Title: wool-clean-msg
Subject: Cleaning wool before spinning.
Author: Motorola
Last saved by: Mark S. Harris
Keywords: wool, cleaning, spinning, dyeing

wool-clean-msg - 4/7/08

Cleaning wool before spinning.

NOTE: See also the files: wool-hist-msg, felting-msg, washing-msg, textiles-msg, cotton-art, cotton-msg, linen-msg, livestock-msg, silk-msg, The-Sheep-art, B-H-Cheviot-art.

************************************************************************
NOTICE -

This file is a collection of various messages having a common theme that I have collected from my reading of the various computer networks. Some messages date back to 1989, some may be as recent as yesterday.

This file is part of a collection of files called Stefan's Florilegium. These files are available on the Internet at: http://www.florilegium.org

I have done a limited amount of editing. Messages having to do with separate topics were sometimes split into different files and sometimes extraneous information was removed. For instance, the message IDs were removed to save space and remove clutter.

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Thank you,
    Mark S. Harris                  AKA:  THLord Stefan li Rous
                                          Stefan at florilegium.org
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From: ronin at usa1.com (Blondelza at aol.com)
Newsgroups: rec.org.sca
Subject: Re: Washing/carding wool HELP?
Date: 28 May 1995 01:58:31 GMT
Organization: USAinternet, Inc.

mortaine at cats.ucsc.edu says...
>My problem is, I want to spin this wool, but it's not washed, and I don't have
>any ideas as to how to wash it, or where to obtain carding materials.
>(I do know where to find a spindle)

As for washing the wool, you should use very little of a mild detergent 
(like Woolite or something similar). Using too much will remove the 
wool's lanolin, which is what makes it water-resistant in addition to 
making the wool easier to spin. Some people use no detergent 
whatsoever. Just place the wool in cool water with or without detergent, 
and very gently move it around. All you really want to do is remove the 
most obvious dirt, as the rest will be removed when you card it. Remove 
the wool from the water, rinse in more cool water and let it air dry. An 
old screen is good to use for this if you have one. 

Most knitting stores will either have carding and spinning materials, or 
will be able to direct you to where you can find them in your area. Happy 
spinning!

Laurel Avery
Blondelza at aol.com

From: dave.calafrancesco at drakkar.mhv.net (David Calafrancesco)
Newsgroups: rec.org.sca
Subject: Washing/carding wool HELP?
Date: 31 May 95 00:53:59
Organization: Druid's Grove FIDO -> Internet Gateway

ronin at usa1.com wrote in a message to All:
ru> mortaine at cats.ucsc.edu says... 

>My problem is, I want to spin this wool, but it's not washed, and I don't have
>any ideas as to how to wash it, or where to obtain carding materials.
>(I do know where to find a spindle)

 ru> As for washing the wool, you should use very little of a
 ru> mild detergent  (like Woolite or something similar). Using

Warning, the current formulations of 'woolite' is not appropriate for wool
anymore. It is now designed for use on satins and other lingerie. I have heard
that baby shampoo works quite well for washing woolens. Remember to use a very
little amount. Also, many generic formulations collectively known as wool wash
still have the wool formulation and are therefor OK.

Haraldr Bassi, Frosted Hills, East
haraldr at drakkar.mhv.net

From: adurham at mailer.fsu.edu (Ann E Durham)
Newsgroups: rec.org.sca
Subject: Re: Washing/carding wool HELP?
Date: 2 Jun 1995 16:49:34 -0400
Organization: Florida State University

As a handspinner and sheep owner, I wash a lot of fleece.  Don't be afraid
of it.  I use *hot* water and a *lot* of detergent.  Dishwashing detergent
works best--it cuts the grease well.  If you want details, you can e-mail
me at adurham at mailer.fsu.edu

-- 
*An unemployed jester is nobody's fool | Ann Durham
*                                      | Florida State University
*                                      | Tallahassee Florida

Newsgroups: rec.org.sca
From: shafer at ferhino.dfrc.nasa.gov (Mary Shafer)
Subject: Re: Washing/carding wool HELP?
Organization: NASA Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards CA
Date: Fri, 2 Jun 1995 16:14:52 GMT

On 31 May 95 00:53:59, dave.calafrancesco at drakkar.mhv.net (David Calafrancesco) said:

HB> Warning, the current formulations of 'woolite' is not appropriate
HB> for wool anymore. It is now designed for use on satins and other
HB> lingerie. I have heard that baby shampoo works quite well for
HB> washing woolens. Remember to use a very little amount. Also, many
HB> generic formulations collectively known as wool wash still have
HB> the wool formulation and are therefor OK.

The detergent universally recommended for washing wool needlepoint
(actually, almost all needlework) is sodium lauryl sulfate.  It can be
purchased at extortionate prices in little bottles at needlepoint
shops (about 8 dollars for 4 ounces) or bought in large jars in feed
stores (about 6 dollars for a pound), where it lurks under the trade
names of Orvus (the original), Sorvus, and a host of like-sounding
names, all horse shampoos.

Notice that this horse shampoo is not one of the currently popular
Mane and Tail shampoos.  The only ingredient is sodium lauryl sulfate.
It's a firm, creamy white paste when cool and a thick, light amber
clear liquid when warm.  It's not very fancy--cheap label, cheap
jar--but it's universally used and recommended by textile
conservationists.
--
Mary Shafer                                             DoD #362 KotFR   
SR-71 Chief Engineer   NASA Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards, CA
shafer at ferhino.dfrc.nasa.gov          Of course I don't speak for NASA
URL http://www.dfrc.nasa.gov/People/Shafer/mary.html

From: PJLR92A at prodigy.com (Shawn Cahoon)
Newsgroups: rec.org.sca
Subject: Re: Washing/carding wool HELP?
Date: 3 Jun 1995 06:49:14 GMT
Organization: Prodigy Services Company  1-800-PRODIGY

I have washed a fleece of wool before. Plan to take at least a good 
afternoon if you have a bunch and it's really dirty.  

I've got two techniques for you:
1.  The way I did it -- Start with a bucket (pickle bucket, washtub, 
whatever) of ambient temperature water (not hot, not cold -- no extremes) 
with your soap (see previous reference for types of soap) and very very 
gently turn the wool over to get water and soap to all of the wool.  DO 
NOT AGITATE YOUR WOOL!!!  Be very gentle with it, or else it will felt 
and you'll have a slab o craft fabric.  Drain the water, and start 
rinsing -- use clean water, and gently turn and drain and rinse again, 
until the water runs clean and the wool looks clean.  (If your fleece is 
really filthy, before you start the whole washing process, pick out as 
much of the big stuff -- twigs, dirt, burrs, etc. -- as you possibly can. 
This is a dull tedious job, but if you don't get it out before washing, I 
guarantee it will stay with you through all the rinses and you'll still 
have to do it at the end.)  During this process, you're hands will become 
increasingly soft from all the lanolin.  Don't know how well the 
previously recommended soaps will cut the lanolin; it's been a while, but 
I seem to remember actually using Dawn dishsoap in very small quantities. 
 As a  test, separate some small hanks of wool out ahead of time and test 
the various stuff you want to wash with until you find one you like.

Once you've washed your wool, lay it out on a clean sheet in the sun to 
dry. Spread it thin, make sure it's not a rainy day, and if at all 
possible, avoid windy days, unless you want to decorate your neighborhood 
with white fluff.

2.  The way a friend reportedly did this:  The same technique as above, 
but a first rinse before the soap phase. This initial rinse involves 
soaking in hot water with ABSOLUTELY NO AGITATION OR MOVEMENT OF WOOL AT 
ALL. It's not a long rinse, maybe a half hour.  

Since this is a second hand tip, I can't guarantee that it works, but 
Francesca can do amazing things with wool; you might wait for other 
confirmation before trying this technique.

By the way, one of the reasons it is recommended that you use a very 
small amount of soap in your wash is (learn from my mistakes) you haven't 
lived until you've rinsed a fleece of wool 10 times and are still getting 
bubbles out of it.  A little goes a long way.  If you don't use enough, 
you can always wash again. If you  use too much, you'll spend a week 
rinsing the ***** stuff.

From: cystenin at ix.netcom.com (Kenneth Allen Stoner)
Newsgroups: rec.org.sca
Subject: Re: Washing/carding wool HELP?
Date: 5 Jun 1995 04:25:29 GMT
Organization: Netcom

Hmmm... My mother is a master spinner mundanely. She learned very
quickly that it was a good idea to have her kids do the nasty stuff.
So... having washed carded and died more than one fleece, here is my
suggestion.

Take up darts.

No but really, I put the whole fleece in the tub. We have a massager
head on a hose hooked up to the shower. I would make that water hot
enough to be uncomfortable but not hot enough to burn. You may drop a
few drops of Ivory liquid into the fleece, but not too much. This will
help break up the Lanolin. Spray down the fleece continually. When the
run off from the fleece is clear and the wet sheep smell isnt quite so
obnoxious, you are done. We spread a clear plastic over a sheet of
plywood and faced it (tilted) Towards the sun. Spread the fleece as
thin as possible.

Carding. Ughh. Get a drum carder. Hook up a washing motor to it, or buy
one that is already electric. Dont do it by hand. 

Incidentally, carding is an excellent time to blend your fleeces. I.E.
darks with lights to make light browns and greys. This works better on
a drum carder though. An electric one. With a lot of horsepower.

Spinning. Double ughh. Buy a Schacht(spelling?) wheel. Make sure the
tension is adjustable mechanically. Leather straps and rubber bands are
no good. Also, gearing and stainless fittings for the spindle, etc. are
much better than plastic.

Well, my moms the expert, not me. Thank god.

    Good Luck,
    Cystennin Ap Gareth of Drafn, Esq.

From: jaryan at vela.acs.oakland.edu (Zippo Bilbrok 3.0e8)
Newsgroups: rec.org.sca
Subject: Re: Washing/carding wool HELP?
Date: 7 Jun 95 01:14:56 GMT
Organization: Oakland University, Rochester, Michigan, U.S.A.

	Reading this collection of "helpful(?)" hints amused me so much 
that I couldn't resist comparing the lot (and adding my own $.02). It 
would seem that everyone has their own *ahem* unique opinion on the 
matter. Thought you all might like to see a summary of the various views. 
I should add beforehand that all the posts have been chopped for brevity, 
and stuff in [square brackets] is mine.  

From: adurham at mailer.fsu.edu (Ann E Durham)
Subject: Re: Washing/carding wool HELP?

As a handspinner and sheep owner, I wash a lot of fleece.  Don't be afraid
of it.  I use *hot* water and a *lot* of detergent.

From: PJLR92A at prodigy.com (Shawn Cahoon)

1.  The way I did it -- Start with a bucket (pickle bucket, washtub, 
whatever) of ambient temperature water (not hot, not cold -- no extremes) 
with your soap (see previous reference for types of soap) and ... DO 
NOT AGITATE YOUR WOOL!!!  Be very gentle with it, or else it will felt 
I seem to remember actually using Dawn dishsoap in very small quantities. 

[Hmmm. Hot water. Lukewarm water. Soap. No soap. Some soap?...]

From: cystenin at ix.netcom.com (Kenneth Allen Stoner)

No but really, I put the whole fleece in the tub. We have a massager
head on a hose hooked up to the shower. I would make that water hot
enough to be uncomfortable but not hot enough to burn. You may drop a
few drops of Ivory liquid into the fleece, but not too much. This will
help break up the Lanolin. Spray down the fleece continually. When the
run off from the fleece is clear and the wet sheep smell isnt quite so
obnoxious, you are done.

Carding. Ughh. Get a drum carder. Hook up a washing motor to it, or buy
one that is already electric. Dont do it by hand. 

[Thought I'd put in a small plug for Romney sheep here. Romney wool 
doesn't need to be carded as such. A few swipes with a small "flip card" is 
excellent preparation for spinning.]

From: ue342 at ciao.trail.bc.ca (JASON RASKU)

 What you do is HAND 
wash in the detergent (I don't think it matters THAT much what it is) and 
then spin dry and rinse.  You want fairly hot water (no it won't felt if 
it isn't agitated too much).

[ SPIN DRY?!?!?!?!? And how precisely does one "not agitate too much" in a 
dryer?]

  You MAY be able to get away with 
spining in the grease (not washing, etc.) if you have a clean flease.  

[The "sheep" smell in wool will usually disappear with small effort, and 
spinning in the grease (purportedly) makes waterproof garments (depending 
on the tightness of the weave/knit/crochet(etc). Sheep are fairly clean 
animals by nature, (those rainshowers don't hurt either) and if they are 
fed carefully, will not develop a large ammount of chaff (hay, twigs, 
etc.) in the wool, so spinning in the grease is not so unfeasible. The 
wool spun this way is also noticably softer than washed wool, so even the 
dubious may want to give it a try... Just a thought.
--
J.J Ryan                           *      "Don't try to outweird me, man. 
Zippo Bilbrok 3.0e8                *       I get stranger things than you
jaryan at oakland.edu                 *       free with my breakfast cereal."
Oakland University, Rochester, MI  *                      -Zaphod Beeblebrox ]

From: li899gej at kauri.vuw.ac.nz (Jennifer Geard)
Newsgroups: rec.org.sca
Subject: Re: Washing/carding wool HELP?
Date: 10 Jun 1995 03:13:37 GMT
Organization: Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand.

Zippo Bilbrok 3.0e8 (jaryan at vela.acs.oakland.edu) wrote:
: 	Reading this collection of "helpful(?)" hints amused me so much 
: that I couldn't resist comparing the lot (and adding my own $.02). It 
: would seem that everyone has their own *ahem* unique opinion on the 
: matter. 

Indeed.  Here's one more for the collection.

	Pick out any burrs or obvious cruddy bits of the fleece.

	Fill a tub/bucket/bath with lukewarm water.  

(The size of container depends how much of a fleece you're doing at a
time -- I recommend no more than half a fleece at a go if you're washing
it at home, and allow plenty of room.)

	Gently submerge the fleece in the water.

	Walk away and leave it. 

(Leave it for an hour, overnight, whatever.  This is the only time I
recommend soaking wool.)

	Lift fleece gently out of water.  Hold over tub for a while to drain.

(Question: is this fleece as clean as I want it?  If not, repeat the 
process.)

	Dry by letting it sit somewhere with air circulating but not 
	blowing it around.

No (added) soap, no agitation.  The combination of oils, sweat and urea in
the fleece will combine to clean the fleece all by themselves.  There will
be some grease left in the wool after the first soaking (this makes sense
to me, since otherwise I'd have to spray oil on the fleece when I wanted
to spin it).  If I want to dye the fleece I just repeat the process a few
times and the wool comes out clean enough to accept the dye, and without
any detergent residues which alter the dye colour. 

Where I live (New Zealand, home of 3 million people and 60 million sheep)
handspinners often spin wool "in the grease" for outdoor jerseys.  This
usually means the wool's been soaked briefly using some version of this 
method before spinning: there's plenty of grease left in after a short 
dip, but the wool is far more pleasant to work with with the suint and 
gunk cleaned out (and your carders don't get so dirty).

  Pagan le Chaunster/Signy

==/==\==/==\==/==\==/==\==/==\==/==\==/==\==/==\==/==\==/==\==/==\==/==\==
Jennifer Geard				Jennifer.Geard at vuw.ac.nz
Wellington, New Zealand			In exile...

Newsgroups: rec.org.sca
From: rayturne at cln.etc.bc.ca (Raymond Turner)
Subject: Re: Washing/carding wool HELP?
Originator: rayturne at cln
Organization: Education Technology Centre of B.C.
Date: Thu, 8 Jun 1995 18:21:36 GMT

I use Ivory Snow to wash fleece, and it seems to work well. I've
also used dish detergent, and it works, too. I had a sheep owner 
recommend an alkaline solution of any kind, so I tried using pool
chemicals to create such a solution, and it worked, too. Use
whatever works for you. Alkali, whether in the form of soap or
phUp, will strip the grease at the molecular level.

The other two main points are: whatever temp. water you wash with, 
use to rinse with. Hot and hot, cold and cold, whatever your
delicate fingers are happy with, but get the two to match more or
less. the worst is hot wash, cold rinse= instant felt. 

The other point is not to agitate too much. Gentle swishing is
good, vigorous scrubbing is bad. 

I've discovered that it's MUCH easier to make felt by accident
than deliberately. But as long as I followed these basic
guidelines, I've had no problems.

Mind you, I generally spin "in the grease" as it seems to work
better for me. but others don't like the way the lanolin feels,
or the dirt. For spinning at a demo, you would defintiely want
to wash the fleece first, or you'll be getting lanolin on
everything you touch, and spraying seeds and bits of sheep poop
all over. Not nice.

All the ebst,
Olwen Pen Aur
Appledore, An Tir
rayturne at cln.etc.bc.ca

Date: Sat, 08 Feb 1997 08:51:57 -0800
From: Dee Dunn <deedunn at mediasoft.net>
To: Mark Harris <mark_harris at quickmail>
Subject: Re: wool washing

Mark - Feel free to release this information via any media.
 
> Not only am I interested in info to put in the file, but I have a pile
> of wool that I want to clean to make some felted shoes with.
> 
> I would have thought that washing it in the washing machine would cause
> it to felt. Do you use warm or cold water? With soap?

I wash about 12 fleeces per year (most for personal use, a few for sale)
and find that although it does not do quite as perfect a job as
handwashing, it is very nearly as good and it takes 75% less time.   I
have to card a little more to get the trash out, but the carding is not
significantly longer.

I also dye my fleeces in the wash, immediately after washing.   Then,
when I want to blend a color, I only have to go to my stock of colors
and grab whatever proportions I need.   

To wash in the machine:

Rule 1:  Use only a top opening washer. DO NOT USE A FRONT LOADER unless
you want to make a felt basketball!!!

Rule 2:  Turn off the cold water at the tap so you can't possibly screw
up and shrink your wool.

Rule 3:   Keep the lid up on your washer to prevent it from agitating. 
Once the tub is filled with hot water, then turn OFF the machine.  Once
the machine is off, it is OK to close the lid. 

If you follow these rules your fleece will be OK.

Step 1:  Pre-dissolve soap powder in hot water in washing tub.  If you
use liquid detergent, it will take you months to rinse the fleece
clean.  I have found that the Arm and Hammer Heavy Duty detergent powder
works very well.  I use 3-4 scoops of powder per load (regular laundry
uses only 1 scoop).   WAIT until the tub is filled and the powder is
dissolved before putting in the fleece.  As soon as the tub is filled,
turn *off* the machine.   IF the machine is off, it cannot agitate or
switch into another cycle.

Step 2:  Skirt your fleece and break it into locks.   Some people insist
on putting the locks in a washing bag to keep the fleece from breaking
up and clogging the pipes, but I have never found this to be an issue. 
I have repaired my (old, second hand) machine twice and there was no
evidence of fleece in the works either time. 

Step 3:   Place the locks in the wash tub, gently pressing each lock
under the water.  I have put in as much as 6 lbs of fleece in a load,
but the less wool and more water, the faster it cleans.  Don't pack it
in, but don't waste water either.

Step 4:  Gently move the wool in the water.  I check it about once an
hour and lift the fleece up and down in the water a few times every time
I check it.  The more gentle you are, the less the possibility of
felting.

Step 5:  When you think the fleece is clean enough, put the machine into
the spin cycle.  Normal is fine, but gentle spin is ok if you are
sweating bullets at this time...   Spin the fleece until it is dry
enough.  You don't have to spin to the end of the cycle.  

Step 6:  Stop the spin and lift out the fleece into a laundry basket. 
Refill the tub with hot water and then put the fleece back in to rinse. 
If you add water onto the fleece, it can felt it a little, so make sure
the fleece is not in contact with flowing water.  Sometimes I just load
the fleece onto the far side of the tub and hold it backk from where the
water comes in.  The water is hot, however, and you may prefer to keep
your hands out of the way altogether by taking out the fleece.

Step 7:  Put the fleece back into the water and move it gently to let
the water circulate around the fleece.   The rinse is fairly quick.  No
need to soak the fleece in this step.  Put the machine on spin when you
are ready and spin out the fleece.  (Repeat step 6 and 7 until you are
satisfied the fleece is rinsed.   I usually rinse twice, but Rambouillet
sometimes takes a second wash and 3 rinses to get it clean).

Step 8:  If you want to dye the fleece, take it out of the tub,
predissolve your dye in hot water and then put your fleece in to soak. 
If you are not dyeing, take out the fleece and dry it.

Drying cages - I use chicken wire about 6 feet long folded in half to
make a 3x3 "cage".  Put the cage on the floor and open it up so you can
lay the fleece in.  Break up the washed fleece into locks again so it
will dry faster and lay the locks in the cage.  When you have loaded the
fleece, close up the cage and tie the sides together.   Hang the cage so
the folded edge is down and hang the open top edge on a nail in a beam
or such like.   It will take a few days to dry.

The better you separate the locks in the drying cage, the easier it will
be to card the wool.

Maybe I am just lucky, but I have never shrunk a fleece using this
method.   Mohair is a little tricky and has to be picked before carding,
but I have never washed mohair by hand, so I don't know if this is
typical of mohair or a problem brought on by tub washing.  

Generally, I figure 8 hours to handwash a medium fleece.  Tub washing
takes about 3 hours to soak, but I don't have to stand there and fiddle
with it.   It is also much kinder to my hands!  The rinse process takes
about 30 minutes and I do have to monitor that closely.  Still much
faster than hand washing.

Good luck!
Dee
deedunn at mediasoft.net

From: Selwyn and Mary Hall <hallblacks at xtra.co.nz>
Date: Mon Jan 12, 2004  11:28:28 PM US/Central
To: stefan at florilegium.org
Subject: Washing wool

Hi there from New Zealand
Can't resist adding to the comments about washing wool.
 
Many correspondents have suggested putting the wool in the sun to dry.  The big problem with this is that wool will turn ginger in the sun.  Try it out with white wool!  The paler the wool is, the more it will change.  It will dry just as quickly indoors, if all of the excess water is spun out in the washing machine.  Keep fluffing the wool up or turning it regularly.
 
I hand-wash hundreds of kilograms of wool each year, and have found that the Ph level of the wool affects washing.   In stronger wools the Ph is alkaline.  The wool has a kind of natural detergent in it.  Notice that shearers do not need soap to wash the grease from their hands.  Strong wools such as Romneys virtually wash themselves.  In them the suint and grease come out easily. 
 
Problems can arise with cross-bred and fine wools.  The Ph changes to acidic and this has implications for washing.  Water needs to be constantly hot.  If it cools, a scum forms and later the wool re-absorbs the grease, making it sticky and in need of a repeat wash. 
 
The four kinds of wax in Merino wool make it different again.  It can be almost impossible to remove the solid wax from the tips.  We are solving this by breeding from sheep with less waxy tips.
 
It would appear easy to wash wool, but at times it can be quite tricky.  The secret is in knowing just what you are washing.
 
Regards
Mary Hall from Hallblacks  www.hallblacks.co.nz    

<the end>

Edited by Mark S. Harris	wool-clean-msg