) that I machine wash and dry with no more shrinkage than a cotton shirt. I regularly put them through the wash with no issues.

So at first I thought it was just that it's Merino. But then my wife accidentally put a Merino sweater through the wash and it shriveled up. So then I figured it was a combo of Merino and the fine knit of the shirt.

Recently I bought a merino sweater from the thrift shop that was too big for me. My plan was to run it through the wash and shrink it down (it says "dry clean only") then block it out to the right size. In the same load my wife accidentally washed another one of my merino sweaters (also labeled "dry clean only"). This time neither shrank! I also saw a sweater at a store (labeled "machine washable) the other day. What gives?

Everything from Smartwool is machine washable.
Wash cold and I use Woolite or something similar.
I was on the delicate setting.

I fixed it for you.

I too thought that everything from Smartwool was machine washable. They have at least one style of sweater that isn't. :(

It has to be treated with something to make it washable. Washable wool is just wool that has been treated with whatever it is. It' not merino in particular.

If you tried to shrink a sweater that should have been able to shrink and it didn't, it probably wasn't agitating enough in the wash. Try washing it with a pair of jeans and regular detergent. You run the risk of felting it completely though.

That's precisely what I did! They went through with the jeans, underwear, old t-shirts, kids clothes, etc. Cold/Cold. regular cycle. Tide. Blazing hot dry. They didn't mind a bit! My MerinoSkins from Rivendell and Costco wool socks go through that sometimes and don't mind but I would have expected these sweaters to look like little kids' sweaters! I have a front-loader that's supposed to be a bit more gentle than a top loader, but these sweaters definitely got SERIOUSLY agitated and spun. and the harshest dry my dryer can muster.

Anyone know what they treat them with and why it's not all treated?

If I can intercept the wife on laundry day (she gets quite zealous about it) I put my wool load through on a slightly gentler auto cycle, warm/cold water and warm dryer. "Ecover" woll wash.

The drawback to Smartwool is that it costs more than the $4 I pay for sweaters at the DAV thrift store!

You could always do the laundry. It's the best way if you want it done just so.

Yes, but then the wife will have nothing to do! Next thing you know she might want to use the remote or go visit with her friends. :twitchy: It's a slippery slippery slope.









NOTE: I realize that this is text and it is difficult conveying humor sometimes. This is meant as a joke.

So I see one post saying dry on warm. How 'bout others? Lay out to dry? Hang up? Fluff air? I'd follow the instructions on the tag, but I don't believe everything I read.

You could use a smilie. This one might be best for your purpose: ;)
or maybe :innocent:

I dry my merino stuff on racks near (not too near) my heating stove. Tee shirts and jerseys on flat racks made from sections of plastic kid-fence supported by the pantograph clotheshorse drying rack.
Works well for my wifes' delicates too.

I put my smartwool in the regular cold wash (we do the longest cycle) and then hang the shirts on hangers, everything else gets draped over a rack. The kids' smartwool socks go in the dryer w/ everything else if my wife is doing the laundry but I put them on the rack if I'm doing it.

They all say dryer-OK but what can I say I'm going the better safe-than-sorry route. The 'lightweight' smartwool has held up for years under this treatment and doesn't seem to be showing any signs of aging. The 'microweight' I'm not so confident of its long-term prospects.

I have no idea of the mechanics/chemistry of smartwool's wash/dry-ability, whether it's the sheep or the postprocessing or what.

Washable wool is coated with a resin so that the scales on the individual hairs don't catch on each other tangling up. I machine wash mine and air dry by hanging or laying out...

I don't do it right, or on the right schedule, or on the right order. Married guys will relate, single guys won't.