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. The comments made in these messages are not necessarily my viewpoints. I make no claims as to the accuracy of the information given by the individual authors. Please respect the time and efforts of those who have written these messages. The copyright status of these messages is unclear at this time. If information is published from these messages, please give credit to the originator(s). Thank you, Mark S. Harris AKA: THLord Stefan li Rous Stefan at florilegium.org ************************************************************************ 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 To: Mark Harris 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 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 Edited by Mark S. Harris wool-clean-msg