Washing Wool

[Roger Norris]

Brought this up for Tiur.

[ti-guy]

Talk about good timing!  

[stickandstring]

I have always hand washed my KOM, but, would wring the garments. I now know better. Thank you.

nick

I have never washed my wool -- just dry cleaned it --  if you are worried about scent -- let it hang out in a cool dry place --  no sun-- even a little bit of sun will shrink wool -- depends on how much nylon there is in it    
Some wools are 100 % standard is 85 wool 15 nylon
some are 80/20 dome even 70/30  
Washable wool like cabela's has a lot of nylon in it  
Washing wool ( hard and often ) can destroy it's properties over time  -- it will look used--
A garment you paid alot for should be dry cleaned it will look great and hold up longer
  Filson - Pendelton - Woolrich  -- and other  companies recoment dry cleaning and so do I- hunt down wind --  RT

[katie]

Nice info!

[jax]

I agree. Why buy a nice piece of wool and then wash it? And don't say scent. They will small uou anyway.

[wulf]

Good post Roger.  I've been washing most of my wool in a similar fashion for years.  But I don't wash anything too often as it's "self cleaning" and seldom needs it.  But when in doubt I'd lean towards the manufacturers cleaning suggestion to preserve whatever warranty it might have.

[Firstarrow]

Thanks for the posts and insight.

[Swamp Yankee]

Why wash when you can "dry" clean?  "Dry" is not really dry, the residual smell, and that the fluid used is a possible carcinogen are reasons enough for me to put a little effort into hand washing my wool garments.  Done as outlined above I’ve yet to wear out any garment by occasional hand washing.

 www.cbsnews.com/2100-500195_162-2507444.html

[Kevin Dill]

I recall washing my KOM. followed by blocking and air drying outside. They shrank enough that the fit was off. When I bought a set of Sleeping Indian, Ron advised me the best way to clean and maintain them was to dry clean them...just like you would a fine wool suit, top coat or nice sweater. The better you treat wool, the better the fit and fabric condition. I will say that my SI wool was in perfect condition when I sold it several years (and many hunting adventures) later. As for any scent left by dry cleaning, I could hardly notice it. Regardless, I would typically hang and air my wools for a week or two after having them cleaned...just to be safe.

I also visited the Filson website and reviewed the care/cleaning instructions for their wool garments. "Dry Clean Only"

[2treks]

I have washed my wool by hand for over 20yrs.
I do it just about the same as Teresa/Roger.
I have never had a problem with it wearing out or shrinking. My wool is for the woods and this method works like a charm. I have a few very nice(expensive) wool dress shirts that I wear to Church that also get cleaned this way and they are no worse looking than when new.
Be gentle and you will be fine. I also think that wool does not need to be washed as often as cotton or synthetic materials.Once the others materials get a little funk to them it seems they stay funky sometimes. Wool will go to a natural smell with a little washing.
I will always wear wool,
CTT

[Ric O'Shay]

I've got several pieces of Teresa's wool. Gonna have to try this. Good post. Thanks Roger

[high desert rambler]

i have a ton of wool - pretty much all i wear in winter - i've always bought it oversized and immediately tossed it into the washing machine and a hot dryer... it shrinks, softens and bulks up to provide even greater insulation - and from that point forward you can wash it without worrying about it shrinking anymore.  (just don't use hot water.)  

BUT, that's only gonna' work if you have a good, tight weave... otherwise it can shrink too much... i've done this a bunch of woolrich shirts and jac-shirts, even did it with my filson vests and a mackinaw coat (no - NOT the double mackinaw i have for sale!)... a real tight weave like that doesn't shrink much at all...

of course, you never know what's gonna' happen with an individual piece of wool... so if you want to do this, i would measure the garment first and then pull it out of the dryer every 5-10 minutes to make sure it hasn't shrunk too much... but i've never ruined one... works for me, anyway...

[Roger Norris]

TTT for xlefty

[T-Bowhunter]

Roger, thanks for bringing this back up.

[Roger Norris]

TTT

[Biathlonman]

I tried something new with mine a few days back.  Just threw it all in the Jacuzzi tub in the bathroom.  Just had to keep my hand over the intake so nothing stuck to it.  Worked like a charm and was shocked at the about of dirt that came out.  Key to the system is finishing before the wife gets home from work!  

[Doc Nock]

Brad,

You see the St. Jude Gator hunt thread? I guess keeping an iced dead gator in your Jacuzzi tub wouldn't fly at your house either, huh?            :rolleyes:

[Stykbowslim]

I purchased my first KOM Bushman shirt in 1993, and as with all my wool, I always washed it with baking soda and by hand. I would wash the shirt as indicated in the original post or I would "spot" wash localized dirty areas of the shirt, and hang the shirt outside to air-dry.

Speed up twenty years to today, my son still wears that KOM Bushman as seen in my Avatar.

how not to make wool shrink--   I have many only wool shirts-- they never shrunk -- I just got bigger !!!  
If you are lets say younger--  an old addage a
 pound a year after 40 --  when I was 40 I weighted 170   not  65    
So if you are lets say --  35  -- and you are a  large  - want to WEAR IT for 10 years -- by XL want it for 20 ++   buy XXL --  
Most wool does not shrink--  we just out grown them-- that is why there is so  much wool on ****.
Washing wool, if you wash it will not look the same-- dry clean and it will look good-- worried about smell-    let it hang outside -  
If you look at resent prices of a company like Filson- if you pay TOP Dollar --  spend the  money to take care of it--  
If you google wool prices and cotton prices - you will see why-- I try to keep my prices resonable--  my advise-  buy it now - it isn't coming down ---   www.classissportsman.com  or  www.classicbowman.com
my track record on product 0 returns --     )
OK  not true-   the guy who washed his shirt it  shrunk - I did send him a new shirt - he did say the shirt got bloodied - thats good-- next time dry clean-- -- as for price and quality --  0 returns .
Will post on Wool pants --  by custom order for now  Thanks     Stay warm my friends--   Rob T